Community BAsed Orgaizations

El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center (El Sol). El Sol is a pioneer in Community Health Workers (CHWs) and Promotores programs in the Inland Empire, California. El Sol is the leading agency focused on identifying, training, deploying, and supporting CHWs and promotores in the region.

CHW/Promotores Training Center 

El Sol has more than 15 year of experience implementing programs and training  CHWs/Promotores in multiples topics and projects.

Each year, we serve over 90,000 community residents through various programs led by CHW and promotores. Serving the Inland Empire during these years has been our priority, achieving positive and measurable change.

We offer foundations and other organizations technical assistance on the development and implementation of CHW and promotores training and interventions, including identifying and targeting community health priorities. As a frontrunner in CHW and promotores training and practice in the Inland Empire, we are the co-founder of various local training curricula and programs including the Loma Linda Promotores Academy.

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San Bernardino Sites:

Main Office:  766 North Waterman Ave, San Bernardino CA 92410-4435

Ontario Office: 718 E Maitland St, Ontario CA 91761-3429

High Desert Office: 15000 7th Suite 212-b, Victorville CA 92392-3582

Riverside Sites:

Coachella Valley: 41550 Eclectic St., Palm Desert CA 92260-1967

Perris Office: 21091 Rider St. Suite #204, Perris CA 92570-8800   

Phone Office: (909) 884-3735

https://www.elsolnec.org/

MaryEllen Rehse (MSW)
CFRS Administrator/Director
mrehse@sbceo.org
(805) 964-4710, ext. 4465

Darnyl Dal Bon
Office Assistant
healthlinkages@sbceo.org
(805)964-4710, ext. 4453
Fax: (805)682-4646

Santa Barbara County Education Office
3970 La Colina Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93110

• Collaborative on Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL)
• Welcome Every Baby Family Connects (WEB-FC)
• Health Linkages program 
• Santa Barbara County Promotores Network

Santa Barbara County Promotores Network members understand and respect the traditional beliefs of the Latino community and can help agencies integrate these cultural beliefs in their programs and services. They do this by engaging the underserved and marginalized Spanish-speaking recent immigrant community around strategies to enhance systems to improve community awareness about health and social service issues that affect them. We participate in health fairs, community forums, and peer-to-peer education and provide information on a variety of issues of interest or benefit to our community, such as:

• Childhood obesity prevention and parent education
• Diabetes prevention and resources
• Children’s oral health screenings
• Low cost health insurance resources
• CalFresh for families and individuals
• Tobacco Prevention
• Family violence prevention
• Communicable diseases
• Mental health, counseling, alcoholism and  drug abuse
• Cancer Prevention and Detection
•  Emergency Preparedness
   

  Santa Barbara Promotores Network 

https://sbcpromotoresnetwork.weebly.com/

Santa Barbara Promotores Network  began in 2002 with three women who, while working in the Health Program Center for the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, through the clinic outreach, discovered that health issues were interconnected.  Diabetes, Cancer Prevention, Well Child Check-ups, HIV/AIDS, and other physical health issues were the main education discussions going on within the community.    

Founded in 2002 by Guadalupe Perez, SBNC Outreach Coordinator at that time, developed a training for “Promotores de Salud”, which included basic education on a wide variety of health topics.  Josefa Rios, Cancer Detection Program Coordinator, who was also at the time working for SBNC, was joined by Maribel Landeros, Health Program Center assistant and Teen Health Advocate Coordinator, and together they began working on developing connections with other agencies that served the community.  In 2007 they became an independent group known as the Promotores and in 2010 became a county  wide promotores network. 

Lead Promotores are employed by the Santa Barbara County Office of Education Health Linkages program and supported by the SBC Coalition in Support of Promotores.

 Mission:  To empower families and individuals with respect, dignity, and compassion by enhancing the quality of all aspects of their lives through education and the promotion of healthy behaviors. 

