New Orleans, LA

How They're Solving the Problem

Making Connections has helped to broaden the conversation to look at community-level strategies and to think more widely in terms of ways to address not only trauma but overall wellbeing. Making Connections has created the space for discussions around systemic oppression, community responsibility and responsiveness, and how those connect to an individual’s mental health. The coalition partners are collaborating to implement the following activities:

• An eight-week healthy masculinity group which provides men with the chance to embrace healthy models of masculinity and reflect on the ways learned gender roles can support or undercut wellbeing for themselves and for their community. Together, these men form a network of trusting relationships while redefining masculinity.
• The HOME (Helping Our Men Excel) group is a bi-monthly gathering that creates a space for all community residents to share a meal, strengthen relationships, and learn about resources for them and their neighbors. Sessions have covered topics like job readiness, hurricane preparedness, and mental health resources, all while centering on social connection. 
• MCNOLA also supports People Organizing to Obtain Leadership, referred to by community members as the POOL Party. POOL is a diverse group of St. Roch residents whose goal is to influence community development and land-use decisions to promote wellness. Their first effort is to reopen St. Roch’s public pool. Before Hurricane Katrina, the pool brought people together—it was a symbol of community health, both physically and mentally.