Asbury Park’s New Wellness Initiative: Improving Mental Health with $12,000 Grant

Asbury Park’s Mayor’s Wellness Committee Receives Grant

The City of Asbury Park’s Mayor’s Wellness Committee will receive a $12,000 grant aimed at enhancing mental health support for its residents, as revealed in a recent press release. The grant is part of a new initiative known as the Blue Bishops Living Well Initiative.

Funding and Goals of the Initiative

This grant is one of eleven distributed across the state, funded by Walmart and administered through the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute’s Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC). The initiative aims to utilize holistic approaches, focusing on improving coping strategies and fostering a sense of belonging among the community. By doing so, it seeks to enhance both the mental and physical well-being of the residents of Asbury Park.

Jack Harris’s Role

Jack Harris, an assistant teaching professor and the director of the undergraduate sustainability minor in the Department of Human Ecology, will be instrumental in assisting with the project. He expressed his enthusiasm about the initiative, stating that it resonates with his research interests, which center on community collaboration.

Focus on Prevention and Community Building

Harris emphasized that the initiative aims to connect individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds through activities centered around movement, healthy eating, and social relationships. He noted, ‘A big part of this initiative is to try to connect people from very different cultural and linguistic and racial backgrounds.’

Future Aspirations

The program emphasizes prevention rather than intervention, distinguishing it from other community wellness projects. Harris aims not only to strengthen the community but also to develop a research lab for undergraduates focused on community research. In the Fall 2025 semester, he will teach a practicum course analyzing the initiative and grant with seniors pursuing a sustainability minor. He optimistically concluded, ‘I’m hoping that in some very small way, this is part of the layer of bricks or a piece of the puzzle that helps to kind of create a stronger, more inclusive community.’