I'M SO HAPPY THAT YOU ARE HERE.

Sometimes God puts you in places and spaces that feel much bigger than you. Existing, moving, and thriving in those environments can cause you to handle a wide range of emotions and consequently can prompt you to question everything around you. Some days it can feel exciting, unique, and liberating, and other days, it will feel scary, overwhelming, and stressful. Throughout these past six months, I have experienced all of these emotions at rampant speed. Well, six months ago, I moved my life from Maryland to Chicago to embark upon a new journey. That's right! I moved during a pandemic  to chase my dreams and push myself to escape my comfort zone. That bold step to me felt a little "too good" to be "true," but I was confident that I was well prepared to go anywhere where God has instructed me to go. My core beliefs say that sometimes God puts you in "too good" to be "true" spaces which translate themselves in my mind to be "God spaces." Those are the spaces where only God can put you, and only God himself can help you maintain it all. Yeah, "That's it. That's the tweet", or whatever the kids say these days. During that time, my prayers, looked like the one quoted below. I learned then how important it was to be disciplined in your prayer life, but that is a story for another time.

   Social determinants of health impact one’s physical and mental health outcomes, but are often not prioritized in traditional healthcare service delivery. Issues such as trauma, racism, access to adequate and safe housing, nutrition and so on are all factors that influence one’s overall health and well being. For many racial and ethnic minority groups, racism and barriers to healthcare are issues that significantly impact our communities and overall quality-of-life outcomes and risks. This collection of videos, explores social determinants of health, health disparities and interventions that help to promote better access to care and community-based health initiatives that consider intersectoral actions that can rectify these challenges.    

“I am Danielle Nicole Perry, a proud Delaware State University scholar-leader who believes in getting proximate to the communities I serve. As Bryan Stevenson, founder and executive director of the nonprofit Equal Justice Institute observes in his memoir, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, proximity sheds light on some “basic and humbling truths”.

  There are some of us who tend to talk too much. Often labeled as, "smart" (not the good kind), "too deep", "too much" or an "overthinker". However, why is it that women who think  beyond the surface level are categorized this way with such negative undertones and with minimal positive affirmations. Why is it that I can be more celebrated for what makes me beautiful or "sexy", but not as much for the  attributes that make me gifted, unique, valuable and so on?  It often makes you want  to keep quiet or feel the pressure to go find a corner to sit, be pretty and soft.  Sitting is not enough, beauty is fleeting and the idea of being soft is a subjective label. Those hiding places make it much easier to be overlooked, protected or at least shielded from the backlash of criticism. It seems as if sometimes being too quick-witted or vocal about what you are passionate about gets you labeled as problematic. If it is not explicitly stated than it is indefinitely felt.

Bio

My ancestors set the stage.