Community Health Worker Training

a Community Health Worker training specifically geared toward serving those experiencing homelessness and complex health needs

A six-week course:

5 in-person days (June 2nd - 6th)

followed by 5 in-person Tuesdays
(June 10th, 17th, 24th; July 1st and 8th)

APPLY HERE

What are Community Health Workers?

Community Health Workers (CHWs) undergo training to support members of communities with whom they share language, status, or lived experiences. Traditionally CHWs work with underserved communities in many ways including navigating healthcare systems, providing informal counseling, building self-efficacy, and addressing other community specific needs.

Mission

To draw out and build on the life experience, cultural traditions and worldviews that Traditional Health Workers (THWs) and CHWs bring to training;
To promote the empowerment of THWs, CHWs, and the communities they serve, using popular education philosophy and methodology;
To prepare THWs generally, and CHWs specifically, to play a full range of roles, from connecting people to existing services and managing medical utilization to organizing communities to identify and address their own most pressing health issues;
To promote the full integration of THWs and CHWs as integral members of the medical, public health, and social service systems; and
To offer an intentionally designed CHW training to individuals specifically serving those experiencing homelessness and complex health needs in the Marion & Polk communities.

This is a six-week course consisting of 5 in-person days in a row followed by 5 in-person Tuesdays and 4 asynchronous online sessions with online homework. Sessions will start at 9:00am and finish at 4:30pm.

Where?

St. Thomas Church, located at 546 High Street NE, Salem, OR 97301.

Participants must attend at least 8 out of the 10 in person sessions, complete all online learning (including any make-up assignments), and participate in the final evaluation session in order to receive their certificate of completion.

We have adapted our materials from the “We are Health” curriculum and have developed our training with a diverse set of trainers and learning modalities. Our training embodies the Popular Education principle that we are all teachers and learners as well as adult learning principles, which creates space for participants to draw on their life experiences while engaging the material. We believe participants bring valuable perspectives and knowledge and that the instructor’s responsibility is to create a safe and interactive training setting where the cohort can learn from each other. We have also built in opportunities for relationship building and the formation of the group as a learning community.

Topics covered in the course:

Defining the CHW Profession
Creating the Container
Cross Cultural Skills
Popular Education and Adult Learning
Social Determinants of Health
Assessing Individual and Community Needs
Diseases: Communicable and Chronic
Access to Care
Public Health
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Substance Use and Recovery
Community Organizing and Engagement
Counseling Skills
Mental Health Promotion
Communication, Leadership, and Advocacy Skills
Service Integration
Self Care

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by underserved communities, we have scholarships available for individuals experiencing systemic disadvantages including low-income backgrounds, the formerly incarcerated, racial or ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ identities.

Scholarships will be rewarded on a first-come, first-served basis based on qualifying criteria until all scholarships for the current training session are filled.

Scholarship Request Form

Registration with the Oregon Health Authority:
After completion of the course, participants will need to register with the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA). The application will be provided during the Evaluation session of the CHW training and can be found on the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s website through the OHA. The OHA requires a weighted background check before a CHW can be placed on the registry.

Training Program Contact Information:

Phone: 971-372-1329

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