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Observation 2: ReachUp
During the 6th week of classes this semester, we had a presentation by Dr. Austin, the

Director of Community Engagement from ReachUp. ReachUp was originally founded as the

Central Hillsborough Healthy Start Program until it transitioned in 2009 to a not-for-profit

organization focused on helping communities obtain equality within healthcare and positive

health goals for families. During this presentation, Dr. Austin discussed the goals of ReachUp

which are to increase healthy behaviors, improve birth outcomes, improve preconception care,

and increase health knowledge. In order to achieve these goals, ReachUp provides home

visitation, peer/clinical support groups, parental involvement programs, and community

engagement opportunities. From this presentation by Dr. Austin, I became more interested in

learning more about the program, and I decided to contact Ms. Simon about an opportunity to

observe.

ReachUp provides opportunities for mothers, fathers, and children to meet together

monthly at the St. John Missionary Baptist Church for a ReachUp Community Council Meeting.

While present at the past month’s Community Council meeting, it was considered the report out

meeting because all community partners and organizations were reporting on the successes of

their programs. At this monthly meeting, mothers, children, case managers, community partners,

and organizations were all present. The meeting opened with announcements, and each

community partner shared information about their programs. During the meeting mothers and

parents can meet with their case managers and conduct home visits during breaks or during the

meeting itself. I found this helpful, and I noticed that many mothers utilized that opportunity and

met with their case managers throughout the progression of the meeting. Also, for children two

years of age and up, arts and crafts were present for their entertainment. Some organizations that
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were present are Healthy Start, Children’s Resource Center, 24/7 Dad (Fatherhood program), and

Child Find. Each program shared information such as opportunities for activities and resources.

Child Find was a new program to the Community Council meeting and focused on the emphasis

of getting the developmental and behavioral screening done for children early. At the conclusion

of their presentation, a mother who participates in ReachUp shared a personal story about her son

who has been dealing with behavioral and developmental delays. I thought this was impactful to

have a peer share a personal testimony with the other mothers. I believe that her story indicated

just how important a program like Child Find is for getting children screened early. Within

ReachUp, peer support programs are offered to participants, and during the meeting a mother

shared her experience dealing with breastfeeding, recognizing postpartum depression, and

interconception care after the birth of her child. She expressed how participating in the peer

support group helped her get through those experiences. During the meeting, there was also

lunch provided, and during this time there are opportunities for more home visits with case

managers.

This observation was refreshing because of the amount of information and resources that

were shared throughout the meeting. It was exciting to see a small portion of the number of

networks, partners, and resources that ReachUp provides to participants of their programs. From

what I was able to observe, ReachUp does an excellent job catering to the population that they

work alongside. I noticed that Spanish translators were present and ReachUp works with

churches in the community to provide transportation for mothers and children to attend

appointments. By addressing the barriers of lack of transportation and lack of cultural

competency, mothers, children, and families can increase healthy behaviors and health overall,

because barriers to access to care are being eliminated. This observation with ReachUp was very
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informative and made me more aware of resources available the women, children, and infants in

Hillsborough County.