Links in Housing and Health: MHP’s Innovative Community Health Worker Approach

Recognizing Community Needs

After launching a variety of services and emergency resident outreach during the pandemic, it became clear to MHP staff that affordable housing residents need healthcare support. When a person experiences a health-related setback, it can have major financial reverberations. For families living paycheck to paycheck, health setbacks can jeopardize their ability to pay for basic needs, including rent. A temporary loss of the ability to work often leads to a loss of income, and sometimes a loss of employment. Healthcare bills can become burdensome and pile up along with other bills, leading to major financial challenges. This is especially problematic for people who are uninsured or underinsured.  With these compounding factors, one person’s health challenge can become an entire family’s financial crisis.

The majority of residents living in MHP properties represent members of the vulnerable groups most at risk of facing health disparities resulting in increased risk of chronic health problems and higher rates of mortality. By helping people get the healthcare resources they need in conjunction with providing quality affordable housing, MHP is furthering its commitment to residents’ well-being.

Promotores: An Innovative Health Approach in Wheaton

MHP recently launched a Community Health Worker (CHW) program designed to advance health equity among residents of our affordable housing properties. This initiative aims to empower residents to spearhead a public health campaign within one of our most underserved communities, Amherst/Pembridge in Wheaton, MD. This area is home to a considerable population lacking health insurance, grappling with chronic health conditions, and experiencing food insecurity challenges.

The CHW model is a powerful place-based initiative to reduce health disparities particularly among lower-income communities, communities of color, and those who are new or recent immigrants. Drawn from the communities they serve, CHWs act as frontline public health workers who bridge the cultural and linguistic gaps that commonly exist between health providers and patients.

MHP’s Promotores pilot program identifies, trains and employs CHWs who live in the Amherst/Pembridge apartment community. Lilian and Isis, our first Promotores, have successfully organized impactful initiatives such as community clinics and collaborated with other nonprofit organizations to expand access to healthy, fresh food to households experiencing food insecurity.

Healthcare partners include managed care organizations, health insurers and hospital systems. For example, Kaiser Permanente provides screenings for blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol screening, body mass index, and vaccinations for children and adults. Additionally, in 2024, MHP partnered with Kaiser Permanente on a diabetes prevention program.

Other CHW-related partnerships include Holy Cross Hospital, United Healthcare, Mary’s Center, the Latino Health Initiative, Montgomery County DHHS, the Mobile Dentist and more.

MHP’s health Promotores connect residents with health services to manage chronic conditions, assist uninsured residents obtain medical coverage, and address food insecurity within the community via SNAP enrollment and on-site food distributions. As trusted members of the communities they serve, CHWs work to improve the health of their neighbors through social support, advocacy, coaching, and navigation.

Building an Equitable and Scalable Solution

The CHW Promotores program exemplifies our commitment to improving the lives of residents. It also functions as a workforce development initiative, providing low-income residents with new career paths and opportunities to boost household income.

In the future, MHP aims to increase the scale and scope of services so that in five years there will be at least one resident CHW at five separate MHP affordable housing properties who connect their neighbors to healthcare resources.