Hope in Public Health: A Q&A with Lauren Sayah
by Julia Nunez
Project Hope, the Community Service Center’s public-health-focused volunteer program, encourages students to discover connections between socioeconomic status and health through service and reflection. I spoke with Lauren Sayah (SAR ’18), Project Hope’s program manager, about intersectionality, the program’s future and what gives her hope.
When did you originally become involved with the CSC?
L: My involvement with the CSC in general started my freshman year when I did FYSOP as a first-year… and I’ve been involved with the CSC in various ways ever since. It’s been a journey. When I was deciding to apply to be program manager, I thought that Project Hope would be the best fit because I’m passionate about public health in so many ways… and how it can encompass pretty much anything you want it to.
Who are some of the community partners that Project Hope works with, and do you have any favorites?
L: A lot of them are my dream employers. If I could work for any of them, it would be the AIDS Action Committee, and their connection with the needle exchange program, and Fenway Health because my big interest lies in the opioid epidemic and coming up with public health strategies to address the epidemic.
What has been your favorite part of Project Hope?
L: I really enjoyed getting to know what CPs (community partners) we work with and what the volunteers do with the community partners. But I’ve also really enjoyed the collaborative aspect of what Project Hope brings with the other programs here at the CSC, like Empowerment League and Joining Hands, and planning events with them. Because Project Hope encompasses everything, I kind of am able to do anything that I can fit into the time!
What are your hopes for the future of this program?
L: My goal is to bring more education into Project Hope, so having volunteers discuss what they’re seeing at their CPs and what they’re learning about Project Hope… as well as how public health connects with everything.
Who is someone you look up to?
L: Somebody I look up to us Roxane Gay, who wrote Bad Feminist. But also so many people. This past summer, I interned at a place, ROCA Inc., that pushes criminal justice reform, and I worked directly with a woman named April. Just seeing how much she cared for the young men that the organization works for was just a really cool thing because I was able to see how much these young men look to her for life advice and how good of an effect she had on their lives.
Can people still get involved with Project Hope?
L: We have a couple volunteer opportunities available right now on Thursdays. There are also a couple volunteer opportunities throughout the week, and there will be one-time events coming up. I recommend filling out the form online and getting on the e-mail list so that at the start of next semester you can volunteer.
What are the upcoming events?
L: Project Hope is collaborating with Joining Hands, which is a program that works with people who are differently-abled and the elderly, in an event called Health is in Our Hands on November 2nd at 7p.m. at the CSC, 4th floor at GSU in the Room of Requirement!
When you’re having a bad day, what gives you hope?
L: I think what gives me hope is hearing the goals of people around me, whether it’s friends or someone new, because I see a lot of people hoping to do good in the world, and coming from a place of just caring about others, hearing them talk about what they want to do and how they want to help people gives me hope. A lot of the time right now, it can feel like a lot of people just don’t care about others. I think as this generation takes over, it will hopefully take a turn toward caring about people. That is my hope!
For more information about Project Hope, visit its page on the CSC website.