For over 40 years, the national non-profit organization Healthy Humor has been shining a light into the dark corners of hospitals with healthcare clowning. Healthcare clowns have visited hospitalized children and people in need to fill their bellies with laughs. The Red Nose Docs program, a service in which Healthy Humor sends professional performers to pediatric hospitals, helps more than 160,000 New Yorkers at five hospitals, including the Harlem Hospital Center, every year.
“[Our performers] understand that their primary purpose in this role is to serve those who are hurting, not to “perform,” said Healthy Humor Co-Founder and CEO Dina Paul-Parks. “It’s incredibly powerful work, and I can’t wait for more people to learn about how life-changing it can be.”
Healthy Humor emerged from the Big Apple Circus almost 40 years ago and has served communities ever since. While their reach has grown over the years, their long-term vision has stayed the same, “We hope for a world transformed by humor, joy, and the power of human connection – a world less burdened by pain and fear.”
Red Nose Docs have provided that for many children in 15 partner hospitals across the country, from New York to Miami to Philadelphia.
“At its core, this work is about short-circuiting harm… there is no shortage of that in our world right now. From the floors of children’s hospitals to suffering communities, to times of upheaval and societal change, to everyday interactions, trauma is affecting us all,” said Paul-Parks. “Our job is to enter the spaces -all of the spaces- where harm occurs and to help bring about empathy, connection, and healing.”
Now, Healthy Humor has reached out to the streets of central Harlem with their pilot program Community Connections, a service in which police officers of the 32nd precinct and students from Democracy Prep Charter Middle School engage in interactive activities and focused reflection on understanding and embracing each other’s differences while attempting to bridge the gap between the police and communities of color.
This pilot program has been funded by the Altman Foundation. The Altman Foundation has been around for over a century, and its philanthropic interests, like Healthy Humor, have been bringing forth a higher quality of life to the streets of New York City.
These students and officers have been growing and learning from each other for eight weeks, and on May 16, 2023, they celebrated the progress of the program at the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Community Center. Dina Paul-Parks, 32nd Precinct Commanding Officer Amir Yakatally, and the students of Democracy Prep Charter Middle School had a pizza party to reflect on and celebrate their shared experiences.
The magic of Healthy Humor’s work is no longer just in hospitals. It is now thrust into communities. The success of this program proves the importance of police officers becoming a part of the fabric of the neighborhoods they serve, and Healthy Humor has begun that process in Central Harlem. Bridging this gap and building trust between the youth, especially persons of color, and police officers is essential, especially after the effects of the 2021 BLM movement brought on by soaring police brutality cases, such as the murder of George Floyd.
For more information about this event and Healthy Humor as a whole, visit here.