Organizational Chart ( expanded version coming soon)

For More Information, Contact:
Josefa Rios
South County Lead Promotora
Phone: (805) 448-2578
E-mail: jrios@sbceo.org

Maribel Landeros
Mid and North County Lead Promotora
Phone: (805) 680-7805
Email: mlanderos@sbceo.org 

Santa Barbara County Education Office 

3970 La Colina Road 

Santa Barbara, CA 93110

Esperanza Community Housing Corporation (LA)

3655 South Grand Avenue, Suite 280

Los Angeles, California  90007

(213) 748-7285

info@esperanzacommunityhousing.org

Nancy Halpern Ibrahim:  Board President and Executive Director

Nancy joined Esperanza’s staff as inaugural Director of Health Programs. She developed the model community health leadership program, Promotores de Salud, which led to the first class of Esperanza’s Community Health Promoters graduating from the program in 1996. To date this program has graduated 533 bilingual women and men.

Esperanza Community Housing Corporation (“Esperanza”) was established in 1989 to support the residents of the Figueroa Corridor of South Central Los Angeles, whose homes were being threatened by encroaching construction. Today, Esperanza remains committed to investing in this vibrant community, offering support through five core program areas: Affordable Housing, Health, Arts, Environmental Justice and Economic Development; these areas are also underlined by a policy component. Esperanza broadens and strengthens its impact through strategic partnerships with community members, nonprofits, businesses and policy makers.

Esperanza currently serves 126,000 individuals a year. In all of its activities, Esperanza strives to build hope with community

Program Areas

• Affordable Housing
• Economic Development
• Environmental Justice
• Arts and Culture
• Health
• Systems Change and Policy Advocacy

An apprenticeship model that tailors prospective CHW/P's education to the needs of employers

Contact: Amber Roth Executive Director 

1545 Wilshire Blvd 5th floor Ste 500
Los Angeles, CA 90017 

213-639-2220 

Our goal is to transform lives through a long-term career in public service.

The Worker Education and Resource Center (WERC) is a non-profit organization that for 20 years has provided quality workforce development programs in partnership with public service and safety net employers in Los Angeles County.

WERC is a labor-management partnership with the Service Employees International Union Local 721, committed to high road programs that address equity, excellent public service, and career paths to stable permanent employment.

WERC conducts research and planning, develops curriculum, and provides dynamic, cutting-edge training programs and intensive case management.

Assistant Case Manager Training 

LA County’s Housing for Health contracts with community organizations to deliver Intensive Case Management Services (ICMS) to every client.   Services are provided by on site staff such as Intensive Case Managers and Assistant Case Managers (ACMs).  ACMs provide intensive case management services to clients classified as low acuity. These positions serve individuals and families residing in interim and permanent housing by supporting and providing services in the areas of assessment; care planning; coaching and social support; connections to direct services; care coordination and system navigation; education about the health and social service system; outreach and engagement, and capacity building for individuals who were experiencing homelessness and are now mostly housed.

• Equity in Apprentice WERC Case study 2018
• DHCS / WERC Report: CHW Best Practices and cost effectiveness information: Safety Net Systems and Medicaid 

Reach Out: Strengthening Communities

CHW/Promotores Training Program

Inland Health Professions Consortium  (IHPC ) is a division of Reach Out providing hands-on learning opportunities for students and community members in health career pathways. The team works with industry partners, educators, and community stakeholders to address the need for a highly skilled and culturally competent health workforce in the Greater Inland Empire region. Reach Out’s Mission is to solve our region’s toughest issues: breaking barriers to educational achievement, expanding economic opportunities, and creating safe, healthy and innovative communities.

Contact:

Diana Fox, Executive Director;

Alyse Michaelis, Assistant Director for IHPC

alyse@we-reachout.org

(909) 982-8641

chw@we-reachout.org

Contact : Dr America Bracho Executive Director

Address:  450 W Fourth St., Suite 130 , Santa Ana, CA 92701

Phone:  714.542.7792 

info@latinohealthaccess.org   

Promotores are neighbors, moms, dads, children, youth and members of our communities who believe in helping and including others to be part of the solution to create healthier places for all. Our promotores are as young as 6 and as old as 76. They are Latino Health Access employees or volunteers with a special gift of creating enduring relationships with neighbors and participants in the many activities we offer. They gain the trust of the community and engage residents to create a synergy that comes with inclusion and participation.

Stationed in laundromats, churches, supermarkets, parking lots, apartments, streets, bus stops, living rooms, patios, schools and other places, they offer information about nutrition, diabetes, mental health, how to access doctors, the need for parks, safe communities and civic engagement. They draw out residents who might not otherwise reach out for help. Our promotores conceive unique and creative strategies to talk to our community about issues important to their health.

