COVID-19 Vaccine & Testing Clinic | |
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In 2021, the need for our community to have access to the COVID-19 vaccine and testing clinics was crucial, especially for seniors in central Orange County. Addressing the gaps that were making it difficult for our participants to receive the care they needed was critical for LHA. These gaps included lack of transportation, language and technology barriers, lack of trusted healthcare providers, etc. Members of our community were becoming sick and didn't know where to turn for help. This made them vulnerable and prone to misinformation. LHA promotorxs were there to meet the need with direct outreach and education. Our team worked tirelessly with clinical partners to administer over 40,000 vaccines and over 45,000 tests, and connected impacted community members with much-needed resources.
If you or someone you know needs COVID-19 resources or you would like to partner to bring vaccines or tests to your community, contact Program Associate,
Ana Alvarado at anaa@latinohealthaccess.org.
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The Gift of Home Security | |
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As of November 19, 2021, Santa Ana tenants are protected from a number of unjust evictions and excessive rent increases thanks to the passing of the Rent Stabilization and Just Cause Evictions ordinances. These new local laws are a result of years of community advocacy by tenants, community groups, and organizations, including Latino Health Access, that sought to increase rights for the over 186,000 tenants in the city, which gained majority support from the current Santa Ana Mayor and City Council.
The ordinances limit rent increases for qualifying housing in the city to a maximum of 3% or less, and to no more than once every 12 months. Additionally, tenants can only be evicted for “just causes” and evictions that are for reasons out of the tenants’ control (“no-fault” evictions) require that the landlord provides relocation assistance equivalent to 3 months of rent.
Santa Ana has seen an increase in evictions and families becoming unhoused or displaced due to unaffordable rent costs. These new rights will provide some safeguard and stability for our families. Our Community Engagement and Advocacy (CEA) team will be holding informational “Know Your Rights” sessions and continues to assist tenants through our Tenant Counseling line to ensure families are informed and can exercise their new rights. In 2021, CEA helped over 400 families and allocated over 3 million dollars in funding to families in order to help them keep their homes.
For more information contact our Policy Coordinator,
Hilda Ortiz at hortiz@latinohealthaccess.org.
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Latino Health Access is proud to be part of the Communities RISE (Reach, Immunizations, System Change for Equity) Together alliance of partners connected to 2400+ organizations across the nation who are deeply rooted in communities, and have deep trust with Black, Native-American, Latinx, Asian-American/Pacific-Islander, immigrant/migrant, and low-income older adult populations. As a unity of effort, RISE initiative partners have been funded by the US Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control to leverage collective expertise, capacity, and network of community-based organizations (CBOs) around the nation to create a system of coordinated support for a strategic and equitable response to COVID-19. As a RISE partner, Latino Health Access has had the opportunity to collaborate and support partner organizations around the county with coaching and vaccine outreach training to address vaccination inequity and vaccine hesitancy in different communities. RISE allows partners to share their expertise, learn from other partners, access resources, including best practices, and use a collective voice to advocate for those who are disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
For more information contact Program Coordinator
Veronica Mondragon at vmondragon@latinohealthaccess.org.
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Volunteers have always been vital to our organization. We would not be able to deliver some of our programs without them. These past couple of years, because of COVID-19, we have seen the inequitable impact the pandemic has had on the lives of our community. Here at Latino Health Access, we have seen the powerful role everyday people can play in helping communities recover.
In 2021 over 200 volunteers dedicated their valuable time and took the precautions to keep themselves safe in order to serve the community they love.
From our volunteers:
"One reason I love Latino Health Access is how they help the community that I grew up in by bringing positive changes in both health and education." Hope Salazar
"I love the sense of community that Latino Health Access provides. The LHA space fills me with an immediate and overwhelming feeling of belonging, and it is all thanks to the people who are there." Mathew Sandoval.
If you or your group would like to volunteer, contact our Volunteer and Intern Coordinator,
Brenda Cervantes at bcervantes@latinohealthaccess.org.
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In 2021, the need for food distribution became much greater once the pandemic started. Several families lost their jobs, and we responded to the need by offering a walk-thru, drive-thru, and delivery option for families quarantining or with difficulties getting to LHA, including seniors and single parents staying at home to watch their children who had no means of transportation. We gained over 4,700 new participants serving an average of over 1,300 people per month. Thanks to partnerships with the Community Action Partnership of Orange County (CAPOC) Diaper bank, we were also able to give out over 6,000 diapers a month to families with young children.
For more information on the food and diaper distribution event, contact Lead Promotora Gabriela Regalado at gregalado@latinohealthaccess.org.
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AltaMed launched ¡Ándale! ¿Qué Esperas? a multi-layered community, broadcast, and digital campaign to reach over 4.45 million Latinos through a COVID-19 vaccine public education campaign and over 2.25 million Latinos via direct outreach. Working with partners throughout the state, including Latino Health Access as the Orance County partner. Other partners represent San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Central Valley, and Northern California clinics. Our collaborative work seeks to reach the most vulnerable in our communities, those that are uninsured, many of whom have questions or concerns about getting vaccinated and do not have basic resources. | |
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Our 2021 celebration was to honor those who joined our fight against Covid-19 and our work with children, individuals, and families in the area of mental health and emotional wellness through case management and peer-to-peer individual and group counseling. Thanks to your support and the hard work of our promotores like Don Alex and Noraima as mentioned by our highllighted families, below, we continue to provide the support and resources our families need in critical times.
The fun and safe celebration, an in-person drive-thru experience featuring Latin America’s music and cuisine honoring those who helped us make a difference.
Congratulations to our recipients: Compañero Award, Northgate Gonzalez Markets; the Amiga Award, Gabriela Lemus and lastly the Socio Communitario Award; Second Harvest Foodbank and Community Action Partnerships of Orange County.
For event sponsorship or partnerships, please contact
Director of Partnerships and Strategic Communications
Maria Cervantes at: mcervantes@latinohealthaccess.org
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Our Expertise
Self Management Diabetes Program
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Community-initiated health interventions fill important gaps in access to health services. This study examines the effectiveness of a community-initiated health intervention to improve diabetes management in an underserved community of color using a retrospective observational study, comparing a study intervention - the Latino Health Access Diabetes Self-Management Program (LHA-DSMP) - with usual care. The LHA-DSMP is a 12-session community health worker (promotor/a) intervention developed and implemented by LHA in a medically underserved area in OC. Usual care was delivered at a federally qualified health center in the same geographic area. Participants were 688 predominantly Spanish-speaking Latinx adults with type 2 diabetes. The main outcome was a change in glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c]) from baseline to follow-up. A community-initiated promotor/a-led educational program for diabetes self-management is associated with clinically significant improvement in blood sugar control, superior to what was observed with usual medical care. This study serves as an evidence-based practice that highlights the essential service that promotores provide to advancing health outcomes in vulnerable communities.
For more information on our Diabetes Management Program, contact our Program Coordinator Guillermo Alvarez at galvarez@latinohealthaccess.org.
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LHA Founder America Bracho
6th Annual Influencers for Good Award
by Institute for Community Impact
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