Esperanza’s Community Health Programs began in 1995, with the creation of the Community Health Promoters Training Program to improve community access to health information, and provide training and employment opportunities for bilingual low-income community members.

Graduates go on to internships, jobs and advanced training in health education. In the process, they gain leadership skills and are able to address the health needs of their own community.

To date, Esperanza has trained 310 residents to become community health leaders, patient advocates, and health educators.

Esperanza-trained Health Promoters currently provide a significant level of health services through their employment in more than 30 local health agencies. Promotoras reach more than 20,000 community residents each year and educate residents about varied health issues, including environmental health, lead poisoning prevention, allergies and asthma, prenatal care and early childhood development, childhood immunizations, access to health services, and oral health education.

The health promoters increase an underserved community’s access to health care and information in the neighborhood, and collect timely data on the health status of a traditionally-underserved population (recent immigrants). They are often the first to know about emerging health needs through their work in the field, and are best able to determine what changes need to be made in healthcare delivery to make services more accessible to the community.

Most health promoters have advanced from unemployment or minimum wage jobs to jobs that pay $12 - $18/hour with benefits. The program also offers the opportunity for graduates to develop leadership skills through mentoring future classes of health promoters and participating in professional training workshops.