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Community Health Brings Healthy Living Program to Three Rivers

August 29, 2024

It’s early May and at Three Rivers Community College that means final exams.

Finals equal stress on top of what students deal with daily as they navigate school, jobs, family and life in general.

It made sense then that the final installment of a five-part healthy living series Hartford HealthCare’s community health team brought to the school focused on ways to recognize and reduce stress. Community health nurse Michele Brezniak spoke with students about physical and mental symptoms of stress, sharing strategies to address it.

“Happy Hearts and Healthy Happenings” resulted from a collaboration between Three Rivers, HHC, the Norwich NAACP, Sankofa Education and Leadership Inc., and Chelsea Groton Bank.

“This is another example of the ways we work with community partners to bring health education and information directly to those who need it,” says Joe Zuzel, director of community health for eastern Connecticut. “We know the challenges college students face and worked with partners to bring this program to fruition.”

Held weekly at Three Rivers, each session attracted dozens of students for topics like healthy eating on a budget, personal safety, money management and community resources. Attendees received gas cards and gift cards to local stores and prizes such as air fryers and yoga kits.

Rebecca Kitchell, Three Rivers associate dean of student development, hopes to make the program a regular part of each semester.

“We’ve had a great partnership with Hartford HealthCare’s community health for some time,” she says. “When Joe (Zuzel) brought the idea of health education provided to students right on campus, something that we don’t have the funding to offer ourselves, that’s the best offer I’d gotten in a while!”

Students at the school, she adds, face myriad challenges.

“Our students sometimes struggle with the basics,” she notes. “Having this series that supports wellness in a multitude of ways, from diet to mental health to safety, is a great resource.”

Shiela Hayes, founding member and vice chair of Sankofa, which helps underserved youth find pathways to college and careers, says COVID shifted the focus for students to more immediate unmet needs.

“Trauma, suicide, depression,” Hayes says. “We needed ways to provide them with education and advocacy for those needs as well.”

Grant applications were submitted for the program and, with the funding from the General Assembly’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus (spearheaded by Norwich state Rep. Derell Wilson), the project moved forward.

“We saw the turnout and benefits,” Hayes says. “We saw both the need and the interest. It shows the value of having strong collaborative partners like Hartford HealthCare. Their expertise is of such value to these programs.”

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