Place Matters is a national learning community of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, Health Policy Institute (HPI) designed to improve the health of participating communities by addressing social conditions that lead to poor health.

Congregations for Public Health (CPH), a Jefferson County based 501(c)3 non-profit organization makes up the Jefferson County Alabama Place Matters Team.  CPH is a faith based grass roots organization in existence for four (4) years with a focus on organizing and empowering churches, to address the overall issue of health disparities in their communities.  CPH churches operate within a one (1) mile radius of their address.  Key existing local partners include the Jefferson County Department of Health, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, the Alabama Department of Public Health, Office of Minority Health, and City, County and state elected officials and legislative bodies.  All of these entities are extremely important to our efforts to reduce the instance of obesity in Jefferson County Alabama communities.  Our most critical partners are the thirty plus (30+) local churches which represent a cross-section of religious denominations, and local grassroots Clergy organizations such as Clergy That Care and the Ministerial Brotherhood.  These organizations enable our team to present needed information directly from the pulpit to people that need to be made aware of what is needed to improve their individual health.

Current reports indicate:

• 15% are overweight (Alabama)
• 18% are at risk for becoming overweight (Alabama)
• 85% ate fruits and vegetables less than 5 times per day during the past 7 days (Alabama)
• 68% did not meet currently recommended levels of physical activity (Alabama)
• 47% did not attend physical education classes (Alabama)
• 55% did not attend physical education classes daily (Alabama)
• 58% of African American men and 69% of African American women are either overweight or obese (National)
• Among Black children 6-11 years of age, 17% of boys and 22% of girls are overweight (National)
• Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming obese adults, increasing to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese
• Increasing numbers of African Americans are suffering from health problems due to obesity
• Limited access to and poor dietary choices, sedentary lifestyles, cultural norms and low socioeconomic status contribute to the high prevalence of obesity and overweight among African Americans

Currently CPH/Jefferson County Place Matters serve 6 of the oldest and poorest communities in Jefferson County.  CPH’s neighborhood outreach capacity touches almost ½ of African Americans in Jefferson County and ¼ of Alabama’s African American population, reaching 115,000 minorities underserved in the churches and surrouding neighborhoods within a one (1) mile radius of each church.  92% are African American (primarily US born); 1% Hispanic/Latino.  23% are age 5-19; 48% are age 20-54; and 21% are age 55-85.  54% of this population is female.  Poverty in these communities ranges from 44.2% to 85.1%, representing some of the most serious poverty in the state.  CPH/Jefferson County Place Matters will target these communities with a focus on reducing the risk factors through education, and addressing local, state and national policy which affect environmental conditions contributing to the high rates of obesity among this population.  

The CPH/Jefferson County Place Matters team has been working diligently towards development of a project based approach to positively affecting the communities we serve in Jefferson County Alabama.  Our primary objectives are outlined below:

• Ministerial Alliance:  CPH/Jefferson County Place Matters will build upon its current ministerial alliance with the following local groups serving communities which CPH currently serve:
• Ministerial Brotherhood:  A locally organized 501(c)3 non-profit organization of Pastors, ministers and County health officials focused on serving at-risk youth and needs of the community.
• Clergy That Care:  A local organization of Pastors, Ministers and community activists focused on identification of, and response to the needs of communities currently served by CPH.
• Alabama Department of Public Health-Office of Minority Health:  CPH/Place Matters is in the process of forming statewide leadership responsibilities for the ADPH-OMH to reach minority communities throughout Alabama. This relationship allow CPH, with its capacity to organize, network and manage ministerial relationships towards the reduction of disparities through the church, to utilize it’s infrastructure statewide.
• Alabama Obesity Task Force:  CPH/Place Matters currently serve on the AOTF as Ministerial leadership for addressing the issue of obesity throughout Alabama.
• University Alliance:  CPH/Place Matters is currently partnered with the world renowned University of Alabama at Birmingham – School of Public Health and School of Nursing.  We are growing our relationship in this area to gain the support and services of other disciplines within the university in addressing the issue of obesity.
• Legislative Alliance:  Recently the Jefferson County state legislature delegation recognized the CPH/Place Matters efforts to address obesity in Jefferson County (Draft Resolution Attached)
• Corporate Sponsorship:  Our next target is to gain corporate sponsorship of our efforts to address obesity in Jefferson County Alabama.  Our plans include targeting local banking, power, retail and manufacturing institutions for financial support in our efforts.
• Grants:  Under the banner of CPH we are seeking grant opportunities to provide financial support for our efforts.

As a result of the efforts of CPH/Place Matters we will create intervention on the issue of obesity in Jefferson County, championed through the Pulpits of the community and supported by institutional stakeholders from the community.  CPH is currently structured to provide on-site referral and services through its certified Neighborhood Outreach Specialists (NOSy).  Each CPH church incorporates a small group of dedicated volunteers.  CPH will utilize its infrastructure to educate the Pastor on the issue(s), and bring attention to the congregation/community through the Pastor, NOSy and volunteer.  CPH further plan to participate in economic development discussions to advocate for revitalization of communities that are health (exercise) friendly.