Other Training Opportunities

Asynchronous: IPHA and the Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA) launched an asynchronous program titled Community Health Worker Cancer 101. Click here to learn more and register.

Monthly: IPHA is hosting a monthly training series on Maternal and Child Health Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). These sessions will be held on Tuesdays from 9:00 – 10:00 AM. The first session will be on June 10, 2025. No registration is required. Click here to learn more and access the Zoom link.

June 9, 2025, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in Carterville and June 11, 2025, 12:30 – 4:30 PM in Peoria: Mary Jane Clark, MS, RN, CHES®, CHWC ® with West Central Illinois AHEC will host a Consumer Wellness Advocate Training. To learn more and register click here.

July 17, 2025, 12:30 – 4:30 PM in Peoria and July 28, 2025, 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in Carterville: Mary Jane Clark, MS, RN, CHES®, CHWC ® with West Central Illinois AHEC will host a Professional Coach Advocate Training. To learn more and register click here

All training can be found on the event calendar on IPHA’s website.

If you have any recommendations, topic ideas, or speakers for our Lunch & Learns, please complete this form and we will try our best to accommodate your recommendations.

Illinois CHW Highlight: DeMarsh Tarver

DeMarsh Tarver is a CHW who went through CHW 101 training with IPHA. DeMarsh is currently working at Agape, NFP as a Prevention Specialist and Health Advocate. He assists those living with HIV by addressing the social determinants of health. This includes medication adherence and updated education, advocacy and addressing any other comorbidities in addition to HIV. His role also includes housing advocacy, ensuring all Illinoisans have safe, affordable, clean sanitary housing free from stigma based on health or income. By providing CHWs with updated information and ongoing support, CHWs ensure that people living with HIV remain engaged in care, which will ensure long-term health and well-being. Serving as trusted members of the community, CHWs are armed with the knowledge that can combat HIV related stigma and discrimination, fostering a more inclusive environment for those affected.

“HOUSING IS HEALTH!!” – DeMarsh Tarver

IPHA is excited to share stories of CHW education and employment partners across the state. IPHA has offered technical assistance to these organizations and training centers to support the expansion of the CHW workforce.

Empowering Change: The Journey of Jennifer Andrews and 101 Ways

In a world where challenges often seem insurmountable, Jennifer Andrews stands as a beacon of hope and resilience. A disabled veteran with lived experience in homelessness and domestic violence, Jennifer's journey has been shaped by adversity. Growing up in a challenging environment, she faced numerous obstacles, including having parents who were former substance users and multiple family members who have been incarcerated. Throughout her life, Jennifer has battled with depression and PTSD, but she has transformed her pain into purpose.

As the Founder of 101 Ways, a nonprofit organization born from her own past trauma, Jennifer is dedicated to creating pathways for healing and empowerment. Recently, she achieved a significant milestone by earning her Bachelor’s degree in Christian Psychology, further solidifying her commitment to helping others. Additionally, Jennifer is a certified Community Health Worker and a proud member of the National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW), equipping her with the skills to make a tangible impact in the community.

101 Ways focuses on serving formerly incarcerated women, providing them with safe housing and a variety of wrap-around services designed to facilitate reintegration into society. As a member of the national SAFE Housing Network, formed by CNN Hero Susan Burton, 101 Ways is committed to expanding its reach and capacity to support those in need. The organization’s goal is to support communities in achieving health, equity, and social justice.

Recently, 101 Ways collaborated with the Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA) to train additional Community Health Workers (CHWs) who will be deployed in underserved and disadvantaged communities in Southern Illinois. The new team of CHWs will tackle pressing health issues such as cancer, diabetes, child and infant mortality, and HIV, while also addressing social determinants of health like food insecurity, transportation, stable housing, and employment. By engaging individuals in their health journeys and educating the community on health and resilience, 101 Ways aims to foster a culture of wellness.

The southern Illinois communities served by 101 Ways have faced numerous declared disasters, high rates of unemployment, increased violence, insufficient mental health support, and many residents living below the federal poverty level. Chronic diseases are prevalent, making the work of 101 Ways crucial. The organization has developed a strategic plan to enact meaningful change, focusing on empowerment and support for those in need.

As part of its future initiatives, 101 Ways is excited to introduce the Transformational Resilience Coordination Network (TRCN) and plans to expand its Impact Center. Additionally, the organization is in the process of purchasing a hydroponic farm to grow fresh fruits and vegetables, which will be distributed free of charge to those in need.

Jennifer Andrews and 101 Ways are committed to empowering women and transforming lives, and they are eager to partner with others across the state of Illinois. Understanding that collaboration is key, 101 Ways invites support and engagement from individuals and organizations who share a vision of a healthier, more resilient community.

To stay updated on the latest developments and initiatives, follow 101 Ways through their website or on Facebook. Together, we can work towards a future filled with hope, health, and empowerment.

