BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Kimberly Hill found comfort in a support group during her struggle with diabetes, sharing in others’ experiences and learning healthier ways of living.
“You feel good about attending,” Hill said. “It was nice to see other people looking healthy with type 1 diabetes and knowing they were doing okay.”
“It’s important to see others living well with it, and those that have learned.”
The group disbanded, but years later, she made it her mission to form her own to help others with the disease. She launched her group in January, and has held monthly meetings since then, she said.
After hearing a community board presentation on the state of health in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Hill said she was spurred to help provide a support system and take steps to improve residents’ well-being.The neighborhood diabetes rate is 15 percent, the fifth highest in the city, according to the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.Bed-Stuy’s obesity rate, at 33 percent, is ranked number seven on the list of the city's neighborhoods, and is higher than the city’s average at 24 percent.
The leading cause of death for Bed-Stuy residents is heart disease, followed by cancer, and diabetes, according to city data.
Hill said that heart disease can be directly attributed to both obesity and diabetes.
Hill, who has been a type 1 diabetic for the past 33 years, said she felt “it was almost a calling to put something together.”
Individuals diagnosed with type 1 and 2 diabetes, as well as pre-diabetics, have attended the monthly meetings, with participants as young as four years old.
Under the diabetes nonprofit JDRF and with the help of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.’s Delta Rho Omega Chapter, Hill serves as the support group’s facilitator in leading conversations about healthy living, diet, exercise and more.
“The focus is the commonality of all types of diabetes, and actually working on effective lifestyle changes to prevent further complications, and eradicating heart disease,” she said.
Healthcare professionals also stop by the meetings as guest speakers, including endocrinologists and pediatric dentists.
Attendees are also able to share resources and tips, Hill added.
“That’s powerful, getting the information, applying it and sharing what happens — the good, and the struggles, and how they’re continuing.”
Meetings are held at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Bedford branch, which got a safety overhaul last year after residents raised concerns about purported drug use in the facility.
Now that the site is cleaned up, Hill said, the community is able to take advantage of the resource.
“It’s a nice place to show that it’s almost like a renaissance happening there, the community is able to come out and utilize that particular area for service.”
The JDRF Diabetes Support Group meets the first Thursday of each month at the Bedford Library, 496 Franklin Ave. from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, email kimberlyhill@optonline.net.
