Community organizations throughout California are hiring, training and mentoring Health Ambassadors who have experiences of homelessness and who can offer peer support and share personal motivations for getting vaccines and other health services.
The program also strengthens partnerships among stakeholders in the homelessness system of care and local public health and health care systems, and provides connections to health care and housing resources.
This opportunity is provided through a grant from the California Department of Public Health. The Center is administering the grant.
The Funding Opportunity
This statewide program is providing $4 million in funding and technical assistance for organizations to hire, train, mentor and support Health Ambassadors. Grant awards range from $100,000 to $250,000 over 18 months.
2022 Funding
The California Department of Public Health awarded $3.86 million to 16 nonprofit organizations and government entities to support hiring and training of peer Health Ambassadors for people experiencing homelessness across California.
Health Ambassadors provide ongoing outreach to help people experiencing homelessness feel more confident about COVID-19 vaccines and link them to testing, vaccine resources and other health-related services.
Funded Community Partners
- Access Support Network (Monterey, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Benito counties)
- Alliance for Community Transformations (Mariposa County)
- Asian Youth Center (Los Angeles County)
- Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates Inc. (San Francisco County)
- Code Tenderloin, Fiscal Sponsor: Center for New Music (San Francisco County)
- Community Medical Centers, Inc. (San Joaquin County)
- Foothill House of Hospitality, DBA Hospitality House (Nevada County)
- Healthy House Within a MATCH Coalition (Merced County)
- Hill Country Community Clinic (Shasta County)
- LifeLong Medical Care (Contra Costa County)
- Roots Community Health Center (Alameda County)
- Safer Alternatives through Networking & Education (Sacramento County)
- San Diego Housing Commission (San Diego County)
- Special Service for Groups, Inc. (Los Angeles County)
- The Folsom Cordova Community Partnership (Sacramento County)
- Vision y Compromiso (San Bernardino County)