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Young Arab-American Who Builds Bridges Between Detroit's Arabs and
African American Receives $120,000 Health Leadership Award
Innovators in Health Awarded $1.2 Million from the Robert
Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program
Detroit, MI - June
27, 2006 Monty Fakhouri is a man with a mission: to provide the poor
residents of Metropolitan Detroit, including Arab-Americans and
African-Americans, with access to culturally-appropriate health care and prevention
services. Fakhouri is Director of Public Health and Youth Services for the
Arab-American and Chaldean Council (ACC), which serves some 80,000 poor
residents of Detroit.
ACC has 39 outreach offices throughout Southeastern Michigan, home to one
of the most ethnically diverse populations in the United States.
The
state of Michigan is home to the largest
concentration of Arab/Chaldean people (Middle Easterners from Iraq) outside the Middle
East, with an estimated 500,000 immigrants and refugees who have
fled unstable conditions in their homeland. The Arab/Chaldean population is
considered to be the third largest ethnic/minority in the state.
One
of Fakhouri's toughest challenges has been
overcoming the resistance that many Arab immigrants and refugees have to
western health promotion and preventive medicine. Another is making
connections between Arab-Americans and other groups in the area, especially
African- Americans. Above all, he recognizes the importance of serving the
needs of young people and recently helped to develop a new ACC Youth Center
that offers a safe place to play and study.
It
is for his work with ACC that Fakhouri is being honored as one of 10
outstanding individuals from across America chosen to receive the
2006 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program award.
Fakhouri
has created numerous programs in addition to those focused on vulnerable
youth, including cancer screenings and education, women and heart disease,
diabetes awareness, and HIV/AIDS education.
"Mr.
Fakhouri's combined youth and health work has
resulted in a growing understanding between the area's two ethnic
groups," said Joan Abbey, a research scientist at Eastern Michigan
University.
"Given the historical antipathy of the African-American and Arabic
community in Detroit,
this is a major success in building bridges."
The
National Football League agrees. It has selected Fakhouri to lead the
"One World One Team" multicultural activities for youth during
the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit.
"Last
summer's devastating hurricanes brought into focus for all Americans the
gaping holes in this country's safety net," said Catherine Dunham, Ed.D., Program Director, Robert Wood Johnson Community
Health Leadership Program. "It reinforced what we know to be true;
that local leaders taking the initiative are really the first and best
responders whether the issue is access to care or youth development in
underserved areas."
The
program awards $1.2 million each year to health leaders who have surmounted
personal and other obstacles to help Americans gain access to heath care
and social services. Fakhouri and this year's other health leaders were
honored at a June 21 event at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New
Jersey. He will receive $105,000 to further the
work of his program and a $15,000 personal award.
Fakhouri
was chosen from more than 300 people nominated this year. Since 1992, the
program has distributed 140 awards in 47 states, Washington,
D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Those chosen are nominated by civic leaders, health professionals,
government representatives and others inspired by their efforts to provide
essential health services to their communities. This year's award winners
represent urban and rural areas of Arizona,
Colorado, Florida,
Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Nevada, and the District of Columbia.
Arab American and Chaldean Council
ACC
is the largest non-profit human service organization to provide services to
the Middle Eastern Community in Southeast Michigan.
For more information on ACC services, please visit us at www.myacc.org.
Website: http://www.myacc.org
The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health
care issues facing our country. As the nation’s largest philanthropy
devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all
Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and
individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and
timely change. For more than 30 years the Foundation has brought experience,
commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect
the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping
Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation
expects to make a difference in your lifetime.
Website: http://www.rwjf.org
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