by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Healthy Jacksonville, a non-profit community initiative, met recently with the City Council Public Health and Safety Committee and the Department of Community Services in an effort to get one thing: City support.
“A lot of people assume that because we’re called Healthy Jacksonville we’re a City commission,” said Dr. Antoinette Lloyd, director of the initiative. “But, interestingly, we don’t receive any funding from the City.”
Healthy Jacksonville was formed in June 2002 as part of a locally-based national agenda, Healthy People 2010. The group hopes to lower the frequency of health risks before the end of the decade.
Wednesday afternoon at City Hall, Lloyd appeared before the Department of Community Services in hopes of getting a public service grant totaling $19,200. The money would go towards educating three at-risk zip codes in Jacksonville on how to avoid strokes.
“I’m not sure if we’re going to get it or not,” said Lloyd. “I’m not sure they understand how we are different from Jax Care or Shands. We do more than just take care of the uninsured or people with little money. While that is one of the things we do, we want to work towards eliminating all health disparities in Jacksonville. We want to help everyone in the city.”
With a little more time, Lloyd said she could have better convinced the department.
“You’re only given one or two minutes to speak and then they ask questions,” she said. “When you walk out, you start thinking about all of the things that you would have or could have said.”
At a meeting last January with Council member Gwen Yates and the Public Health and Safety Committee, Lloyd petitioned for a grant worth “just under $50,000.” In March, a formal proposal was submitted.
“We haven’t heard back from them,” said Lloyd, “but I’m sure they are staying pretty busy until after the elections. I hope we get it, though, because we would use that money for a year-long campaign to promote nutrition.”
Though fund raising would greatly help Healthy Jacksonville’s efforts, Lloyd said they need more than dollars.
“Money would definitely assist us in our efforts,” she said, “but we need advocates at City Hall from the mayor on down. This is a citywide effort and we need the City on board to make it work.”