11 | 2024 IMPACT REPORT Community Health Worker (CHW) Program Receives Major Grant The MCWDB’s Community Health Worker (CHW) program secured a significant boost this fall with an $866,260 grant from the Central California Alliance for Health (CCAH). This funding will support four additional training cohorts over the next two years, covering student tuition, staffing expenses, and operational costs. This is the second grant CCAH has awarded to the CHW program. In 2023, CCAH provided $152,960 to fund two training cohorts. The latest grant comes at a critical time, as state and federal funding for the CHW program had ended, making alternative funding sources essential to continue this vital initiative. Since its launch in the fall of 2021, the CHW program has trained three cohorts and approximately 90 students have received their CHW credential. A fourth cohort is currently in training and will graduate in March 2025. Thanks to CCAH’s new funding, three additional cohorts will be trained over the next two years. In addition to CCAH, the CHW program has benefited for our partnership with Monterey Peninsula College, which has provided key support. CHWs play a vital role in bridging gaps in healthcare and social services. They help patients navigate complex medical and social service systems, ensuring they receive the support they need to stay healthy or improve their health. With limited time available for primary care providers to evaluate patients, CHWs step in to explain treatment plans and assist patients in adhering to them. Additionally, CHWs address critical social needs. For example, if a client or their family is food insecure, a CHW can connect them to local food banks or help them enroll in programs like CalFresh, which provides financial assistance for groceries. The continued success of the CHW program demonstrates the importance of such funding in training professionals who make a meaningful difference in their communities.
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