Healthcare doesn't always happen in a hospital. Sometimes it happens in a barbershop. Sometimes it happens over a shared meal at church. Sometimes it happens because someone from your neighborhood took the time to walk you through an application you didn't understand.

That's the work of a Community Health Worker.

In this episode of The Faith Network Podcast, we sit down with two women doing transformational work across Arkansas—connecting people to resources, building trust where the system has failed, and proving that healthcare access starts with relationship.

Jennifer Coopwood – Certified Community Health Worker and Community Health Coordinator for the UAMS Barbershop Talk Research Study

Dr. Brittany Ayers – Assistant Professor at UAMS College of Nursing–Northwest, specializing in maternal and child health research with rural and Marshallese communities

Here's what we cover:

• What is a Community Health Worker? CHWs connect people to housing, medical care, employment, and social services. They help with applications, make phone calls, and walk alongside pregnant mothers. The titles vary—navigator, coordinator, advocate—but the mission is the same: be the bridge.
• The Barbershop Talk Study: Jennifer coordinates a UAMS research initiative focused on men's health and reducing unhealthy drinking—conducted inside barbershops across Arkansas. Why barbershops? Because they're sanctuaries. Safe spaces. And the results speak for themselves: 60+ shops, 600+ men, and real behavior change at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Find them on Facebook and Instagram: UAMS Barbershop Talk.
• Reaching the Marshallese community: Dr. Ayers has spent years building trust in Northwest Arkansas—attending church, sharing meals, listening first. Her team created group prenatal and postpartum care programs that replace traditional models with culturally responsive, community-centered care. The outcomes have improved. The bonds have lasted.
• Expanding into the Delta: Arkansas's Delta region is an "obstetric desert"—a red zone for maternal mortality. Dr. Ayers is working to bring these programs statewide, reaching the communities that need them most.
• Why CHWs matter: They demystify healthcare. They translate medical language into something you can actually understand. They reduce fear. And now, CHW services are covered by Medicaid—making this model more sustainable than ever.
• How to become a CHW: Certification is available through ARCHWA (Arkansas Community Health Workers Association) at ARCHWA.com. The application fee is $50, and certification lasts two years. ARCHWA hosts an annual summit that brings CHWs together from across the state.

Jennifer said it best: "Anybody can be a community health worker—but not everybody can be a community health worker." It takes authenticity. It takes passion. And it takes showing up where people already are.

Connect with the guests:

• UAMS Barbershop Talk: Facebook & Instagram
• Dr. Brittany Ayers: blayers@uams.edu

We're not fine. And it's time we stop pretending we are.

In this episode of The Faith Network Podcast, we continue our critical conversation on men's health in Arkansas. The Faith Network launched this series after realizing that many of our partners—men leading in ministry and community work—were experiencing health crises in silence. If it's happening to them, it's happening to the men in our churches and neighborhoods.

Our panel returns:

Dr. Austin Porter – Deputy State Epidemiologist and Chief Science Officer at the Arkansas Department of Health, and Associate Professor at UAMS College of Public Health

Rev. Johnnie Smith – Senior Pastor of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Pine Bluff

Kelvin Parker – Founder and Executive Director of GOAT (Giving Others Ambition Together)

This week we unpack:

• The life expectancy gap: Men in Arkansas live six years less than women on average. In Northwest Arkansas, men live to 78. In Phillips County? Just 68. Geography is shaping destiny.
• The mental health crisis hiding in plain sight: 60% of Arkansas men report zero days of poor mental health. Only 18% have been diagnosed with depression. Yet suicide rates for men are five times higher than women. We're saying we're okay—but we're not.
• The stigma that's killing us: When churches host mental health events, most attendees are women. Men find coping mechanisms, but never address the root. That has to change.
• Reaching the next generation: Kelvin Parker shares how GOAT is building health into the DNA of young people—exercise, mental wellness, and eating habits—before bad patterns take root.
• Resources you can use today: The Arkansas Minority Health Commission operates a 38-foot mobile health unit providing free screenings at churches and community events. UAMS offers a free clinic three days a week. Call 501-686-2720 to schedule.

Dr. Porter said it plainly: "A lot of times people will listen to their pastor before their physician." That's why the church has to lead here. Rev. Smith is already taking action—returning to Shiloh to appoint a health coordinator for his congregation.

What will you do?

This episode is brought to you by the Translational Research Institute.