The Power of Dependable Souls (PODS) is an intervention designed to enhance social connection among adults experiencing serious mental illnesses (SMI). In PODS, participants engage in community activities together, supporting each other to work through barriers and increasing their independence. PODS was co-created with an advisory board of mental health service providers and administrators from across Pennsylvania. PODS was piloted in 17 agencies, including peer support and psychiatric rehabilitation programs.

This session will briefly introduce the PODS intervention and share stories and lessons learned from pilot agencies. The session will also share information and resources for implementing the PODS intervention.

The Connect with Tech program was created to provide free tablets to individuals in need, helping them access essential digital tools like telehealth services, online communication, and educational resources. While the original goal was to distribute 5,000 tablets, the program successfully provided over 10,000 devices across 66 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Key to this success was strong community outreach, strategic partnerships, and an efficient distribution model supported by TechOWL’s outreach team and student workers. The program overcame challenges such as reaching rural residents, preventing duplicate applications, and managing high application volume by implementing tools like REDCap, offering physical applications, and streamlining logistics.

Each tablet included user-friendly resources through Generation Online, ensuring recipients could confidently use their devices. With collaboration, adaptability, and technology, Connect with Tech has made a lasting impact and continues working to bridge the digital divide across the state.

This session will highlight the revision and expansion of a curriculum designed to help individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) stay safe in the workplace. While one of the main challenges was that recruitment efforts took longer than anticipated, the project ultimately resulted in a strong, accessible product tailored to diverse learning needs. The curriculum incorporates multiple modalities to support different learning styles and abilities, promoting engagement and practical understanding of workplace safety. A major success of the project is the creation of a valuable educational tool that is now publicly available on the REACH Lab website, where educators, professionals, and families can freely access and implement it. One key lesson learned is that despite our efforts to design a highly accessible curriculum, some learners still require more individualized adaptations. Another important takeaway is the recognition that different stakeholder groups often bring varying priorities to the project, which required flexibility and ongoing communication.

Stakeholder input was central to the development process, and their voices will be shared in the session through quotes and testimonials, reflecting the meaningful impact and collaborative spirit of the work. This session will be especially valuable for those interested in inclusive education, health, and workplace safety.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted existing health inequities among people who have been historically marginalized and chronically underserved by systems. People with disabilities, mental health concerns, and older adults were at increased risk of getting sick and dying of COVID-19. We sought to better understand the experiences of community members to identify areas for improving targeted emergency health communication.

This session takes a close look at the ways inaccessible public health responses eroded trust in public health officials. We conducted four focus groups with Pennsylvania residents about their experiences receiving and using health information during the pandemic. Participants highlighted that many times the message content, delivery, or recommended action was inaccessible. This created difficulties in identifying credible information as guidance rapidly changed. Distrust in government and healthcare institutions, particularly among people of color and those with complex medical needs, compounded barriers. 

Participants identified accessible design and community-based dissemination through trusted messengers as critical to improving access. Accessibility is a fundamental component of effective public health communication. Centering accessibility in emergency public health communication strategies helps build trust and ensure all populations can act in times of crisis.

Social isolation can impact health and quality of life and is measured by an individual’s physical, social, psychological, and spiritual health; ability and motivation to access adequate support for themselves; and the quality of the environment and community in which they live. Often coupled with social isolation is loneliness, when an individual’s perception of their interactions with others does not meet their expectations, causing negative emotional and health consequences. Health, life events, vulnerability, location, and mobility and sensory impairment may play roles in the experience of isolation and loneliness.  

The project began from a recognition that more needs to be known about these experiences among older adults to identify meaning specifically for older adults, key variables that may explain differences in experiences and to identify areas for intervention. We moved on to deliver and further evaluate the effect of the Making the Connection (MTC) program, a psychoeducational intervention that utilizes skill building to help participants connect better with others and reduce their experience of loneliness and social isolation. We will report on key issues in the intervention's design, delivery and evaluation. We will also briefly report on other related activities undertaken to support older adults throughout out the project.

Representatives from all five projects will come together to discuss how each project built and utilized community partnerships. Discussion will include strategies for building partnerships and exploring partnerships in the current world.

Join David Saunders, the Director of the Pennsylvania Department of Health Office of Health Equity, as he discusses additional work completed under the Department of Health’s Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant. Additionally, he will be available to answer participant questions regarding health equity.