The Arab American and Chaldean Council's Public Health Department in partnership with William Beaumont Hospital presented the 2nd Annual Cancer Education, Prevention and Early Detection Forum. The seminar drew community members and medical health professionals together to discuss and make improvements in cancer related issues and to educate and work towards the decrease of cancer incidences among the Middle Eastern community in Southeast Michigan.

Approximately 200 participants had the opportunity to visit vendors and speak with health representatives. Emcee William Salaita, ACC Director and "Maal Jalia" Arabic Radio Talk Show Host introduced the evenings special guests and presenters. Opening remarks were presented by Frank A Vincini, M.D., Chief of Oncology at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, and Dr. Radwan Khoury, ACC President/COO.

Presenters included Beaumont resident staff members, Samer Ballouz, MD, Samer Jamil, MD, and Muhyi Al Sarraf, MD. The presentations covered the most common cancers found in people from the Middle Eastern culture, the importance of early detection and treatment of cancer, and cancer prevention and information on the benefits of clinical trials.

Presentations were presented in Arabic and English on over-head screens. The seminar concluded with a question and answer session and dinner.

ACC held a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, June 14, 2006 for the English-as-a Second Language (ESL) Program in honor of 58 proud adult-student. Located at our ADL Adult Learning Center in the Warrendale district of Detroit, the ESL Program is a two-semester curriculum which began in September 2005 and concluded June, 2006.

Graduating students included individuals from the community as well as mainstream individuals who registered for the program to improve their English skills. Funded by Detroit Public Schools, the objective of the ESL Program is to teach English to newly arrived immigrants who want to assimilate into the American culture, primarily Arab women who expressed great interest in learning the English language in order to better function in daily living outside their homes.

According to the ACC ESL Program instructor Dr. Jawad Marzook, over 150 students are expected to register for Fall. Evening classes are being added in order to accommodate individuals who work during the day.  Registration for the upcoming semester begins mid July and runs through the end of August. For further information and to register please call the ACC Adult Learning Center at 313-584-4137.

The Seven Mile Project Taskforce met on June 13, 2006 at the ACC Youth Recreation & Leadership Center. Dr. Haifa Fakhouri, ACC President & CEO welcomed and thanked the Taskforce members for their continued support and input and introduced the new ONCR Director, Ms. Marja Winters. Taskforce Chair, Ms. Brenda Schneider of Comerica Bank reported that the Taskforce is on schedule to complete its required 2006 goals and objectives. The Taskforce congratulated the owners of the most recent three new façades completed on Seven Mile and unveiled the Spring, 2006 edition of the Seven Mile Spotlight Newsletter.

Mr. Isa Hasan, ACC Project Director gave an overview of the new Seven Mile business services as highlighted in the Spring, 2006 Spotlight Newsletter: Security Audits, Business Watch Program, Youth Internship Program, Detroit Micro Loan Program. Mr. Hasan gave an update on the streetscape project and Cool Cities site visit.

The Michigan Department of Human Services awarded the Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) the Summer Youth Initiative Grant in the amount of $21,600 to provide summer programming to at-risk youth.

The Summer Youth Initiative is an annual Wayne County Department of Human Services (DHS) event to provide cultural, recreational and educational related activities for children between the ages of 10- 17 years old.

ACC's Summer Youth Camp will provide six-weeks of enrichment and recreational activities for 35 Detroit youth between the ages of 9-14 years old. Each week will offer a new theme that encourages diversity, community awareness, leadership and life skills and will include field trips, arts and crafts, board games, sports, and free health screenings.

ACC will be serving as an advisor for the University of Michigan's 2006 Summer Youth Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity in Metropolitan Detroit. As an Advisor ACC assists participants in the planning and implementation of the community projects.

This program aims to increase dialogues on race and ethnicity among high school age youth in the neighborhoods and suburbs of metropolitan Detroit, the nation’s most segregated metropolitan area. It seeks to reduce racial segregation and enable young people to plan action projects that challenge discrimination, build relationships, and create change. More than 60 young people of African, Asian, European, Latino and Latina, and Middle Eastern descent will participate in structured intergroup dialogues and other activities addressing race and ethnicity. Each distinct group will be paired with another group of a different social identity, and will meet with them for a series of sessions in each of the communities.

Monty Fakhouri, ACC Public Health and Youth Services Director’s innovative work in reaching out to the community is recognized by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for his exemplary health leadership skills. Fakhouri’s responsibilities as Director of ACC's Public Health and Youth Services has taken an interesting route in assisting the pressing needs of under-privileged youth and their families. Fakhouri sought out creative resources to provide Arab/Chaldean and African Americans easier accessibility to public health services in order to better serve individuals who may have various barriers in attaining culturally-appropriate health care and prevention services as well as the much-needed after-school activities for youth in one of Detroit’s most underserved areas.

"Mr. Fakhouri's combined youth and health work has resulted in a growing understanding between the area's two ethnic groups," said Joan Abbey, a research scientist at Eastern Michigan University. "Given the historical antipathy of the African-American and Arabic community in Detroit, this is a major success in building bridges."

Fakhouri has helped bring various programs focused on at-risk youth, including prevention screenings, educational seminars, women’s cardiovascular disease, diabetes awareness, and HIV/AIDS education.

Fakhouri and all other health leader award recipients were honored on June 21 at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. His program will receive $105,000 to further the work of ACC’s mission in healthcare.

Fakhouri acknowledged that the award is a great honor and attributed the program’s success to the health and youth programs staff for their team effort and collaboration.

Fakhouri was chosen from more than 300 people nominated this year for their efforts to provide essential health services to their communities. This year's award winners represent urban and rural areas of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, and the District of Columbia.

Heart Healthy Summer Plans involve Exercise! Cardiovascular disease is everyone's No. 1 killer but you can substantially reduce the relative risk of coronary heart disease by adding just 30 minutes of exercise most days of the week.

No time to exercise? Think Action, standing is better than sitting; walking is better than standing. Increase your physical activity to at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week, even if you do it 10 minutes at a time.

Activities to Include in Your Daily Life
Use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Sweep the floors, wash windows or vacuum briskly.
Take your children to the park and play with them.
Write physical activity appointments in your planner.
Take a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.
take an activity break. Get up, stretch and walk around.

email: programadvocates@myacc.org

phone: (248)-559-1990

web: http://www.myacc.org