Mindi Levin of Johns Hopkins University believes in teaching health professional students and educators about the importance of community engagement and service-learning. She shared her perspectives during a recent visit to Emory that was hosted by the Woodruff Health Sciences (WHSC) Office of Interprofessional Education and Collaborative Practice (IPECP) and the Woodruff Health Educators Academy (WHEA).
Levin is the founder and director of SOURCE, the community engagement and service-learning center for the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) schools of public health, nursing and medicine. She discussed the evolution of SOURCE during its almost 20-year history and how it engages JHU health professional educators and students as well as Baltimore communities in mutually beneficial partnerships that promote health and social justice.
The presentation taught Emory health educators more about the gold standard in community engagement and service-learning programs and sparked ideas for better engaging with partners in Atlanta.
“We have intentionally worked to establish trusting, respectful and reciprocal partnerships with our Baltimore community partners and the communities they serve,” Levin says. “The work required to build trusting relationships never ends, and it is essential that we continue to center communities’ voices and respond to community-identified opportunities.
“The rewards far outweigh the challenges involved with community-academic partnerships,” Levin adds. “The impact of our work is clear when we see students, educators and communities transformed through engagement in thoughtful, well-designed critical service-learning programs.”
SOURCE programs and initiatives focus on a wide range of health issues, including addiction and overdose, adolescent health, environmental challenges, food systems for health, HIV counseling and testing, health education for K-12 students, refugee health and violence prevention.
The structure of programs is also varied. Offerings include practicum experiences, service-learning courses, short-term consulting projects, co-curricular programs, professional development, field placements and more.
“We are so appreciative that Mindi shared the story of SOURCE and how she has built it into an organization that has gained the trust of community groups and organizations in Baltimore. This is an extraordinary accomplishment for a university organization, which can often struggle to gain or keep community trust,” says Jodie Guest, co-director of the WHSC Office of IPECP.
“As we explore ways to connect health professional students with community partners for mutually beneficial service-learning opportunities, SOURCE is an inspiring model. They center community voices and consistently show real impact for the students, community partners and faculty,” Guest continues.
Linda Lewin, co-director of WHEA, agrees. “Mindi has provided Emory a great blueprint for building a structure to further engage Atlanta organizations so our health professional students and educators can learn while working on projects that will lead to healthier local communities,” she said.
This was the first official collaboration between the WHSC Office of IPECP and WHEA. Beth Ann Swan co-directs the WHSC Office of IPECP with Guest; Ulemu Luhanga co-directs WHEA with Lewin.
“Hosting Mindi was a wonderful opportunity for our two organizations to collaborate and provide inspiration for the entire WHSC community to think about new ways to improve or enhance our health education, community engagement and service-learning,” Guest says.