Harmony Garden research academy trains residents to lead

This summer, a small group of residents in the West End will be part of a new kind of leadership development program. A year-long academy will train four women how to conduct research, how to identify health disparities and how to hone their own life and workforce skills.

The Community Resident Research Academy, the latest programming effort by the non-profit Harmony Garden, builds on more than three years of work alongside West End residents.

In that time, community researchers - all women, all mothers - have surveyed their neighbors to find out what kinds of help and support they want and need. The community research team organized a healthy, happy, hazard-free program, says Executive Director Lisa Mills.

"Over the course of the past four years, they have come so far," Mills says. Resident researchers planned monthly workshops where they and their neighbors learned about high blood pressure, cholesterol and nutrition on a budget. They even started a walking club. What excites Mills the most, though, are the intangibles that women have taken from being part of the research team.

"Being healthy and striving for a healthy life impacts their children, their families and their community," she says. "They have connected all of the dots."

Now Mills and the rest of her all-female team at Harmony Garden want to extend the dots by giving neighborhood women a path to reach broader audiences and enhance their ability to impact community development and urban planning issues. They will also design and complete a project to benefit their community. The academy is a pilot program that she hopes will act as a kind of Leadership Cincinnati for women living in disadvantaged communities.

Women accepted into the academy will be paid $8 per hour for the time they spend learning research skills, developing personal reflections and building their capacity to lead. Mills and her team have structured the program to allow the women time to continue to manage their own lives.

"We realized the women's lives are very chaotic," Mills says. "They are all mothers. They are doing the best they can for their kids."

While Mills and her team are busy recruiting women for their first class, they are also seeking additional funding. "It's a very expensive program," says Mills, who estimates it will cost $20,000 per year to sponsor one class member.

Do Good:

• Underwrite good news. Harmony Gardens is on the lookout for a sponsor for their newsletter, which reaches 6,000 homes and businesses in the West End.

• Fund a scholarship. Mills and her team welcome any level of support to offset the academy's $20,000 per student per year price tag.

• Show your stuff. Volunteer as a presenter in the academy. "It's important to expose women to people doing different jobs, particularly around health," Mills says. She hopes to have a variety of speakers to help inspire the West End women, many of whom have not traveled far outside their neighborhood boundaries. Email Lisa Mills for more information.

By Elissa Yancey

Photo courtesy Harmony Garden