Kelsea Dixon, a program coordinator for the Newport Health Equity Zone (HEZ), joined us to chat about HEZ – what it is, what they are doing and how people can get assistance and involved.

Newport Health Equity Zone is a citywide collaborative funded by the DOH that focuses on increasing access to health resources for residents of the North Side and Broadway neighborhoods in order to make Newport a place where everyone can thrive. The Women’s Resource Center is the backbone agency and the MLK is one of the partners.

Tune into What’sUpNewp Radio Edition with Ryan Belmore every weekday at 1 pm on AM 1540 WADK. It’s where to get the scoop on what’s happening, new and to do in Newport County and across Rhode Island. Special guests, interviews, entertainment, commentary and more make this a can’t-miss hour of live and local radio.

Ryan Belmore

Ryan Belmore is the Owner and Publisher of What'sUpNewp.  He has been involved with What’sUpNewp since shortly after its launch in 2012, proudly leading it to be named Best Local News Blog in Rhode Island by Rhode Island Monthly readers in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and an honorable mention in the Common Good Awards in 2021.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Potter League For Animals. He previously served on the boards of Fort Adams Trust, Lucy's Hearth, and the Arts & Cultural Alliance for Newport County.

In 2020, he was named Member of the Year by LION and won the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County's Dominque Award.

He is a member of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the North American Snowsports Journalists Association.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, he spent 39 years living in Rhode Island before recently moving to Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and two rescue dogs. He still considers Rhode Island home, and visits at least once a month.