Suffolk Health Outreach Partnership (SHOPs)

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2009

Suffolk Health Outreach Partnerships (SHOPs) is designed to empower underrepresented, minority barbers, beauticians, and their clients in Suffolk County with information related to disease prevention and health promotion in a culturally accepted manner. Serving as trusted sources of information, barbers and beauticians understand the communities in which they work and are able to overcome many barriers in communication. In 2006, the Office of Minority Health of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services was awarded a mini-grant from the New York State Department of Health Office of Minority Health. Due to the success of SHOPs, funding increased by 150% in the second year. In the two years since the program’s inception, OMH has worked with 25 barbers and beauticians in 12 underserved communities throughout the county, reaching over 500 people. SHOPs participants have attended community workshops covering topics on heart disease and stroke, HIV/AIDS, certain cancers, effective health communication, and the ethics of being a community health worker; participated in in-shop HIV testing, blood pressure screenings, talks on the risk factors for stroke, and CPR lessons; and distributed culturally appropriate health literature to their clients. The success of the program is due, in large, to key collaborations with several community based organizations.