Local Impact - Nebraska

Clarissa Hoffman, Ho-Chunk Tribe of Nebraska

Ho-Chunk Hope Diabetes Prevention

"I’ve had 3 relatives lose limbs to diabetes. Diabetes needs to be taken seriously and wiped out - as we now know it can be."
- Clarissa Hoffman

I am a 34 year old Native American woman who comes from a long line of great people. We have had to endure and survive in spite of near extinction and yet there is still disease and sickness we must overcome. Diabetes is one of them that is passed down to us and we know it can be stopped.

I am very happy to be a part of the change that will help future generations put an end to diabetes. Ho-Chunk Hope is teaching that change and through this program I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I love Ho-Chunk Hope. It is a great, life changing and people saving program. The program has helped me learn and re-learn how to take care of myself and fight diabetes. I am exercising more and cooking in a healthier way that is better for my family and me.

I know I’m responsible for how my children eat and the habits they form, so I need to make sure I do what’s best for them by first taking care of myself while at the same time making permanent healthier choices for the whole family. Ho-Chunk Hope has helped teach me those ways and has also shown me the way to a healthier lifestyle. I am “off the diabetes-charts” now - I’m no longer pre-diabetic!

Diabetes in Nebraska

According to 2008 CDC data, approximately 99,000 people in Nebraska – 7% of the state’s population – had diagnosed diabetes and many of them suffer from serious diabetes related complications or conditions. In addition to the human toll that diabetes places on the people in Nebraska, the financial burden diabetes places on the state’s health system is staggering – in 2007, the direct and indirect cost of diabetes in Nebraska was approximately $809 million.

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