NEW YORK (November 5, 2015) — Thousands of low-income urban youth will see their long-term economic prospects improved by learning about the economic impact of unhealthy behaviors and the lack of health insurance, thanks to a new partnership between the National Urban League and AmeriCorps, National Urban League President Marc H. Morial announced.
“Health and work are inextricably linked; good health is essential to productive employment and attaining long-term economic security through work,” Morial said. “However, ‘young invincibles,’ as uninsured youth are known, lack health insurance and the health education they need to make good choices, often with devastating consequences for their long-term earning potential.“
In partnership with four Urban League affiliates, NUL will recruit and train 20 AmeriCorps members, who will help improve the economic prospects of low-income youth in their communities by teaching them about healthy living practices, and the importance of signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. At the end of the first program year, the AmeriCorps members will have provided at least 8,000 participants with health education workshops.
In addition, the AmeriCorps members will have improved their own long-term employment prospects by earning both the Project Wellness culturally relevant health curriculum credential from NUL, as well as the Certified Peer Educator credential, issued by NASPA, the National Association of Peer Educators.
Morial explained, “Training AmeriCorps in low-income urban communities to educate their peers about health issues and the need for health insurance is a true win-win, as it will increase economic security for low-income youth, while also allowing the AmeriCorps members to enter career pathways in one of America’s fastest-growing industry sectors.”
The health education workshops provided by the members will cover topics such as the importance of exercise and healthy eating, especially in relation to long-term earning potential.
“In the short term, these interventions will lead to increased connection to work and increased productivity,” Morial said. “In the long term, they will result in increased economic security.”
AmeriCorps members have been recruited from among graduates of the National Urban League’s signature Urban Youth Empowerment Program, which targets young adult high school dropouts and youth involved in the criminal justice system, as well as similar programs at Urban League affiliates.
The NUL AmeriCorps Healthy Living Peer Educator program will operate through Urban League affiliates in Chicago, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; New Orleans, Louisiana and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from June 2015 through August 2018.
