MA-CEAL Community Health Ambassador Program

This research is being conducted to investigate how to increase primary care health care visits and screenings and treatment for hypertension and diabetes in residents of housing developments in Boston. The investigators are partnering with Boston Housing Authority (BHA) and Trinity housing management to randomize 12 housing developments (6 in intervention and 6 in control). 6 residents from the housing developments will become Community Health Ambassadors (CHA). The CHAs will be trained to conduct "workshops" within the intervention arm. These workshops will cover Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and Hypertension (HTN) information. Along with the workshops, CHAs will act as mentors for the residents and provide them with resources to connect them to primary care, Community Health Centers, food pantry resources, how to get insurance, and other needed services. CHAs will be part-time employees of the Massachusetts Community Engaged Alliance (MA-CEAL), so they will be paid for the work they are doing while simultaneously building their professional skill set. MA-CEAL's community engagement (CE) team will act as liaisons and mentors for the CHA's to help guide them and also connect them to opportunities for career/personal development.