Voices From the Field: Engaging Youth in Health Equity Work at the Community Level

Presenters

Questions

• Youth in health disparities
• Considering the complexity of health disparities, how/why has your organization <or you> decided to focus on this issue?
• Purpose of their engagement with Youth: Why involve them?
• Why is it important to engage youth in addressing health inequities?
• Mobilizing Youth in health initiatives
• How has your organization <or you> engaged youth in this work?
• Challenges and successes
• Discuss future challenges and/or opportunities

INCLUDE SLIDES HERE

Hyde Square Task Force

We envision a city where all youth reach their full potential and are reflected in Boston’s culture and leadership.

​

5

Our Vision

To amplify the power, creativity, and voices of youth, connecting them to Afro-Latin culture and heritage so they can create a diverse, vibrant Latin Quarter and build a just, equitable Boston.

�

6

Our Mission

7

8

9

10

• JEA combines Afro-Latin Arts, Civic Engagement and Education

​

​

• Subset of JEA youth become youth organizers

​

• Long-term model, youth join JEA in middle school, join College Success (Caminos) program and stay connected to HSTF post college graduation

​

• Both JEA and Caminos participants have access to social emotional support (1:1 and group sessions)

​

• JEA youth build relationships with ~5+ caring adults

​

• All of our work is grounded in our neighborhood, Boston’s Latin Quarter

​

​

11

What Makes HSTF Unique

• Reach 300 youth directly per year

​

• Each year, 100% JEA youth graduate high school

​

• Approx. 85-90% JEA youth go on to college

​

• Develop leaders: 4 alumni are on HSTF Board of Directors

​

• JEA youth have led successful citywide organizing campaigns (e.g., Stop and Shop)

​

• Engage 2,000+ audience members each year

​

• Critical role in stabilizing our neighborhood and contributed in various ways to the City overall

​

12

Our Impact

Youth Wellness Corps for Health Equity��Adán Colón-Carmona, PhD

Needs and Gaps in STEM Workforce Development Training

• STEM workforce does not reflect the demographics of current US population
• Lack of people in health careers that look like people from urban and underserved communities

​

Pew Research Center’s 2021 report on the American Community Survey of STEM Jobs

Needs and Gaps in STEM Workforce Development Training

• Focus on the MD track, nursing or laboratory research, while other career pathways are not explored
• Training opportunities in laboratory settings available in prep for graduate school, community-field experience is not available
• Students of color, 1^st generation and/or immigrant students have a strong sense of wanting to “give back” or “help their communities”
• Disconnect between what they are learning in the classroom & what they experiencing in their communities

​

Overall Goal

Develop a community-based training initiative promoting health equity by providing UMass Boston undergraduates interested in health careers with internships in community organizations.

​

Aim

Recruit diverse UMass Boston students majoring in all science disciplines and from underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds to participate in training opportunities within non-profits and community-based organizations in communities of color, working to alleviate health disparities (motivated by what we were seeing in communities ravaged by COVID-19).

Youth Wellness Corps (YWC) for Health Equity

Colleges:

College of Science and Mathematics

College of Liberal Arts

Manning College of Nursing and Exercise Health Sciences

​

Departments:

American Studies

Biology

Communications

Computer Science

Exercise & Health Sciences

Nursing

Psychology

YWC Fellows Represent

2022 Fellows: 7 (all self identified as students of color)

2023 Fellows: 9 (all self identified as students of color)

Community Partners�

Communities served by the project:

Boston (Allston, Boston, Dorchester, East Boston, Jamaica Plain, Roxbury), Lynn, Springfield

​

June 9: Human subject and Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training

June 16: Searching for and reading published journal articles

June 23: Community-based organizations outreach (Guest speaker)

July 7: “Mentoring-up” and scientific communication (how to present a project)

July 14: Community-based participatory qualitative research approaches, storytelling with case study example. (Guest speaker)

July 21: Community-based participatory research approaches, case study example. (Guest Speaker). �August 2: UMASS Boston Education Day (hosted by the U54)�August 11: Fellows present final health equity projects done with community organization

2023 Summer Programming in Addition to the Internship

Perceived barriers to HIV testing in homeless and non-homeless communities

Final Project Presentations

(Karina)

(Jackelyn)

(Angie)

Funders and Collaborators

YWC Team

Karla Corres-Luna (Program Manager)

Fabian Torres-Ardila, PhD (Associate Director of the Gastón)

Gastón Institute, Dr. Lorna Rivera and Staff

Latinx Knowledge Hub and UMass Boston Colleagues (Guest Speakers)

Acknowledgements:

ARTIVISM: EMPOWERING YOUTH VOICES

Helina Almonte

Visit our website for other events!

​

https://www.latinxknowledgehub.org

​