In 2015, three biomedical sciences students at the University of Central Florida H4H stumbled upon a serious issue. Andrew Aboujaoude, Jennifer Carvel, and Alexis Ghersi couldn't help but notice that the homeless population is among the most vulnerable to cardiac diseases due to a lack of access to healthcare and information.

 

Eager to help, they mapped out a pilot program and were invited to attend the 2016 Clinton Global Initiative's Social Venture Challenge, a competition designed to identify and support youth with innovative solutions for pressing global questions.

 

H4H was selected as the Social Venture winner and was provided generous seed funding by The Resolution Project. With this initial boost, H4H Orlando began providing free heart health screenings and information for the city's homeless population at local food shares.

 

By working alongside shelters, free clinics, and other non-profits, H4H hopes to help reduce the prevalence of hypertension and cardiac disease in homeless communities worldwide. Each screening also presents a chance for university students to gain much-needed volunteer experience, all while promoting community awareness. Today, our members use electronic blood pressure monitors and information approved by the American Heart Association to run over 40 chapters in the United States of America alone. 

 

H4H continuously strives to expand our reach across new universities, clinics, and countries. After a decade of diligent work, our operations have spread across the US, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Jordan, Lebanon, and Hungary. No matter where we are, our organization's focus remains on bringing heart health screening and education to homeless communities in need.