ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT
Brooklyn Perinatal Network
Donate at bpnetwork.org
Improving the health and well-being of children, youth, parents, individuals, and families through culturally appropriate services to optimize health
globalheroes.com
January • 2024 ADVERTORIAL
The power of positive, solution-based journalism.
Empowering Communities for Health and Well-Being In the heart of Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Perinatal Network (BPN) has been transforming the lives of expectant mothers and families parenting young children and adolescents since 1988. BPN’s dedicated team has been quietly working to address the high and rising maternal and child health disparities in communities of color in Brooklyn and beyond. Their mission is to bring attention to this issue while working to improve outcomes and the conditions in which BIPOC individuals experience their reproductive and parenting journeys.
the well-being of childbearing-age community members by providing access to culturally optimized services. This includes referrals for medical, social, and behavioral health services; access to free or low-cost public health insurance for children and adults; birth and postpartum doula services; Community Health Worker navigation; Peer-to-Peer support for youth and family; health education workshops for perinatal and parenting individuals.
PROGRAMS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
A LIFE-SAVING INITIATIVE BPN's roster of funded programs When Brooklyn's infant mortality rates reached an alarming high in the 1980s, the need for action was clear. BPN, formed by a community working group, took up the mantle, vowing to prevent and reduce infant and maternal illness and death through a community collective strategy to facilitate access to comprehensive social health services and prevention resources. As BPN celebrates its 35th year of serving Brooklyn’s families, it continues working to improve
and partnership work covers a wide spectrum of actions addressing social determinants of health and inequities aiming to uplift and support families and to strengthen the community’s safety net required for addressing the holistic health needs of the community. HEALTH INSURANCE ENROLLMENT BPN assists individuals, families, children, and small businesses in enrolling in public health insurance
programs, ensuring that everyone has access to the care they need. DOULA SERVICES The Healthy Women Healthy Futures Doula Program (which BPN helped to develop and coordinates citywide) provides vital support to expectant and postpartum mothers, including lactation coaching, referrals, and much more. BPN recruits and trains people interested in becoming community doulas and hires them to provide services free to those who need and request them. NYS DOH FIRST 1000 DAYS ON MEDICAID MATERNAL INFANT CARE INITIATIVE (MICI) PILOT PROJECT DOWNSTATE The MICI Program offers navigation to access medical, social, and behavioral health services for expectant and postpartum mothers and children zero to three years; and provides maternal babies supplies. EMOTIONAL WELLNESS SUPPORT Provides access to cultural and Indigenous behavioral health
services for clients and service providers, as well as related training opportunities. FAMILY AND YOUTH PEER SUPPORT (FYPS) Peer-to-Peer support offers access to resources, such as training for skills development, education, and referrals for social health and emotional wellness for children/youth zero to 24 and their families with behavioral health challenges. FAMILY SERVICE COORDINATION BPN's Service Coordinator engages in one-on-one sessions conducting screenings for social and family health-related needs, connecting families to essential community services and resources. IMPACT EXTENDS BEYOND ITS PROGRAMS BPN convenes the Brooklyn Coalition for Health Equity for Women and Families Leadership Team, comprising community-based organizations to address disparities in maternal health in communities of color, working collaboratively
© COURTESY OF BPN
with others to pioneer system change for healthier lives. A lifeline for many, BPN’s impact cannot be understated. Their mission is clear and impactful: to initiate community collective efforts for resource development and educate institutional and public policymakers, community leaders, advocates, and members to strengthen the safety net of services essential to promoting well-being. With a heart full of compassion and arms open wide, BPN is working with a collective strategy to transform the lives of Brooklyn's families, one caring gesture at a time.
ADVERTORIAL
Improving Maternal and Child Nutrition Worldwide Siblings Shail, four, and Jualdi, two, f rom the Dominican Republic, share a unique bond. Even in a crowd, they instinctually gravitate back to each other. Their mother, Claribel, is committed to keeping the inseparable duo healthy. She started by taking Vitamin Angels’ prenatal vitamins and minerals during her pregnancies. Since the children were old enough, she has also taken the pair to receive Vitamin Angels’ vitamin A and deworming treatments to support their growth and development in early childhood. Claribel aspires to set a good example for her children, much like her mother did. She dreams that Shail and Jualdi will overcome obstacles, excel in their studies, and set a positive example for others. Receiving essential nutrients from the very start is the catalyst to fueling a healthy future for both Shail and Jualdi. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for millions of children around the world. Today, more than three billion people worldwide— largely in low-resource settings—experience some form
of malnutrition. Malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished children, creating an intergenerational cycle that impacts health and economic well-being that is felt across
communities and generations. Vitamin Angels is working to halt this intergenerational cycle by delivering evidence-based nutrition solutions, including vitamin A for young children to
JUALDI AND SHAIL, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC © COURTESY OF VITAMIN ANGELS
prevent blindness and improve immune function, deworming treatment to enable the uptake of critical nutrients, and prenatal vitamins and minerals to improve birth outcomes for mother and baby. These interventions are a powerful way to support healthy pregnancies, reduce infant and maternal mortality, and protect those under five against debilitating childhood infections. By helping to extend these interventions to the people who are most at-risk, Vitamin Angels helps entire communities grow stronger for generations to come. When women and children have access to good nutrition, families and communities do better, gaps in educational attainment shrink, incomes grow, and new opportunities emerge. Vitamin Angels believes in a world where every mother has a healthy pregnancy, and every child gets a chance at a healthy life. This year, we will reach over 71 million underserved pregnant women and children with essential vitamins and minerals by working in partnership with over 1,200 local organizations in about
65 countries, including the U.S. Despite our noteworthy accomplishments, our work is far from done. Our commitment to addressing malnutrition is unwavering, and we aim to double our impact to reach 140 million mothers and children annually by 2033. By improving the health of pregnant women and young children during their most critical years, we all can help build a healthier, more equitable world. When it comes to f inancial transparency, Vitamin Angels is in the top three percent of charities that have received a 100 percent four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation’s premier charity evaluator, demonstrating our commitment to the highest level of financial accountability. With this rating, donors can be conf ident that their support has a direct impact on the health of millions of underserved pregnant women and children worldwide. Make a tax-deductible donation to Vitamin Angels today at vitaminangels.org/donate
