INDIANAPOLIS — There is a new push from an Indianapolis nonprofit aimed at getting more mental health resources to minority communities across Marion County.
The nonprofit ASPIN (Affiliated Service Providers of Indiana) was awarded a $100,000 grant that will be used to select and train 25 people to become certified community health workers.
These workers will specifically help Black, Indigenous, people of color and Hispanic communities.
Right now, ASPIN says they're lacking in diversity when it comes to community health workers.
An Indiana Community Health Worker (CHW) 2020 Needs Assessment Report that surveyed active CHWs working in the state of Indiana, published by Purdue University, found that there are only 61 (9%) Black/African American CHWs and 29 (5%) Hispanic or Latino/a/x CHWs actively working in Indiana, compared to 439 (68%) white CHWs.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 70% of Hispanic communities said they rely on health information from their social network.
"We try to address those stigmas in those specific cultures but also by training people from those communities or serve those communities and have an in-depth knowledge of those communities," said Paul Conrad, director of training and development for ASPIN. "It helps reduce that stigma, and we get more buy-in from the people that need this treatment."
Training is expected to take 50 hours to complete, and ASPIN will offer hybrid classes for those who work full time.
The goal is to have 25 certified community health workers trained by January to start serving their communities and beyond.
Those interested in applying can learn more at this link.