Savannah native and author Wanda Lloyd was joined by Healthy Savannah chairperson and local storyteller Lillian Grant-Baptiste to conduct a leadership workshop for participants of Savannah’s Community Health Advocate (CHA) program on Saturday, February 4. The workshop, entitled, “Listen. Speak. Advocate: Sharing Your Story for Health Equity,” emphasized the importance of sharing one’s health story, and of listening to the stories of others.

“Storytelling is so important, it’s how we come together, how we tell our story,” said Grant-Baptiste. “It gives you an emotional balance when you’re able to tell your story and the story of what we’re doing in the community to promote health equity. It’s important to tell our story but also to listen to the stories of others and gather those stories together.”

Grant-Baptiste is an informed cultural artist, motivational speaker, and uplifting storyteller who has been showcased at storytelling and performance venues throughout the United States. She created the Leadership Development Institute, an extensive training program aimed at building the capacity of grassroots leaders to effect positive community change; and is known throughout Chatham County for her advocacy for personal, family and community empowerment.

Lloyd – a veteran newspaper editor and the author of the memoir, “Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism” – opened the training session with lessons in what she calls “deep listening.”

“Deep listening is a way to listen without interrupting, a way for people to be honest in their emotions,” she explained before splitting the audience into small groups to practice such tactics as eye contact, taking notes, remembering to focus on the storyteller and avoiding interruptions.

This event was presented by Healthy Savannah and the YMCA of Coastal Ga. through funding from a supplemental grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Although this was a private session for graduates of the Community Health Advocate program, it was filmed to be used in future training sessions.

Since the summer of 2021, Healthy Savannah and the “Y” have offered several Listening Sessions to hear from members of the community about their experiences in health advocacy, especially as it pertains to fostering COVID and flu vaccine awareness throughout the Savannah area. Healthy Savannah has additionally conducted four Community Health Advocate Training sessions since that time and has scheduled a fifth cohort for March 16, 2023.

The Community Health Advocate program is intended to broaden the initiatives of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant by increasing vaccine awareness, access and acceptance in communities at high risk of severe illness, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 or flu.

For more about Grant-Baptiste, visit lilliangrantbaptiste.com/home and healthysavannah.org/about/who-we-are. Lloyd’s Ted Talk speech is available at ted.com/talks/wanda_lloyd_words_matter?language=en