Hana Ali, MD, has immersed herself in the New Haven community since she arrived at Yale in 2017 for psychiatry residency.
When the weather was warm, she volunteered for the Armory Community Garden, a project of the Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hills (WEB) neighborhood that transformed an expansive patch of grass off County Street into an abundant garden.
Ali, a PGY-2 in the Yale Department of Psychiatry, and her fellow gardeners traded trowels and watering cans for weights and workout gear this winter. On most Wednesdays and Saturdays, they gather at the Whalley Avenue police substation for an up-tempo exercise class that promotes not only health and wellness but continues to connect and engage community members.
Nadine Horton, a Research Assistant at Yale School of Medicine and WEB’s community management chair, spearheaded the exercise program after the gardeners asked for another outlet to keep them engaged when it became too cold to garden.
Horton, Ali, and other volunteers met through the fall and made plans to offer the exercise class at a low cost to the neighbors. They connected with Adrion Russell, a WEB resident and fitness instructor, who offered to lead the classes at a reduced rate for his neighbors.
The participants have set fitness and weight-loss goals and are tracking their progress throughout the 26-week program. Some classes will conclude with nutrition and mental health workshops led by Ali and other group members.
Ali said her participation in both the garden project and fitness class has been personally transformative.
“Over the past year, I have witnessed grassroots organizing in action,” she said. “I am understanding the great power that communities have within themselves to build their own visions of their neighborhoods. I feel extremely privileged to be a part of this exciting initiative.”
From an academic standpoint, she said the strong connections between neighbors and communities promotes mental and physical wellbeing.
“As a member of the WEB community, I am helping the team document this grassroots initiative; helping survey participants to assess need; and eventually, helping disseminate this grassroots model to other neighborhoods in New Haven,” she said.
The fitness classes will continue through the winter and into the spring until the ground thaws and the garden can be reborn.