Providing quality service over the years to the Paterson community has always been our commitment and passion, especially when it comes to health and wellness. Over the past 3 months, New Destiny Family Success Center partnered with the Health Coalition of Passaic County Diabetes Initiative to promote diabetes awareness in the Paterson community. Over the past five months our team of Diabetes Warriors at NDFSC have inspired and encouraged individuals and families to develop better eating habits and exercise, along with encouraging regular medical checkups with their primary care physicians. The Diabetes Foundation, Meridian Health and St. Joseph’s hospital formed an alliance with us to ensure everyone received evidence-based information and support.
Our team at New Destiny referred several participants and families for additional care management to St. Joseph’s. One of our participants, Ms. N, visited the office seeking formula for her grandchild. During our conversation, she shared her struggles with diabetes, and we discussed a relevant program with her and made a referral.
About two weeks later, Ms. N returned to the office to share her positive experience with the future doctors. She expressed how empathetic they were, emphasizing how they explained everything, checked her sugar levels, and taught her how to read food labels. Ms. N remarked, “The future for people dealing with diabetes in low-income communities is suddenly looking brighter if these are going to be our future doctors.”
As of today, we have distributed diabetes awareness literature to over two thousand community members, hosted several outreach and workshop events based on the concerns of our beloved community. According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report 2024 documented that in 2021, more than 38 million people of all ages (11.6% of the US population) had diabetes, but 8.7 million adults (22.8% of adults with diabetes) were not aware of having diabetes. When the community comes together, we bring about change. As we learn more about the impact of this disease, we will continue to uphold the torch of awareness and support for those seeking a better life beyond diabetes.