Marquette University and the United Community Center (UCC) have been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health to advance their work with minority children threatened by high health risks.
The program is one of 17 national Youth Empowerment Programs (YEP) addressing health and wellness among minority kids with combined efforts among colleges, universities, community organizations and primary education school systems.
The empowerment programs also focus on the social determinants of health.
Marquette teamed up with the UCC and Bruce Guadalupe Community School to start a program called Youth Empowered to Succeed under the national initiative.
“The UCC Youth Empowered to Succeed participants demonstrated a growth in their positive developmental assets compared to their peers,” said Ricardo Diaz, UCC executive director. “This means that the comprehensive interventions developed through the program helped them to be more focused students, more engaged in their community and more resilient in their ability to resist negative influences.”
Within the program, Marquette, the UCC and the school have promoted healthier eating habits among students through a controlled trial lunch menu.
Over a six-week trial period, administrators cut school lunch meal calories by about 400 calories. Participating students lost an average of 3.5 pounds.
“The data shows us that the Youth Empowerment Program is successful,” said Dr. Lawrence Pan, a principle investigator of YEP efforts. “But it wasn’t until we actually visited a number of these programs and saw with our own eyes the work these programs do that we fully grasped the YEP’s impact. It’s the emotional stories of students overcoming adversity that demonstrate this program is transformative.”
Data collected highlights health and wellness, sexual and reproductive health, violence prevention, and graduation rates.
According to research of YEP, 94 percent of YEP participants graduated high school, compared to a 54 percent graduate rate among general students.
In addressing health and wellness among minority youth, Marquette has been awarded another $875,000 grant over five years to support six more grantees.
“At universities and colleges whose mission, in part, is service to the community, partnerships with community-based organizations allow both institutions to do what neither could do alone,” Pan said.
