Community Health Worker Network of Buffalo is for CHWs- those OF and FROM the communities they serve and/or with close and trusting relationships with the community. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.

 
 
 

Common Questions about CHWs

  • “A community health worker is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.

    A community health worker also builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support and advocacy.”

    American Public Health Association (apha.org)

  • Depending on the needs of the target population, the role of CHWs and the specific services that they provide vary. There is a set of nationally recognized roles, skills, and qualities for CHWs that was drawn from an analysis of existing data and a consensus of CHW leaders. It was published in April 2016 by the CHW Common Core (C3) Project.1

  • *Cultural Mediation Among Individuals, Communities, and Health and Social Service Systems
    *Providing Culturally Appropriate Health Education and Information
    *Care Coordination, Case Management, and System Navigation
    *Providing Coaching and Support
    *Advocating for Individuals and Communities
    *Building Individual and Community Capacity
    *Providing Direct Service
    *Implementing Individual and Community Assessments
    *Conducting Outreach
    *Participating in Evaluation and Research

  • *Community Health Worker
    *Outreach worker
    *Service Coordinator
    *Case manager
    *Community educator
    *Advocate
    *Community engagement coordinator
    *Patient navigator
    *Counselor
    *Youth Coordinator
    *Parent facilitator
    *Peer educator

 

What is the impact of CHWs? The stories . . .

One of my first clients was a teenage mother who had a newborn baby ... she was sleeping on a friend’s couch. She had nothing for the baby and he was sleeping in a cardboard box. Still, she was keeping him safe and close to her, and she seemed to desperately want to do better for herself and him. I helped the mother get diapers, clothes, and a bassinet. She told me that I had given her something bigger than the ‘stuff‐ I had given her hope.
— Nadia Pizzaro, Outreach Worker/Housing Coordinator, American Red Cross, Greater Buffalo Chapter
You made me feel like a human again for the first time in a long time.
— John, Matt Urban Hope Center client
“The impact of parents and students creating a healthier school environment in our District cannot be underestimated. We were able to make significant policy and systems change when we began actively working with parents as full partners.”
— Assunta Ventresca, Former Director of Health Related Services, BPS