Promotores do not “target” the community. They join with neighbors to create relationships built on trust. As a result, our participants do more than learn about managing their diabetes or receiving a mammogram. As the relationship matures, they partner with us to make Orange County a healthier place.

Our programs, implemented by promotores and a team of health and human service providers, include:

• Diabetes Self Management
• Breast Health
• Healthy Weight
• Senior Door-to-Door outreach
• Health Policy Advocacy
• Mental Health
• Children and Youth Leadership

LEARN MORE https://www.latinohealthaccess.org/

Valley High School Health Tech Academy

Contact: 

Rodney Black
Health Teacher, Health TECH Academy Coordinator 

6300 Ehrhardt Ave., Sacramento, CA 95823

(916) 689-6500

The VHS Health TECH Academy is the first high school in the country with a Community Health Worker training program! 

What is a Community Health Worker?

Community Health Workers (CHW)/Promotores assist in providing education, recruiting, and offering outreach for specified clinic and community programs.  The CHW also serves as a health systems navigator, identifying appropriate levels of health care intervention.  CHWs are employed by community nonprofits, clinics, local health departments, and state agencies. 

What does Health TECH provide?

The Health TECH Academy staff and supporters have obtained a CHW-Basic certification for Health TECH students.  We firmly believe that the Academy prepares students to be excellent CHWs.  Certification will require completion of academy courses, CHW exams, and field work. 

What's been done so far?

• Health TECH won a grant that creates the South Sacramento Healthcare Pipeline (SSHP) that will allow us to develop a strong CHW program.  SSHP runs from grade 7-14.
• Elk Grove Adult and Community Education (EGACE) will provide CHW-Basic certification for students.
• Health TECH staff formed a working committee to seek state-wide certification for CHWs.
• Health TECH staff are working on a committee with Sierra Health Foundation for a grant that would help Academy students gain CHW experience.

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 Vista del Lago's Health Academy program is a 4 year program funded by California Partnership Academy. This innovative program is designed to give the students an overview of the human body, its functions, health care, career options and a capstone course in one of four areas that prepare the student to work in health care.

This pathway prepares students to go into careers which will enhance, sustain or improve the physical wellness of the community in a variety of healthcare settings and focuses on careers in patient care, public or mental health. 

Contact: Cindi Dolan

Health Academy Director & Teacher

 Email Cindi Dolan

 Phone: 571-4880 

 Moreno Valley Unified School District

Vista del Lago High School

15150 Lasselle Street, Moreno Valley, CA 92551

Community Health Center Network (East Bay) 

Contact:

 (510) 297-0200 

101 CALLAN AVENUE, SUITE 300,
SAN LEANDRO, CA 94577 

Trains CHW/Promotores for Complex Care Neighborhoods  

Care Neighborhood White Paper 

CHCN’s Care Neighborhood approach has demonstrated positive returns on investments including: decreased hospital re-admission rates, improved use of integrated behavioral health, decreased ER use, improved Hgb A1c and more. With support from our health plan partners, we had 12 Community Health Workers in our 8 health centers by the end of 2017, building our capacity to support more than 800 medically complex patients annually. Care Neighborhood successfully continued to demonstrate total cost of care savings per member per month and received additional support from our health plan partners in 2018 to grow gradually from 12 to 20 Community Health Workers.

HEALTH CENTERS

• WEST OAKLAND HEALTH
• TIBURCIO VASQUEZ HEALTH CENTER
• NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH CENTER
• LIFELONG MEDICAL CARE
• LA CLINICA
• BAY AREA COMMUNITY HEALTH
• AXIS COMMUNITY HEALTH
• ASIAN HEALTH SERVICES

TRAINING

VYC  innovative training programs are designed to give Promotores the information, skills and understanding they need to communicate with and advocate for their communities.

