March 7, 2018

Spirit of Community: Health care hero

Over the coming weeks, look for stories that feature the 2017 Spirit of Community Award recipients as we prepare to celebrate this year's awards on March 29. These awards honor members of the WSU community who best exemplify the university's commitment to community engagement.

In a city where many count health disparities as a major hurdle to a better quality of life, Tapinder Singh toils daily to help Detroiters clear that barrier.

While an undergraduate student at Wayne State University in 2013, Singh founded the Wayne State chapter of Healthy Detroit, a nonprofit organization devoted to fostering a culture of sound health and wellness across the city. Now, as the chapter’s president, Singh — a graduate student at the Wayne State University School of Medicine — continues to champion the “one-stop shop” health/wellness model behind a series of HealthParks that currently provide a suite of social, behavioral and health care services to Detroiters.

For his work, Singh was named the winner of the 2017 Spirit of Community Award (pictured) in the student category. The Student Engagement Award recognizes a Warrior who demonstrates service to the community with dedication, integrity, humility, thoughtful leadership, compassion and soul, and a deep understanding of social justice.

Under Singh’s leadership, the WSU chapter of Healthy Detroit helped establish the nation’s first HealthPark three years ago and, in the years since, has seen four other HealthParks launch around the city.

The HealthParks provide services ranging from clinical screenings and mental health programs to food and nutrition services to employment training and assistance.

“We often don't realize how important health and wellness is, until we are afflicted with an illness or someone close to us is,” Singh says, “so being able to open these HealthParks and provide health and wellness services to residents free of cost is something that I am very grateful we are able to do.”

The 2018 Spirit of Community Awards Ceremony will be held Thursday, March 29, at 3 p.m. in the Community Arts Auditorium with a reception to follow. This event is free and open to the public. For more information and to RSVP, visit rsvp.wayne.edu/spirit-of-community.

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