Both Sides of the Tracks: Two CHEs Tell How They Went From Being a Part of Vulnerable Populations to Serving Them

Oreletta Garmon and Maria Trujillo have been Community Health Educators for a combined ten years.  Both of us have powerful stories of how we were members of vulnerable populations and now we have become the health ambassadors to this same population.  Currently, we work at Mount Sinai Hospital for the Sinai Urban Health Institute’s Helping Her Live (HHL) Program.   HHL is a breast health navigation program that targets uninsured/underinsured/publically insured African American women and Latinas and assists them with getting free mammograms.   Many of the women that HHL serves live in domestic violence and homeless shelters, recovery homes, are formerly incarcerated and may have histories of alcohol and substance abuse. 

In addition to sharing our testimonies, we would like to show a video clip from the documentary entitled “Unnatural Causes”.  It shows the intersection of health, wealth and racism.  We would like to facilitate a discussion surrounding how these factors compounded by being a vulnerable population exacerbate the health disparities within these communities.  Based on our personal and professional experiences, we will provide suggestions on how to effectively build relationships with vulnerable populations and how to reconnect them to the healthcare system.  Oftentimes, health is not the top priority for these women that have more pressing life issues.  However, because we understand some of their life circumstances, we can help them mitigate some of those situations without judgment or intimidation-which builds trust.  People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Two CHEs will present.