• Advocacy and Leadership Training for Promotores
  This 50-hour policy and advocacy program trains promotores as advocates to address inequalities in institutional policies and enhance local capacity to engage residents in a culturally respectful process to generate sustainable social and environmental changes.
• Latina Saludable es Familia Saludable (Latina Health is Family Health)
  Visión y Compromiso has trained hundreds of community residents as promotores with this 40-hour core competency curriculum The curriculum contains sessions that focus on increasing communication skills, adult learning and skills development for the community in general. The methodology used to conduct the sessions is based on the popular adult education that emphasizes the interaction and the inclusion of the participants. The training provides a space where community promotores share their experiences and increase skills and knowledge through information and activities supporting them in their work with the community.
• Emotional Wellness
  In partnership with The Center for Multicultural Development at the California Institute for Mental Health, Visión y Compromiso developed this 4-day, 32 hour mental health training based on Salud Para Todos to provide promotores with information about common mental health concerns and to increase their capacity to assist community members in need of mental health prevention, treatment and recovery services.
• Bailoterapia (Dance therapy)
  Developed by Visión y Compromiso (VyC), Círculos de Bailoterápia (loosely translated as cardio dance therapy circles) provides promotores—natural leaders in their communities—with training and support to implement culturally and linguistically relevant wellness programs in their communities that are community-based and respond to the health needs and interests of neighborhood residents.  This two-day, 12-hour training provides promotores with the information and skills they need to 1) help community members incorporate moderate movement into their everyday lives, and 2) develop social networks that offer critical peer support to sustain these physical activity levels and lifestyle changes into the future.  Delivered by VyC’s expert trainers, curriculum modules include: 1) The role of nutrition and food in exercise; 2) Living with diabetes and other chronic diseases; 3) Strategies for healthy eating; 4) Understanding aerobic exercise and intensity levels; 6) How to develop the right physical activity program for the community; 7) Warning signs, contraindications and alternatives; and 8) Instructor’s roles and responsibilities.
• Salsa, Sabor y Salud
  Originally developed by the National Latino Children’s Institute (NLCI), Visión y Compromiso uses culturally and linguistically relevant tools to help Latino families with children understand the role of diet, nutrition, portion control, and physical activity on family health. Interactive teaching strategies help families define health, nutrition and physical activity in meaningful ways.
• Your Heart, Your Health
  The Your Heart, Your Life Project is an evidence based health promotion program designed for adult Latinos by the National Heart, Lung, Blood Institute. Cardiovascular illnesses are the primary cause of death among North Americans, including Latinos. One in every four Latinos dies due to a heart illness.  It is possible to prevent these illnesses with information, realistic behavior changes and regular medical exams. As a result, Vision y Compromiso provides training for community leaders who will in turn bring awareness about this issue to other community residents.
  The program is an 11-session series. Topics include:
  
  • Risks for heart disease
  • Heart attack signs
  • Physical activity
  • Blood Pressure
  • Cholesterol
  • Healthy Weight
  • Diabetes
  • Caring for our heart
  • When time or money is tight
  • Living Smoke Free
  • Review and graduation
• Reproductive Justice in the Latino Community
  This 4-session curriculum (each session is 2 hours and can stand alone or be presented as a series) provides tools, resources and materials to transform how promotores think about race, rights, gender, sexuality and reproduction.
• safeTALK—Suicide Prevention
  Developed by LivingWorks, safeTALK is a half-day alertness training that prepares anyone over the age of 15, regardless of prior experience or training, to become a suicide-alert helper. Most people with thoughts of suicide don’t truly want to die, but are struggling with the pain in their lives. Through their words and actions, they invite help to stay alive. safeTALK-trained helpers can recognize these invitations and take action by connecting them with life-saving intervention resources, such as caregivers trained in ASIST.
  Since its development in 2006, safeTALK has been used in over 20 countries around the world, and more than 200 selectable video vignettes have been produced to tailor the program’s audio-visual component for diverse audiences. safeTALK-trained helpers are an important part of suicide-safer communities, working alongside intervention resources to identify and avert suicide risks.
  Training features:
  
  • Presentations and guidance from a LivingWorks registered trainer—Vision y Compromiso has a trainer!
  • Access to support from a local community resource person
  • Powerful audiovisual learning aids
  • The simple yet effective TALK steps: Tell, Ask, Listen, and KeepSafe
  • Hands-on skills practice and development

If you would like more information please contact:

Alma Esquivel, Director of Training and Education
alma@visionycompromiso.org

Gerry Balcazar, Training Coordinator
gerry@visionycompromiso.org

 REPORT Key Workforce Priorities for the Community Transformation Model ( 2017, 32 pages)