Trusted Care: How POPLI is Addressing Health Disparities in North Minneapolis and Beyond
Four times a year, The Power of People Leadership Institute office transforms cubicles into exam rooms and hallways into waiting rooms. Neighbors check in at the front desk to get in queue for vaccinations, dental exams, blood pressure checks, or other services, then move on to the office-chair waiting room. The best part? It’s free.
“What you have is the purest form of community clinic I’ve ever seen,” Dr. Haitham Hussein said after visiting The Power of People Leadership Institute’s Community Wellness Village.
Born out of community need during COVID-19, the POP Community Wellness Villages are still vital to neighbors in North Minneapolis and beyond.
Community Members in the Waiting Room
“A lot of our residents of this area don’t feel comfortable and don't feel trust towards doctors or doctors offices,” said Mandi Crennen, coordinator of POPLI Community Wellness Villages.
POPLI's Community Wellness Village simplifies healthcare access by eliminating the uncertainty people often face when seeking care.
Co-founder of POPLI, Brother Shane Price emphasized this benefit, stating, “Every individual who comes to our door during the time that our wellness clinic is open, whether it be for a fluoride dental cleaning, for an A1C check, whether it be for a colon cancer screening, a COVID shot or a flu shot, that person is going to get seen.”
“If there were anything I wanted more people to know, it was just that we are available to you,” Price said. “You're not going to get screened out at the door."
POPLI’s 19 year legacy has built trust in their community. Working with the University of Minnesota Mobile Health Initiative, POPLI has structured the Community Wellness Villages to address the top killers of the African American community - hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, and cancer.
Dental Exam Clinic in POPLI's Office
These diseases are being combatted through blood pressure checks, colon cancer screenings through Cologuard, and doctor consults. Community Wellness Villages partner with the University of Minnesota Mobile Health Initiative and Masonic Cancer Center to provide other resources too - dental exams, vision exams & glasses, COVID-19 and flu vaccines, A1C checks, and over-the-counter medications.
The community is enthusiastic about POPLI’s bridge to healthcare. The November 2024 Community Wellness Village had a record-breaking attendance of 132 community members. One hundred people received COVID-19 vaccinations in two-and-a-half hours! It’s “educational and electric,” as Price described.
“It's crazy,” said Crennen. “There’s usually a line out the door.”
“Our gracious approach to wellness is reciprocated by the number of participants that we have,” Price said. Typically, during a Saturday wellness village the clinic is bustling with community members until 4:30 PM, over an hour after patient intake ends.
This positive work hasn’t gone unnoticed. In November 2024, POPLI received a Health Equity Perseverance Award from Hennepin Healthcare recognizing the health advocacy work through quarterly POP Community Wellness Villages. Price noted the significance of receiving public acknowledgment from “big players” in healthcare.
“We didn't start the wellness clinic to win any awards,” Price said. “We were really just trying to be faithful stewards over a COVID vaccination, but that opened up a lot of doors. It really exposed how uncovered certain communities are where wellness is concerned. And that exposure caused us to grow, and the growth was an organic response to a community at a disadvantage. And we plugged up those holes. We filled those gaps.”
