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A Demopolis native has been named among those to participate in the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, a program designed to improve community health and develop leadership skills.

Sherilyn Garner is among 15 recent state college graduates and 240 nationwide selected to the fellowship. In her role in the fellowship, Garner is addressing mental health stigma and self-management in east Birmingham by developing and implementing mindfulness activities including yoga for adolescents from the local community. In addition to assisting youth with increasing their self-awareness, the program will utilize culturally-tailored strategies to improve pro-social behavior and psychological stress in youth. The program also aims to foster positive attitudes and behaviors related to mental health and its treatment. She will be working from Oak Tree Ministries.

Garner is a graduate of the UAB School of Public Health. She will spend the upcoming year learning to effectively address social factors that impact health. According to the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, the program follows the example of the program’s namesake, physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer.

“Many of our fellows go on to inspiring careers of service to vulnerable individuals and populations.  Our support for them as they learn how to translate their Fellowship projects from an initial concept to actual, enduring impact is crucial to their future effectiveness in working with the underserved,” said Lachlan Forrow, MD, Chair of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Board of Directors. “The rapidly-growing network of our alumni is already contributing to major improvements in the care of countless people.”

(This article originally appeared in the Saturday, June 2 issue of the Demopolis Times.)