AHSHAY | Allies in Healthier Systems for Health & Abundance in Youth

Black History Month reflections from Ben Danielson https://lnkd.in/gGTVHmDM

This flu season is no joke. With flu cases at a 15-year high, getting your flu shot is a key step in keeping our community strong and healthy. It’s one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and others from serious illness. If you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet, it’s not too late! If you’re uninsured/don’t plan to get the vaccine at a primary care clinic, here are two options: 1) Care-a-van Walk-In Event (free) When: Saturday, February 15th, 11am-2pm Where: Care-a-van @ Yesler Community Center, 917 E. Yesler Way, Seattle 98122 Who can get vaccinated: Adults and children ages 3 and older. No proof of residency is required. Everyone is welcome. No one will be asked for place of birth or immigration information. Vaccines available: flu and COVID vaccines Hosts: Seattle Housing Authority Questions: Call 206-296-4774 or email [email protected]???????????? 2) Costco! $20 for members (good deal ??) Let's look out for each other and stay well this season. ?? #MedicineforthePeople #HealthJustice #TubmanHealth

Our AHSHAY team was deeply honored to host the legendary Lenny Wilkens. While Lenny is widely recognized for his outstanding career as both an elite NBA player and coach, his true greatness extends far beyond basketball. A true embodiment of teamwork, Lenny shared invaluable stories and insights, highlighting how effective and compassionate leadership can unlock limitless potential. Most importantly, he emphasized the importance of paying attention to young people—nurturing their growth and encouraging their leadership.

Hope you will take a moment to listen to the opening presentation by Dr. Ben Danielson, founder of AHSHAY, delivered at the 2025 NW Children's Foundation Forum. In this address, Dr. Danielson reflects on strategies for navigating the disappointment of our current reality and how we can move toward a place where we can effectively fight for a just and inclusive future. https://lnkd.in/gTeaUgCb

Join AHSHAY's founder, Ben Danielson—pediatrician, advocate, and professor of practice at the University of Washington—for an inspiring exploration of how we can support families. He will share insights on systemic advocacy, the power of collective wisdom, and the role of compassionate partnerships in transforming the lives of parents and children alike. Monday, February 24 | Noon – 1:00 p.m. KEYNOTE with Dr. Ben Danielson Parenting Through Crisis: Building Resilience, Advocating for Change, Strengthening Communities

It was wonderful to be a part of such a great gathering! Congratulations to our partner organization for a successful inaugural gala!

Here’s Dr. Ben Danielson this morning with Loria Yeadon, the CEO of the Y of Greater Seattle, talking about youth loneliness. You can tune in on King 5 New Day Northwest weekdays at 11AM!

An open letter of love to Black and Brown folks working in healthcare, You are loved. You are cherished. You are valued. Your Blackness and Brownness is wonderful; it is a world-lifting asset. And, you are valued beyond your Blackness and Brownness. You are more; all that and more. I am a Black physician and there is a part of this healthcare journey that we share. You are you, in all your individual brilliance, and we also share something. Something wonderful, despite the daily and constant ways racism seeks to undo us. You are loved. You should not have to be reminded of this; it should not have to be said. Or maybe it should be said, loudly, louder than the din that echoes in your ears, telling you your Blackness, your Brownness is quietly despised. You are cherished. And, you are on my mind. I see you. Getting up every day, going to that place, that place in healthcare, where your essentialness is stipulated and yet those other messages pervade too. You know what I mean. We know. We have eyes and ears. We witness. The Black patient’s pain being doubted. The Brown person’s diagnosis delayed. The extra scrutiny of that Black or Brown family’s behavior within our healthcare walls. Are they threatening? Do they care too much or too little? Are they worthy of healthcare or health scrutiny? You know, you live it. Even as you are twice as good, subtle messages tell you that you are not good enough. Even as you try to call out injustice, unsubtle conveyances that you are the problem. Even as you are expected to do your job and do the extra job of fixing healthcare racism, you are told you are not doing enough. I just want you to know how much you are loved, wherever you are in healthcare. Your journey is your own, your intersecting and interfacing identities are yours, not mine or anyone else’s. Yet I do see you; and I think you are magnificent. I want someone you work with to pause, as you are doing the healing things, and tell you how valued you are, how much you matter to them. I want someone who has treated you with disregard or disdain, because of your melanin, to take stock, take a moment, reach out to you and apologize. Yes, apologize. Being Black and working in healthcare is hard; harder than many others can imagine. I’m not talking about hard fifty years ago, not twenty five years ago; it’s hard today. So you deserve to hear that you are loved. You’re not alone, you’re not just surviving in isolation. You are loved, you are brilliant, you are not alone. Just wanted you to know I am thinking about you, Ben Danielson MD

August flew by, and here we are in September already! Look at what we’ve accomplished over the past month and what’s still in progress as we transition into fall. Stay tuned for more updates and join us on this journey! https://lnkd.in/g86JTCvF

Thanks to Pivotal Ventures for hosting Dr. Ben Danielson and the AHSHAY team, along with many community partners. We enjoyed the opportunity to meet Dr Alfiee Breland-Noble, founder of The AAKOMA Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization that works to raise mental health awareness and make mental health resources available for kids in underserved communities. We appreciated the wonderful connections and conversations!