Select Stories of Our Work Supporting Our Community Health Workers to Advance Health Equity on the Central Coast

Navigating health care systems can be daunting and frustrating. For our neighbors from historically marginalized communities — those who lack digital access or struggle to communicate with providers due to systemic language barriers — it’s even harder.

While behavioral health and primary health care providers work hard to create inclusive community outreach and engagement strategies, many of our community members face persistent gaps in information about and access to services and preventive care.

This is where Community Health Workers and Promotores (CHW/P) come in. CHW/Ps are frontline educators and health advocates who are trusted members of the communities they serve, and who often experience the same challenges as the neighbors they help.

CHW/Ps play a critical role in connecting our most marginalized or geographically isolated residents to the care and support they need, from light-touch care navigation to providing case management for families in crisis.

Beginning in 2022, SBF, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Department of Public Health, launched a tri-county, multi-sector effort to build capacity for our region’s Community Health Workers/Promotores.

Since many in our local workforce live and work across county lines, we took a regional approach to building capacity for CHW/Ps.

Central Coast CHW/P Capacity Building Collaborative*

We are pleased to work among the organizations below to develop and implement a regional plan that will build the capacity of our essential CHW/P workforce.

CenCal Health

Center for Family Strengthening (San Luis Obispo County)

Children and Family Resource Services, (with Santa Barbara County Education Office)

Cottage Center for Population Health

Marian Regional Medical Center

Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP)

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department

Santa Barbara Foundation

University of California Global Health Institute

Ventura County Public Heath

* 2022

Together we received a grant from the California Healthcare Foundation with the goal to deepen the capacity of the health care safety-net in order to advance health equity and sustainably meet growing demand for a CHW/P workforce.

The California Healthcare Foundation funding is part of a statewide effort with four Regional CHW/P Capacity Building Collaboratives (CBCs) to accomplish the following:

• Enhance the capacity of health and social service systems to provide linguistically and culturally responsive services;

• Scale the CHW/P workforce;

• Connect workers to high-quality jobs; and

• Develop financially sustainable, evidencebased models.

Our local collaborative acknowledges the immense contribution CHW/Ps make to health throughout the tri-county area. That’s why we began by asking local CHW/Ps and community organizations what their needs are and where they see opportunities for improvement. With that data, we can undertake meaningful action.

Member participants recognize the complexities that lie ahead for a cross-sector collaborative of this size. In 2023, we will continue to build our foundation for the work by including new community partners. Watch for more details as this initiative grows throughout 2023.

Community Health Workers/Promotores are essential to our overall community wellness in Santa Barbara County, as they assist hard-to-reach community residents where they live. Everyone deserves access to knowledgeable and trusted support in navigating health care services, providing reliable health education, and other social supports.