Building Individual and Community Capacity

Abstract

The core role of building individual and community capacity involves the development of skills, resources, knowledge, and tools to help promote health. Teams in Michigan and South Carolina tell their stories of how CHWs build capacity in their communities and within the CHW profession. Through storytelling and discussion from CHWs and allies, the Michigan team explores three key theme areas related to capacity building: (1) motivation for social justice and equity, (2) ethical and professional engagement, and (3) building capacity for change through relationships. They also delve into these three areas through stories from CHWs and allies of on-the-ground work in Michigan, both organizing CHWs and working with community members. The South Carolina team highlights PASOs (which means “steps” in Spanish), an organization that works with Latino families and communities to improve health outcomes across the state. PASOs uses innovative training and team building techniques to capitalize on the strengths of both individuals and communities and increase the capacity of CHWs to help participants feel more confident to effectively navigate health services. Just as importantly, CHWs in PASOs work individually and in regional teams to catalyze local change and work together in the form of a statewide coalition, advocating for systemic changes that can improve the health of the whole community.

Authorship is organized alphabetically in ascending order by surname.