Empowering Community Health Organizations

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services (MCDHHS) created the Empowering Community Health Organizations (E.C.H.O.) project to provide practical and professional training workshops designed to build the capacity and sustainability of community organizations. The E.C.H.O. project brings together the three minority health programs--the African American Health Program (AAHP), Asian American Health Initiative (AAHI) and Latino Health Initiative (LHI). Community leaders from the racial and ethnic minority communities are trained on the important topics that they select. Past E.C.H.O. topics have included health data, mental health and the Affordable Care Act. The E.C.H.O. project also shows increases in knowledge and positive changes in attitude on the topics covered. By empowering local community health organizations, AAHI, as a part of MCDHHS, increases inter-county cooperation as well as reach their most underserved county residents.