HistoryHistory
"We [the founders] believed that farmworkers would listen to [their peers] about health care issues. You are always going to have . . . people working in the fields who feed us. We need to continue to support them to improve their lives. Respect and be grateful for the work that they do and design health promotion programs in holistic ways."
-Sister Maurita Sengelaub, RSM, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Farmington Hills, MI and Founding Member of Migrant Health Promotion
Creating a Community-Based Response: 1983-1985
Since its inception in 1983, Migrant Health Promotion has worked with farmworkers and their rural communities to improve health, increase access to care and create migrant labor camps and communities that support health. Developing and implementing innovative health promotion programs with a firm commitment to collaboration and resource sharing have remained key organizational strategies. The National Migrant Worker Council, Inc., a group of Catholic sisters, religious leaders and volunteers, originally shaped this vision out of their commitment to improving the health of farmworkers. With a small grant from the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Council conducted a community assessment with farmworkers in the Midwest and designed the original Migrant Health Services Directory and the Camp Health Aide Program.
Launching the First Camp Health Aide Programs: 1985-1987
The first Camp Health Aide Program began in Bangor, Michigan in 1985. The program is based on David Werner's Village Health Worker model and is tailored to the unique needs and strengths of the Latino farmworker community. It is Migrant Health Promotion's original Promotor(a) program and remains a core model for work in migrant labor camps and communities. Based on the success of the Bangor program, additional programs followed throughout the Midwest. Migrant Health Promotion works with local Migrant and Community Health Centers or community organizations to establish programs and then turns them over to these local organizations to run with consultation, materials and other assistance from Migrant Health Promotion. Since 1985, Migrant Health Promotion has helped to develop an average of two Camp Health Aide or Promotor(a) programs each year.
Establishing Border Programs in the Rio Grande Valley: 1987-1993
Experienced Promotores and Promotoras from the Midwest soon invited Migrant Health Promotion to their permanent homes, or homebase, in South Texas to serve the United States-Mexico border community. In 1987, Migrant Health Promotion offered its first programs in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Initially, all programs were seasonal to complement the summer season in the Midwest. In 1993, the agency established a permanent office in Relampago, Texas to maintain both seasonal and year-round programs, called Colonia Health Worker Programs. Experienced Promotores(as) participate in advanced training, provide peer education and support at understaffed health care organizations and conduct outreach in isolated border colonias and communities. The Texas programs have consistently grown, building community capacity and addressing the unique health challenges of the border region.
Expanding and Refining Successful Program Models: 1993-Present
Migrant Health Promotion has developed several adaptations of the original Camp Health Aide Program model to build on community strengths and meet complex health needs. These Promotor(a) program models include the following:
- The Infórmate Teen Health Program began in Manchester, Michigan in 1995 and offered peer health education and group activities led by Teen Health Aides. Infórmate has since expanded to new sites, including South Texas, and added a Teen Theater Troupe.
- In 1999, the REACH Promotora Community Coalition was launched in the Rio Grande Valley, setting a new standard for coalition building and community-based solutions to health problems. The REACH Coalition has over 200 active members and is creating individual and environmental changes related to diabetes prevention and control. It is fast becoming a national model for community-based coalition work.
- The Salud Para Todos Program began in Michigan and Colorado in 2000. Salud Para Todos Promotores(as) help their peers prevent and address substance abuse, mental health and behavioral health problems.
- The Farmworker Doula Program started in 2001 in Sparta, Michigan. Experienced Promotoras are trained as Doulas, or birth attendants. They support farmworker women through prenatal care, childbirth and the postpartum period.
Migrant Health Promotion's programs have consistently grown in scale, depth and complexity over the organization's history because of the vision and hard work of the Promotores(as) and others who support them.
