Susan Heil's Contact Details

Susan Heil's Company Details

Urban Health Media Project

Washington, DC, US • 10 - 19 Employees
Non-Profit

Urban Health Media Project (UHMP) trains high school students from under-resourced communities to report, write, and broadcast stories about health and social issues that affect their neighborhoods and cities, and the potential solutions to address them. UHMP students learn to harness the power of their voices as journalists to share the rich experiences of their communities in a way that honors, informs and empowers.We understand that "healthiness" results from a variety of forces as described by the World Health Organization: "Healthiness is not the absence of disease, but the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of a person or community." Not a day goes by without a news report highlighting socioeconomic and racial disparities in health outcomes; the insidious impact of violence; the alarming rise in teen suicide; and the importance of health policy concerns within the American political debate. Our students' multimedia reporting on these and other topics include video, podcasts, articles, and photography produced under the guidance of a diverse and experienced group of journalists that include reporters and editors who work or have worked at media outlets including USA TODAY, The Baltimore Sun, The Wall St. Journal, and The Washington Post. Our goal is to help our students better understand and communicate about health issues and disparities that directly affect them, and to foster a generation of diverse journalists that will enter and enrich news organizations across the country.