Brushwood Center

Brushwood Center works collaboratively with community partners, artists, health care providers, and scientists to improve health equity and access to nature in Lake County, Illinois, and the Chicago region. We engage people with the outdoors through the arts, environmental education, and community action. Brushwood Center’s programs focus on youth, families, Military Veterans, and those facing racial and economic injustices.

Brushwood Center is co-designing and launching TIERRA (Transforming Internal Experiences for Resilience and Restoration through Acceptance), an innovative, research-informed, nature-based training program for Community Health Workers to address health and environmental injustices in Illinois.

The goal of the TIERRA training program is to equip Community Health Workers in Lake County with the knowledge, skills, and tools for implementing nature-based, culturally competent, and trauma-informed interventions that improve mental health for communities impacted by environmental and social injustice. 

TIERRA is a group intervention that combines central tenets of both third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy and nature and forest therapy.  This includes mindfulness invitations conducted in nature spaces, as well as skill-building education sessions on topics like interpersonal effectiveness, distress tolerance, and strategies for value-based living.

The purpose of this intervention is to foster radical hope amongst our community. Radical hope is a dialectic, which means “to hold two opposite concepts at one point of time.” Radical hope identifies our resources and cultural wisdom as our greatest strength. Within the context of TIERRA, it means acknowledging our individual and collective past pain, strengths, and stories; rooting ourselves firmly in the present; and dreaming of a brighter individual and collective future, despite all odds and hardship.

TIERRA is providing CHWs with an accessible intervention to support not only their community’s mental wellbeing, but also their own. The TIERRA training that CHWs participate in incorporates experiential sessions where CHWS get to experience the TIERRA intervention for themselves, from forest therapy excursions to psychoeducation discussions. This enables the CHWS to fill their own cups before learning how to offer the intervention to their communities.

This project is also an active research project conducted in collaboration with CHW partners, which provides additional professional development experience for CHW participants in community-based participatory research. For more information on the Brushwood Center, you can visit their website or contact them at info@brushwoodcenter.org.

Navigating the Breast Cancer Journey: CHWs Making a Measurable Impact in Springfield by Frank Nwaogelenya Opia, MBCHB

IPHA has two Breast Cancer (BC) grants. BC education and outreach, and BC patient navigation, both awarded and funded in part by IDPH and the Carolyn Adams Ticket for The Cure. IPHA has subcontracted with IPHCA, The Hispanic Women of Springfield (HWOS) who focuses primarily on Sangamon County and other nearby counties, the NAACP DuPage, and Access DuPage who both focus on DuPage County.

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are at the heart of these grants. Through targeted engagement in Springfield, HWOS and IPHA designed bilingual health education brochures, audiovisual presentations, and culturally sensitive toolkits aimed at empowering both CHWs and community members. These materials were tailored to break down language and cultural barriers in high-risk, underserved populations, especially among very vulnerable Black and Brown communities. As part of this initiative, CHWs were equipped with evidence-based resources to conduct outreach and education. Similarly, CHWs working on the BC Patient Navigation grant were provided with evidence-based BC Navigator training, culturally relevant resources, and connections to other CBOs, clinics, and hospital systems in DuPage County.

The results speak volumes. Between November 2024 and March 2025, our education, outreach, and introduction to navigation efforts directly engaged over 580 individuals across the counties of interest in Illinois. Pre- and post-test assessments for a subset of this population showed a 42% increase in knowledge related to breast cancer risk factors, early detection, and available screening services. Despite barriers, including fear among undocumented participants, holidays, and current events, the CHWs adapted quickly. Their flexibility, cultural humility, and peer model highlights the indispensable role of CHWs in building trust and sustaining engagement. Research affirms that CHWs and patient navigators improve mammography rates, reduce late-stage diagnoses, and increase patient satisfaction across diverse populations (Freund et al., 2014) and (Natale-Pereira et al., 2011). Our experience with these CHWs mirrors these findings: when CHWs lead, health equity follows.

References:

• Freund, K. M., Battaglia, T. A., Calhoun, E., Darnell, J. S., Dudley, D. J., Fiscella, K., Hare, M. L., LaVerda, N., Lee, J.-H., Levine, P., Murray, D. M., Patierno, S. R., Raich, P. C., Roetzheim, R. G., Simon, M., Snyder, F. R., Warren-Mears, V., Whitley, E. M., Winters, P., … Writing Group of the Patient Navigation Research Program. (2014). Impact of patient navigation on timely cancer care: The Patient Navigation Research Program. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 106(6), dju115. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/dju115
• Natale-Pereira, A., Enard, K. R., Nevarez, L., & Jones, L. A. (2011). The role of patient navigators in eliminating health disparities. Cancer, 117(15 Suppl), 3543–3552. https://doi.org/10.1002/cncr.2626

Have a safe month,

Tracey Smith, Associate Executive Director for Public Health Practice at IPHA, Director of the CHW Capacity Building Center

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. We strive to keep CHWs, their employers, educators, and allies informed and connected. If you would like to contribute information for a future newsletter, please contact Mariah Menietti at mmenietti@ipha.com. We look forward to showcasing ways in which CHWs are making an impact in Illinois.