People cooking in a kitchen

Project CHEER Collaborates with the American Heart Association to Present at APHA

Natalie Littlefield, the community health director for the Lexington Division of the American Heart Association (AHA) has partnered with the Kentucky’s CDC State Disability & Health Program called Project CHEER (Community Health Education & Exercise Resources) to co-author a presentation titled “Promotion of Successful Inclusion of Individuals with Disabilities Through Universal Design in American Heart Association’s Health Programs,” that will be presented at the 2019 American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual meeting and expo, November 2 – 6 in Philadelphia.
Presenting with Littlefield from Project CHEER will be Lindsey Mullis, Megan Jaspersen, and Danielle Augustin of the University of Kentucky Human Development Institute.
The presentation, scheduled for 3 pm EST on Monday, November 4, will review the community collaborations, universal design strategies in health programming, and pilot results of an inclusive offering of the AHA’s Mobile Kitchen series. Future directions for broadening efforts and sustainability will be explained. Additionally, presenters will briefly discuss adaptation and implementation of a second inclusive pilot of AHA’s Healthy for Life program with implementation late spring 2019. “This is such an important partnership with the AHA because we want to promote the broad accessibility of great health services to individuals who are often at the highest risk for being unhealthy and underserved, and this presentation provides us the opportunity to encourage other programs to do the same.” Lindsey Mullis, Inclusive Health Director, Project CHEER. Continue reading

Photo of Comic book featuring 4 youth with disabilities and a superhero.

Available Now! Comic Book Featuring People with Disabilities Achieving Health Goals

As a way to help motivate and inspire people, I created the comic book DDMC Man, in which the hero has Ataxia, much like me to show that not all heroes have to have superpowers, but that a strong will and desire can defeat any stumbling block.” —Michael Carter, DDMC Man Creator

Disability Don’t Mean Can’t #2: Busting Down Barriers is a comic about real people overcoming real obstacles. This story shows that no matter the barrier, we can become empowered to achieve our health goals. This comic book is easy to read in a fun format, and features four real youth with disabilities. They learn that through being a strong self-advocate or asking/looking for resources and support they can successfully achieve their goals. Continue reading

Photo of Danielle Augustin

Spotlight on Danielle Augustin

Danielle Augustin is a part-time Inclusive Health Project Assistant at HDI with work spanning several projects, including the Health and Wellness Initiative: Project CHEER and Wellness Edge. Danielle is a student in the Master’s Health Promotion program with expected graduation in May, 2019. She will also be starting next semester as a Research Assistant under Dr. Elaine Eisenbaum’s newest grant, the Serious Mental Illness National Training Center grant from the Administration on Community Living. Continue reading

Athletic man in a wheelchair lifting weights.

Project CHEER offers Adaptive Exercise Videos to Improve Health for Everyone!

Individuals with disabilities experience many barriers that prevent them from living the healthiest lifestyle possible. Ability to participate in regular physical activity is a common barrier that individuals with disabilities face due to lack of guidance and inaccessible equipment. Inability to engage in regular physical activity puts individuals at a higher risk of developing chronic conditions such as heart disease and stroke. One of HDI’s grant funded efforts, Project CHEER, has made it one of their missions to eliminate as many barriers to physical activity as possible for all individuals. Throughout the past year, Project CHEER has been working to create a series of adaptive exercise videos which provide instruction on physical activity that everyone, regardless of knowledge or ability level, can participate in. Continue reading