The Neighborhood Advisory Council is the consumer driven part of Healthy Babies - Healthy Start in Kalamazoo. Parents, care-givers, health providers, and members of faith-based organizations make up the NAC. Monthly meetings are held to educate individuals and their families in the area of maternal and child health care. Participants are also given the opportunity to have their voice heard concerning any barriers that would hinder their progress toward healthier and safer living. The NAC has the power to influence and shape the services provided for women, infants, and children and is an integral part of the Healthy Babies-Healthy Start program. See the new NAC brochure!

Angela Anderson
Consortium Coordinator
Phone: 388-4200

Do you have transportation? Become a NAC Transportation Volunteer! Give others in your neighborhood a ride to and from NAC meetings and receive a $5 gas card.

Some NAC activities
Community 411 is an awareness program started by Consortium Coordinator, Angela Anderson. It's meant to help families get connected to resources available in this community. Guest presenters from various agencies and organizations come to inform NAC participants of the services they have to offer. This popular series features various topics such as:

	Housing Resources
	Diabetes
	Infant Immunizations
	Infant/Child CPR
	Job Training
	Healthy Cooking
	Scrapbooking

Teaching the Community to Have Healthy Pregnancies and Healthy Babies is a curriculum adopted from a sister Healthy Start project in Missouri. This parenting series includes important topics such as:

	Breastfeeding
	Smoking during pregnancy
	Folic acid
	Postpartum depression
	Substance abuse during pregnancy
	Safe sleeping
	Prenatal nutrition

Being a NAC member has its advantages!
Here are some examples of the many incentives for participation in the Neighborhood Advisory Council:

	Family meals at each meeting
	Transportation to and from meetings
	Childcare during meetings
	Mommy care packages
	Baby care items
	Handmade baby blankets
	Participation in community events

The NAC meets in your community
In order to draw people from several different parts of Kalamazoo the NAC meets at these sights:

	Stockbridge United Methodist Church
	Eastside Neighborhood Association
	Edison Neighborhood Association
	Douglass Community Association
	Milwood Elementary School
	The Woodward School for Technology & Research
	Edison Environmental Science Academy
	The Kalamazoo Gospel Mission
	The Salvation Army

If you know of a community site near you where the NAC could meet, please contact Angela Anderson!

NAC membership continues to grow!
The Neighborhood Advisory Council underwent restructuring in 2005 and has seen great community participation and growth in its core membership!

NAC members learn to administer infant CPR