A new grant will help Longmont’s community mental health provider to scale its innovative Community Health Worker model.
Colorado Community Health Alliance recently named Mental Health Partners a Community Incentive Program grant recipient, according to a release from the nonprofit. Mental Health Partners plans to make its Community Health Worker model scalable so it can be adopted and implemented in other communities across Colorado and nationwide.
“To successfully coordinate care and services for approximately 421,770 Health First Colorado members, we must build upon and maintain a network of strong community support,” said Amy Yutzy, director of Medicaid programs for Colorado Community Health Alliance. “Mental Health Partners aligns closely with CCHA’s goals and addresses social determinants of health. We are honored to support them as they strive to meet community needs, bridge system gaps and connect individuals and families to a broad range of health care and social determinants of health services.”
Community Health Workers, also known as Promotores, are common in primary care and public health, but few models exist in behavioral health, according to Mental Health Partners. The nonprofit established one of the first behavioral health Community Health Worker programs by adopting certain elements from the Promotora Model.
For example, a Community Health Worker might use their own life experience and knowledge to educate and help others in a culturally responsive way with a strong foundation in justice, equity, diversity and inclusivity.
This model aims to help address complex challenges with social determinants of health that impact people’s ability to seek care — things like low income, homelessness, food insecurity, employment, education, access to transportation and reliable internet access.
“Our goal is for the (Community Health Worker) program to become a universally recognized model that other behavioral health providers and communities can replicate to improve health equity,” said Jennifer Hyder-Cannon, outreach program manager for MHP’s Community Health Worker program.
Through this program, Mental Health Partners meets clients where they are by bridging system gaps and connecting individuals with a broad range of health care while also working with community partners to reduce systemic barriers and build community infrastructure.
The Community Health Workers program is unique in that it brings resources to individuals regardless of background or socioeconomic status. This preventative approach helps improve public health outcomes and lowers long term health care costs for individuals and communities, Mental Health Partners said.
“A key to our success is that our (Community Health Workers) are trusted members of the communities they serve,” said Hyder-Cannon. “They represent the diverse target populations within our community, either through professional or lived experience.”
Staff are specially trained to work with individuals and families who have or are at risk for mental health and/or substance abuse challenges, providing services like community building, psychoeducation, outreach and engagement support, stigma reduction training, system navigation and direct assistance with access to public benefit programs.
Mental Health Partners said this grant positions the nonprofit to be a leader in behavioral health outreach locally, statewide and nationally.
