Neighborhood-Based Community Health Workers: Addressing Charlottesville’s Healthcare Access Inequity

Abstract

Introduction to WellAWARE, a neighborhood-based Community Health Worker program that aims to help medically underserved communities overcome obstacles to good health and healthcare. Outlines their core values: (1) Health Equity We believe that equitable health care is a fundamental human right. Our goal is to partner with our clients to overcome their barriers to good health and healthcare, including racism, inadequate public transportation, lack of internet access, and inability to pay. (2) Community-Led We believe that our focus communities are strong, and that their members have power and agency to know what is best for themselves and their own neighborhoods. In our engagement process, communities determine what services, if any, they want offered. At every level of decision-making, we elevate, honor, and defer to community members’ voices. (3) Partnerships We believe in partnering with other local groups and agencies to advance shared goals around health equity. Through informal partnerships with groups like the NAACP, Health Equity and Access for Rural Residents (HEARR), and Move2HealthEquity, we strengthen the whole network’s goals of improving lives.