DIVISIONS OVERVIEW

The Health Equity Division addresses disparities in healthcare access, education, and outcomes caused by decades of systemic disinvestment. The division focuses on prevention, awareness, and navigation.

- Maternal and infant health
- Men’s health and prostate cancer awareness
- Chronic disease prevention
- Mental and behavioral health education

Northeast Mississippi Healthy Start (NEMHS) is a regional maternal and infant health initiative operating under RAD’s Health Equity Division. Healthy Start focuses on reducing disparities in maternal and infant outcomes through community-driven strategies and consortium leadership.

Healthy Start operates through a regional consortium model bringing together healthcare providers, public-health agencies, nonprofits, and community leaders. RAD provides strategic coordination, convening partners, aligning priorities, and elevating community voice.

• Enhancing Maternal and Infant Health Education
• Raising awareness on issues impacting maternal and infant health outcomes
• Strengthening support networks for mothers and babies

This division approaches violence as a public-health issue, emphasizing prevention, healing, and trauma-informed strategies rather than reaction alone.

- Community-based violence prevention
- Conflict resolution training
- Trauma-informed dialogue
- Restorative practices
- School and neighborhood partnerships 

This division connects historic redlining to modern disparities in housing, health, and wealth through education, data, and systems literacy.

- Fair housing education
- Nonpartisan policy literacy
- Community data analysis and mapping
- Equitable development education
- Resident empowerment tools

Economic stability is foundational to health and safety. This division builds pathways to long-term stability and opportunity.

- Financial literacy
- Workforce readiness
- Youth entrepreneurship
- Resource navigation and referrals