Outreach

The Harris County Public Health Outreach Team is a diverse group of Community Health Workers (CHWs) with a mission improve the health and wellbeing of individuals in Harris County. Outreach in the public health field has an overall aim to mitigate health disparities and includes any engagement with community members intended to:

  • Educate on healthy behaviors and practices
  • Promote events, activities, and programs that work to reduce poor health outcomes
  • Connect people to services or programs that provide resources that support overall health and well-being

The goals of the Outreach team are to:

  • Increase community awareness and access to all Harris County Public Health programs and services.
  • Connect community members to additional services and community resources based on their individual or family’s needs.
  • Inform and educate the community of emerging public health diseases and threats in Harris County.

For more information contact:

Phone: (832) 927-4450

Email: [email protected]

Subscribe to our Outreach Team Newsletter: Word on the Street

looking for covid-19 updates and resources?

Please see our COVID-19 resource toolkit below to find updated COVID-19 guidance, COVID-19 vaccine and testing information/resources, and more!

Title Type

Outreach COVID-19 Care Kit

Forms of Outreach

We have been granted funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand our work in the community to prevent COVID-19 and poor health outcomes. Our Community Health Workers (CHWs) engage with their fellow community members in the following ways:

Community Events

  • We partner with businesses and organizations to engage in public spaces such as grocery stores, bakeries, flea markets, health fairs, food distribution sites, schools, clinics, universities, and more!
  • We distribute “Care Kits” which contain updated information on COVID-19, Mpox, Harris County Public Health programs and additional community resources. Our materials are available in English and Spanish.

In-Person and Virtual Presentations

We can provide presentations on any of the following topics in English or Spanish:

  • COVID-19
    • Share current information on prevention, vaccines, testing and how to access available resources.
    • Address community concerns around vaccine hesitancy and debunk myths and misinformation.
  • Mpox
    • Share what the disease is, how it spreads, who is at risk, prevention measures, and vaccine eligibility.
  • Resource Navigation
    • Promote our Connect Team, which is a resource navigation program that provides Harris County residents with application assistance to state and local benefit programs.
  • Public Health 101
    • What is Public Health? What does Harris County Public Health do?

Community Canvassing and Phone Calls

  • We share crucial public health updates and additional community resources to community members where they live, learn, work, worship, and play, both in-person and over-the-phone.

Bi-Monthly Newsletter

Every other month, we share important public health updates and trends, upcoming opportunities for CHWs, and community resources in our Outreach Team Newsletter: Word on the Street. See our past Newsletters below!

  • Newsletter 1 - English or Spanish : Word on the Street: Meet the Outreach team, HCPH Connect Program, Pediatric Vaccines, and the BA.5 COVID-19 Variant
  • Newsletter 2 - English or Spanish: Word on the Street: Mpox, Community Resource Lists, and What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 
  • Newsletter 3 - English or Spanish: Word on the Street: Bivalent boosters, updated COVID-19 guidances, Vaccine & Testing resources, and Black Maternal Health Initiatives at HCPH

Subscribe to Word on the Street.

CHW Conferences

  • HCPH is hosting a Community Health Worker Conference on Saturday, June 3, 2023! Click here to learn more or to register.

Quarterly CHW Workshops

  • We host quarterly workshops led by CHWs for CHWs to have a shared learning space and platform to network, share experiences and strategies from various sectors, and gain exposure to new tools and resources for CHWs and the community members they serve.

Internship Opportunities

We offer internship and volunteer opportunities to college/university students and CHWs interested in learning about the field of community health, outreach, and education. Our interns gain experience through outreach and engagement in the field, as well as in-office projects to collaboratively build out strategies for the team.

  • If you’re interested in an internship or volunteer opportunity with The Outreach Team, please email your resume to Raquel Vela ([email protected]), the Intern Project Lead.

Looking for Additional Community Resources?

Our team is continuously searching for new ways to support Harris County residents get connected to resources and services based on their individual or family’s needs. Please see the attached guide below with a detailed list of resources that can help with food assistance, financial assistance, mental health services, seniors, immigration assistance, and much more!

Title Documents

Community Resource List (November)

English Spanish

Disaster Resources

English Spanish

Domestic Violence Resources

English Spanish

Use the links below to find resource lists specific to different health topics.

Title Documents

Heart Health Resources

English Spanish

LGBTQIA+ Resources

English

Breast Cancer Resource List

English Spanish

Cervical Cancer Resources

English Spanish

Diabetes Resource List

English Spanish

Maternal Health Resource List

English Spanish

HIV/AIDS Resource List

English Spanish

Nutrition Resources

English Spanish

Mental Health Resources

English Spanish

CHW Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats Analysis

In June of 2022, Harris County Public Health partnered with UTHealth School of Public Health to conduct a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis with local CHW stakeholders to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the present CHW context in Harris County, as well as to identify opportunities and threats that need to be overcome for successful CHW program implementation. This report provides a localized diagnosis of a critical area in public health infrastructure and workforce development amid a historic pandemic, and recommendations for moving forward successfully to build CHW infrastructure and resilience in the region. The analysis was a participatory action analysis which included CHW stakeholders, allies, and partners and their voices are reflected in the report. HCPH will continue to engage with partners to advance the CHW workforce. As a follow up to the report, HCPH and UTHealth partnered to engage local CHW stakeholders to brainstorm ways their organizations could implement the five recommendations that came out of the report. As such, an addendum to the original SWOT analysis report to include the discussion was created.

Please see below for the Executive Summary, Original SWOT Report, and the Addendum:

Title Type

CHW SWOT Full Report – Original

CHW SWOT Full Report & Addendum

CHW SWOT Analysis Executive Summary

HCPH Connect: Resource Navigation

HCPH Connect is a team of state-certified Resource Navigators that assist Harris County residents to apply for state benefits and get connected to additional resources. Call (832) 927-7946 or Email [email protected] to ask questions about available resources and receive one-on-one assistance in applying for any of the statewide benefits such as, SNAP (Food Stamps), WIC, CHIP, TANF, Medicaid or Medicare. Please leave a detailed voicemail with your name, phone number, and someone from our team will get back to you within 3 business days.

Click the box below to visit the HCPH Connect page to learn more about the program:

Our Services