Work
Population & Community Health
We Fund Connection because impactful work in Population & Community Health calls for strong connections … between addressing current health needs, supporting ongoing wellness, and promoting prevention. UniHealth grantees make these connections with interdisciplinary programs that strive to:
Empower people to engage in positive health behaviors and make informed decisions, especially with regard to appropriate use of healthcare services.
Alleviate the social and economic circumstances that can prevent people from reaching and maintaining positive health outcomes.
Encourage strategies and partnerships across community sectors – such as public health, industry, academia, health services, and local government entities — to address health disparities.
Enhance quality of life and reduce the impact of disease by fostering healthy environments.
We Fund
Connection
Our health navigators have . . . made a huge impact in the community through providing education, serving as patients’ support system, helping limited-English-proficient clients navigate the complex health care system, and more importantly, helping clients access quality preventive healthcare services in a timely manner.
Grantee Spotlight
The Cambodian Family
Located in the city of Santa Ana in Orange County and established over 44 years ago, The Cambodian Family (TCF) Community Center strives to promote social health by providing refugee and immigrant families the opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills, and desires for creating health and well-being in their lives. TCF sees a future where refugee and immigrant families are happy, healthy, self-reliant, and contributing members of society. TCF provides a one-stop service center where community members can access multiple services at one central location such as early childhood education, after-school youth programs, employment referral services, health and mental health services, benefit enrollment, family support services, youth substance use disorder prevention, and immigration services. TCF also promotes civic engagement and assists with the naturalization (citizenship) process. In FY2023, TCF reached over 41,500 community members and provided approximately 29,000 direct services to over 7,800 clients. TCF serves a very diverse population, with 60% of our clients of Southeast Asian descent, 35% Latinx, and 5% other ethnicities. Over 95% of clients are low-income and limited-English proficient.
Support from UniHealth Foundation
UniHealth Foundation is supporting the Body, Mind, and Spiritual Wellness (BMSW) Program which addresses the unmet mental health needs of the community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing need for mental health prevention, early intervention, and counseling services. The BMSW program increases access to mental health care services ranging from culturally tailored prevention and early intervention, outreach and engagement, case management, counseling, and wellness promoting activities.
RH, 65 years old, reported how much she enjoys coming to our center for exercise and wellness classes. “I attend the exercise and wellness classes and learn so much from it. It is so much fun and I get to socialize with my friends too after the class. This really helps with my mental health and my overall health. I sleep better and I feel better.” UniHealth support allows TCF to build the capacity and infrastructure necessary to become a Medi-Cal billing agency and to leverage a partnership with a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) to support its Medi-Cal billing pathway. This capacity building support is critical for TCF to sustain its mental health programs and services long-term through being able to generate unrestricted income.
Success and Beyond
TCF is in the second year of the BMSW grant and despite experiencing challenges related to the hiring of a bilingual mental health therapist, the program has seen significant progress toward their established outcomes. Over 75% of BMSW program participants reported that after joining the program, they found it less challenging to talk about mental health topics and to seek mental health services. Additionally, over 90% of participants reported that they had better access to mental health care services due to their participation in the BMSW program.
The initial success of the BMSW program, which addressed the unmet mental health needs of one of the most underserved communities in the U.S., allowed TCF to apply for and receive a 2-million-dollar donation from the billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott through her Yield Giving. TCF was one of 361 applicants selected from a pool of over 6,000 nonprofit organizations in the U.S. that were recognized and awarded for their drive to elevate the voices of vulnerable individuals and families who face systemic obstacles and challenges. The Cambodian Family was recently featured on ABC7 where Executive Director expressed his deepfelt gratitude for the support provided. He states: “We are thinking of using the funding to really expand our programs and services, especially providing more culturally and linguistically competent mental wellness classes and mental health counseling/therapy services.” The Cambodian Family is well positioned to sustain the successes of the BMSW program and promote the social well-being of those they serve daily.
