La Familia Counseling Center Receives Grant Award

SACRAMENTO, CA — La Familia Counseling Center today announced it is among 49 awardees that received a grant from Direct Relief’s Fund for Health Equity, which mobilizes financial resources for organizations focused on non-clinical interventions that affect a person's health. Commonly known as the social determinants of health, these factors include an individual’s physical, social, political, cultural, and economic environment.

La Familia Counseling Center will use the grant to help fund the Cultura de Salud program. This effort is dedicated to training youth and community members in culturally responsive principles of community health and wellness.

“This grant is coming at a very important time,” said Rachel Rios, Executive Director at La Familia Counseling Center. “The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of having Community Health workers, Promotoras and Navigators in reaching vulnerable communities. The inequities and unequal access to health care have played a significant role in why communities of color have been so significantly impacted by COVID.”

This grant will allow La Familia to train and support community members through the Cultura de Salud training sessions which will encompass training on understanding mental health and stigmas for cultural communities. It will utilize the “Promotora Model” a national model for community health to instruct community members and mobilize them to further assist in COVID-19 outreach and education, mental health workshops and community health events.

“This round of funding honors organizations on the front lines of their communities that are already working tirelessly to eliminate health disparities,” said Byron Scott, MD, MBA, co-chair of the Fund for Health Equity and board director of Direct Relief and chair of its Medical Advisory Council. “These funds will allow these exemplary organizations to continue innovation as they improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations across various communities in our country.”

La Familia, located in Sacramento’s Promise Zone in South Sacramento at Franklin Blvd and Fruitridge Road, has some of the highest health disparities. The programs offered at La Familia are open across Sacramento including the rural agricultural communities.

“As a result of this generous support, La Familia will be able to meet our community where they are at,” said Rios.

The awardees were selected by the Fund for Health Equity's Advisory Council, which includes the following members:

• Co-Chair Regina Benjamin, MD, MBA, 18th U.S. Surgeon General of the United States, Founder Bayou Clinic, Inc. 
• Co-Chair Byron Scott, MD, MBA, Board Director of Direct Relief and Chair of its Medical Advisory Council 
• Martha Dawson, DNP, MSN, RN, FACHE, President of the National Black Nurses Association, Associate Professor the University of Alabama at Birmingham 
• Jane Delgado, Ph.D., MS, President and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health 
• Gail Small, JD, Head Chief Woman, a citizen of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe 

ABOUT LA FAMILIA COUNSELING CENTER
La Familia Counseling Center, Inc. (La Familia) provides multicultural counseling, outreach and support services for children, youth, families and individuals of diverse backgrounds to help them overcome adversity and become empowered to succeed in their lives. For nearly 50 years, La Familia has successfully operated programs that have been recognized on the local, state and national levels. All of La Familia’s services are free and bilingual staff members are available to meet the needs of our diverse community.