InspireHER Women’s Health Walk: Walking to Wellness

The Forge AHEAD Center is proud to collaborate with community partners to support the InspireHER Women’s Health Walk, taking place on Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Black Creek Park in Fultondale, AL. Registration opens at 8:00 a.m., with the program and walk from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The InspireHER Walk is more than just a morning in the park. It is a celebration of women’s health and wellness, a chance to connect with others, and an opportunity to take steps toward healthier futures. With the theme “Walking to Wellness,” the event invites women, families, and the broader community to come together for a morning of movement, learning, and encouragement.

Group from 2024 InspireHER Walk

Participants will engage with healthcare providers, access health awareness information, and explore practical ways to take charge of their health. October is recognized as Health Literacy Month, which makes this walk even more timely. Attendees will be able to gather resources, ask questions, and strengthen their ability to make informed choices about their health and well-being.

This year, the walk also highlights October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, with an emphasis on lifting up survivors and their stories of strength. As Dr. Angela B. Haynes, CEO of InspireHER Global, shares, “October is a month of both awareness and action. By walking together, we honor the journeys of survivors while standing firm in our commitment to build healthier, safer communities for all women.”

As a planning partner, the Forge AHEAD Center is committed to advancing the message of cardiometabolic health. The walk reflects our shared mission: to promote healthier lifestyles, expand access to health screenings, and support policies that give our community the resources they need to thrive.

Walking improves more than just physical health. It strengthens the heart, reduces stress, boosts mental well-being, and reminds us that a community moving forward together is stronger than any individual walking alone.

We invite you to join us at Black Creek Park on October 18. Together, let’s keep Walking to Wellness and building healthier communities, step by step.

To learn more about InspireHER Global, the walk, and to register, please visit inspireherglobal.com.

Written by: Carol Agomo, Ph.D.

Health Literacy Month: Taking Charge of Your Heart and Health

Vicky, or Ms. V. as many in the neighborhood call her, lives in a small town in Alabama, loves her Sunday gumbo, and keeps the family photo albums on the porch for visitors to see. Last winter she started feeling more tired than usual and sometimes felt lightheaded when she stood up too fast. At first, she blamed it on a busy schedule and caring for her grandchildren. Then her niece, who is a nurse, noticed Vivian’s hands were shaky when she opened a pill bottle and encouraged her to get a checkup.

At her checkup, Ms. V. learned that her blood pressure was higher than it should be. She felt scared and overwhelmed by the numbers and the medical terms. Her niece sat with her during the visit, wrote down what the nurse said, and helped Ms. V. set a reminder to take her medications on her phone. Ms. V. also talked with her pastor, who connected her with the church wellness team. Between her niece, her church friends, and a kind nurse at the clinic, Ms. V. started to feel supported instead of alone.

Over a few months Ms. V. began making small changes. She used a simple pill box, set an alarm for medicine time, and started walking with a neighbor three times a week. At the Sunday potlucks she started asking the cook for a smaller portion and often added a side of greens to her plate. She keeps a little notebook with her blood pressure readings and brings it to appointments. These changes did not happen all at once; they happened step by step with people who cared for her.

Health Literacy Month

The Forge AHEAD Center works with community partners, researchers, and healthcare providers in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to reduce cardiometabolic risk and support healthy living. We are sharing these tips for Health Literacy Month because clear information and small, doable steps help people protect their hearts and reduce risk for chronic diseases. This month we want to spotlight simple tools you can use right away that make it easier to take those next steps.

October is Health Literacy Month, a time when communities nationwide focus on making health information easier to find and easier to use. Health literacy is not about being a doctor. It is about understanding health information and using it to make choices that keep you and your family well. For people in the Deep South, where heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes affect many families, stronger health literacy can help turn fear into action.

Download our one-week Health Literacy Month checklist to help you keep track of blood pressure, medicines, and simple steps you can try this week. [Download the checklist]

What health literacy looks like in real life

Health literacy means you can read a prescription label and know when to take it. It means you can understand what your blood sugar and blood pressure numbers mean. It means you feel comfortable asking your doctor or nurse to explain something again in plain language. It also means knowing how to find trustworthy local resources when you need help.

Good health literacy helps prevent cardiometabolic diseases. The good news is that many of the changes that lower risk are within reach and can be easy shifts to make.

Health Literacy Month Checklist

One week. Small steps. Better health.

Use this checklist during Health Literacy Month to build small habits that help prevent heart disease and diabetes. Pick one or two items to start. Check the box when you do each task. Bring this page to your next clinic visit.

Download the checklist

You do not have to be perfect

Prevention is about progress, not perfection. Remembering to take your medicine twice instead of zero times or walking 10 minutes more each day are all wins. Share what you learn with a neighbor or a community group. That ripple can help families across your town stay healthier.

Ms. V. did not change everything at once. She asked simple questions, leaned on her niece and her church friends, and kept a small notebook of her blood pressure readings. Over time those steps became habits that protect her heart and health.

Download our one-week Health Literacy Month checklist to help you keep track of blood pressure, medicines, and simple steps you can try this week. [Download the checklist]

Written by: Carol Agomo, Ph.D.