"It's a GREAT day to be SHACKLE FREE!
Chiquitta W. Lesene,
MSIO, NCRT
Founder/CEO, Shackle Free Community Outreach Agency, Inc.
Licensed NC Real Estate Professional
Pilot Director, Destiny Total Healthy Opportunities Pilot (HOP)
CEO Lesene is often referred to as a "Walking Kiosk". We all know that a kiosk (think of a large shopping mall) is a place where you can obtain information of all types - in one convenient location. Now, think of how confusing it is for some of us to navigate through life's challenges, compounded with a pandemic of epic proportions, without some form of "holistic" guidance.
The innate, multifaceted gifts she possesses have preceded her highly successful journey of design and implementation of bundled services or "one stop shops". She speaks the language of poverty. She is well aware of the "shackles" individuals face while navigating through life such as: employment, education, housing, child care, transportation, "wrong door" referrals, teen pregnancy/crime, and generational patterns of poverty.
Below, are a few examples of some of the "FIRSTS" that Ms. Lesene successfully implemented in the State of North Carolina:
PUBLIC SERVICE TIMELINE
2003-2014
Duplin County Board of Elections
Designed and implemented the First One-Stop Mega Voting Site in Duplin County; the FIRST to obtain grant funding that made all Duplin County polling places handicap accessible. The URL at the right provides the 25 page checklist that Ms. Lesene was responsible for utilizing in this process to ensure equal poll access for North Carolina voters with disabilities.
2011 - 2015
Camp Unity
Designed and implemented the FIRST holistic summer youth camp (Camp Unity) to provide at-risk youth with access to recreational, tutorial, cultural, and social supports. Per Warsaw Police Reports, the crime rate among juveniles dropped significantly from 50 to 1 during the program's tenure.
Learn more at Camp Unity Next Generation | Shackle Free Communi
2016 - 2017
NCCARE 360
CEO Lesene secured the initial grant funding for the the implementation of NCCARE360; the FIRST statewide network that unites health care and human services organization that enables a coordinated, community-oriented, person-centered approach for delivering care in North Carolina. This solution ensures accountability for services delivered, provides a "no wrong door' approach, closes the loop on every referrals made, and reports outcomes of that connection. NCCARE360 is available in all 100 counties across North Carolina.
2018 & 2019
ANTIPOVERTY FESTIVAL
CEO Lesene organized and facilitated the First Annual Anti-Poverty Festival in North Carolina. Over 80 vendors specializing in employment, education, medical, law enforcement/public safety, local government, faith-based, for-profit, small businesses, finance, nutrition/wellness, specialty, and food were on site. One patron noted that he was able to apply for a job (employment vendors accepted applications on site), play basketball, eat, and interact with a variety of resources all in one location. WITN News provided coverage of the event. (See article)
The United Rural Health & Wellness Initiative of North Carolina
URWell(NC)
2021-
Shackle Free Community Outreach Agency, Inc. establishes headquarters in Duplin County!
Camp Unity - Next Generation
"Every generation deserves to be holistically healthy"
Fact: From 2011-2015, Camp Unity contributed to an overall decrease of 50 to 1 in juvenile crime during it's tenure. - Warsaw Police Reports
Shackle Free sponsors warm up hoodies for James Kenan's girls' basketball team!
2021
The Senior CARE Program
(seniors helping seniors, disabled, housebound)
2020
GoodDaddies Fatherhood Initiative
"Inspiring dads, unifying families"
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer: Benjamin J. Moore
View his profile: Meet the COO | Shackle Free COA Inc
Learn more about GoodDaddies at: GoodDaddies Fatherhood Initiative | Shackle Free COA Inc
2021 GoodDaddy of the Year - Kevin Scott
SPC Raheim Phillips, GoodDaddies Mentor & President of the Ray Lesene Scholarship Fund, is pictured below holding the first baby born since the support group began, Little Miss Phoenix Nicole Phillips.
2020 - M.O.M.S. "Mothers Overcoming Many Shackles"
"supporting cycles of holistic health in women"
Learn more: MOMS Support Group | Shackle Free COA Inc
June 2021
DISASTER/PANDEMIC RESPONSE
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRP3tqs3/
CEO Lesene networked with Duke University's African American COVID-19 Task Force Plus and other providers to facilitate the FIRST Pfizer and J&J Vaccine Clinic to Duplin County residents during the 2nd Annual Juneteenth Festival held in Warsaw, N.C. on June 19, 2021.
In partnership with Resilient American Communities, CEO Lesene also established the FIRST COVID-19 Dashboard providing instant access to available resources. Here are those dashboard links:
Pender County https://resiliencesystem.org/dashboards/pender-county-nc/
Duplin County https://resiliencesystem.org/dashboards/duplin-county-nc/
Onslow County https://resiliencesystem.org/dashboards/onslow-county-nc/
2021 - The Shackle Free Buzz!
Learn more: The Buzz! | Shackle Free COA Inc
Shackle Free's new and innovative communication platform which utilizes beauty and barber institutions to transmit holistic information to rural and otherwise hard to reach communities across the State of North Carolina. "The Buzz" Town Hall sessions are held weekly, on Mondays, providing a platform for the public to communicate with holistic care providers. Doctors, pharmacists, legal representatives, town commissioners, and others have been featured on "The Buzz".
Spreading holistic health news and wellness tips through trusted community messengers!
Then: March 23, 2021
October 2021
Sprint to Accelerate Vaccination Equitably (SAVE) in Community and Rural Health Participant
Harvard Medical School
SAVE is a virtual 10-week improvement program to support community health, rural health and primary care leaders and teams to accelerate the safe and equitable administration of the COVID vaccine for their target populations.
Overview
Despite the initial successes of the COVID-19 vaccine roll out, a significant portion of the country still remains unvaccinated and a new highly contagious variant is on the rise. COVID also cast a long overdue spotlight on health equity by highlighting the massively disparate health outcomes by race and ethnicity in the US. Health centers are committed to developing robust strategies and partnerships to ensure the maximum equitable immunization of staff members and patients. This fast-paced and interactive learning and action program will help health centers develop and test tools and strategies to increase COVID vaccination rates within their communities. The program includes:
Weekly hour-long webinars featuring content, and coaching from national primary care experts;
Interactive discussions and resource-sharing with peer practices from across the country and;
Short, relevant weekly assignments to support your practice's specific program goals.
The Sprint will provide participating teams with guidance for how to partner with patients and community leaders to increase COVID immunization rates for staff and patients. Teams will leave with tools and templates for ongoing improvement and a plan for how to accelerate the work in the months ahead.
At the end of this program, participating teams will:
Understand their practice’s system for vaccine distribution, priority and availability.
Identify at least one new community stakeholder with whom to partner going forward.
Increase the percentage of their target population receiving the COVID vaccine.
Decrease the vaccine declination rate at their practice for their target population.
Identify strategies to decrease the difference between vaccination rates by race at their practice.
2022
The Good Listening Project depicts the history of Shackle Free with "The Redemption Song" - written by Listener Poet, Yvette Perry and sponsored by Harvard Medical School's SAVE - Sprint to Accelerate Vaccines Equitably Project (underscore by Raheim Phillips)
Female, Minority Business Owner
"Breaking the shackles of poverty, holistically!"
