The planning for the Men’s Health Night III: Real Talk is underway. A dozen professionals met virtually on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 for about two hours talking about the next plan of action. The result…a session that will provide resources for all men in attendance to help feed their minds, bodies, and souls. This is brought to you by the University of Wisconsin-Madison All of Us Milwaukee team at the Center for Community Engagement and Health Partnerships, along with support from Unity Gospel House of Prayer, Raising the Bar non-profit and the Community Action Aging Resource Network (CAARN). Bashir Easter, Ph.D., assistant director of UW All of Us Milwaukee joins us with an update.
Milwaukee Times: Dr. Easter, how pleased were you with this week’s planning session?
Dr. Bashir Easter: I was extremely pleased. Our planning session had some wonderful experts with all kinds of ideas. We talked about the origin of Men’s Health Night, how it formed because of a conversation at the barbershop; how after two sessions of men learning about their blood pressure numbers and watching a movie about how stress impacts us all, we have a series. The men who have been attending want to learn more about their health and how they can maintain their health, mentally and physically.
Milwaukee Times: So, what can men expect?
Dr. Bashir Easter: The series is now solidified. On Men’s Health Night III: Real Talk, our meeting will set the stage for the first quarter of the year. After a brief background and an icebreaker, we will be talking, specifically, about the mind, body, and spirit. Pastor Clem Richardson from Kingdom Empowered Ministries, who is also a mental health and clinical substance abuse counselor, will talk about the importance of being in a right mind. He will be followed by fitness trainer, Leonard Wilson, who will talk about how crucial it is to exercise and eat nutritious meals. Finally, Pastor Andrew Calhoun of Grace Fellowship Church of Milwaukee and Pastor Marlon Lock of Unity Gospel House of Prayer will end the session on a spiritual note. There will be incentives for the attendees. You must attend to find out about those.
Milwaukee Times: Tell us again when the next Men’s Night takes place.
Dr. Bashir Easter: Men’s Health Night III takes place on Friday, December 17 at 6 p.m. If you would like to register, scan the respective flyer, or use this link: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMvdOmuqjwjGNATfy6nqeVDhMNKHnoTHSrm.
Milwaukee Times: Dr. Easter, why is men’s health important to All of Us?
Dr. Bashir Easter: We may not always appreciate it, but science and research are crucial to our lives, and we need to understand it and take part in it. We have the opportunity to use our Men’s Health Nights to build a cohort of men to be involved in health literacy and science and research in the All of Us program. We are pushing to have 100 men on December 17th. We want to educate the men about the All of Us program, enroll them and get them to the point of getting their genetic code. Then they can be a part of a focus group with some of our partners, and we can begin building the structure for what we are calling community scientists. What we learn together could improve our community’s overall health, and that’s why this series is so important to All of Us. For more information or to make an appointment to enroll, call (414) 219-3810, Option 1 or visit nationally, https://www.joinallofus.org/.
