SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KGTV) — UC San Diego is receiving a $3 million dollar grant to train 200 community health workers from minority communities.
It’s part of a federally-funded program providing $225 million to 82 health organizations nationwide. UCSD was selected in our region. The program will train people to bring health resources and education directly to the communities they’re already a part of.
“This is really a step in the right direction in addressing health equity in these communities,” said Dr. Wael Al-Delaimy, Professor of Public Health, UCSD.
Dr. Al-Delaimy is spearheading the initiative locally. He says they’re actively recruiting primarily from refugee, immigrant and Native American communities.
“It’s really bold and innovative…because we’re not going to wait for the doctors to come and get to know the culture and language to overcome the inequity. This is a shortcut,” he said.
He explains it’s all based on what they saw during the pandemic: minority communities were disproportionately impacted. But one effective solution proved to be outreach teams consisting of trained individuals from the neighborhoods they served.
“If you don’t have the trust of the community, honestly, none of the work would happen,” said Najla Ibrahim, from the Somali Family Service of San Diego.
UCSD has several community partners making the initiative possible. The Somali Family Service is one of them.
“The community has dealt with a lot of challenges, a lot of trauma. So having a trusted place where they know they’re going to be treated with dignity and respect and have access to services with cultural and linguistic support…that’s extremely important,” said Ibrahim.
Dr. Al-Delaimy says you don’t need former experience in the health field or a specific degree to apply – just a commitment to your community. And the program offers a variety of opportunities. While some might work in a clinic, others might work on an outreach team in the field.
“That’s the nice thing about this. They can go into any area they want and we will train them and prepare them to do that. Specifically in prevention, education and healthcare navigation,” he said.
Those selected to be in the program will receive free training with the goal of landing a full-time job.
Information about the program and how to enroll is available on the CHWAP website.
