Minority Health Program

Translated COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19: Symptoms to Look For and Where to Go for Care

  1. COVID-19 Symptom and Access Infograph

Multilingual Guidance for Stay at Home Order

  1. Multilingual Guidance for COVID-19 Stay at Home Order

COVID-19 Resource Guides

  1. Arabic COVID19 Resource Guide
  2. English COVID19 Resource Guide
  3. French COVID19 Resource Guide
  4. Portuguese COVID19 Resource Guide
  5. Somali COVID19 Resource Guide
  6. Spanish COVID19 Resource Guide

COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guide

  1. Arabic COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guide
  2. English COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guide
  3. French COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guide
  4. Portuguese COVID-19 Self-Isolation Guide

COVID-19 Signs Access

  1. Arabic COVID19 Signs Access
  2. English COV19 Signs Access
  3. French COVID19 Signs Access
  4. Somali COVID19 Signs Access
  5. Spanish COVID19 Signs Access
  6. Portuguese COVID19 Signs Access
  7. Vietnamese COVID19 Signs Access

COVID-19 Symptom Guide

  1. French COVID19 Symptom Guide
  2. Portuguese COVID19 Symptom Guide
  3. Somali COVID19 Symptom Guide
  4. Spanish COVID19 Symptom Guide

CDC Stop the Spread of Germs Poster

  1. Arabic Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  2. English Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  3. Farsi Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  4. French Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  5. Pashto Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  6. Portuguese Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  7. Russian Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  8. Somali Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  9. Spanish Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  10. Swahili Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster
  11. Vietnamese Stop the Spread of Germs CDC Poster

Hand-Washing Guide

  1. Arabic Wash Your Hands Poster
  2. English Wash Your Hands Poster
  3. French Wash Your Hands Poster
  4. Portuguese Wash Your Hands Poster
  5. Spanish Wash Your Hands Poster

COVID-19 Vaccine Flyer for Maine Residents Ages 70+

  1. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Arabic
  2. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, English
  3. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Khmer
  4. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Lingala
  5. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, French
  6. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Portuguese
  7. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Russian
  8. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Somali
  9. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Spanish
  10. Image: COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Vietnamese
  11. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Arabic
  12. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, French
  13. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, English
  14. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Khmer
  15. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Portuguese
  16. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Russian
  17. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Somali
  18. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Spanish
  19. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Vietnamese
  20. COVID-19 Vaccine 70+ Flyer, Lingala

For Multilingual Resources about COVID-19, click here.

Key Facts About Stay at Home Order for Multilingual Neighbors - Espanol, Francais, Portugues, Somali, Arabic

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Portland has become increasingly diverse in recent years due to an increase in the foreign-born population, which grew from 7.6% of the city’s total population in 2000 to 13.2% in 2014 (Portland’s Plan 2030). The Minority Health Program (MHP) was established by the City of Portland’s Public Health Division in 2003. The MHP’s mission is to decrease health disparities in the Greater Portland Area by improving access to needed health care services among immigrant, refugee, and low-income Caucasian and African American populations. The MHP identifies community health needs; implements interventions to address them; ensures that available community assets and resources are used responsibly; and collaborates with other health and social service providers to ensure the provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services. The MHP serves an average of 400 individuals per year though various services and initiatives including: 

  • Translation
  • Interpretation
  • Cultural brokering
  • Delivery of Cultural Competence, Cultural Humility and Implicit Bias trainings for internal and external stakeholders
  • Biennial community health needs assessments

VISION

MHP’s vision of a healthy community is one where:

  • Diversity within the community is respected and valued by community members and institutions.
  • Everyone has access to quality health and social services.
  • Everyone has access to resources and conditions required for a healthy lifestyle.
  • Institutions and policy makers are responsive to community residents.
  • The assets and gifts of community residents are acknowledged and shared.
  • Work is conducted in partnership with community organizations and service providers to identify and address health priorities of minority communities.


Minority Health Photo 1
Minority Health Photo 2

MISSION

  • Develop and provide evidence-based public health practices with services that enhance access to quality and affordable health care to improve the well-being of minority communities in the Greater Portland Area.
  • Identify, evaluate, and respond to community needs through innovative services.
  • Encourage community-clinical collaborations and partnerships through leadership and advocacy.
  • Promote quality of care and best practices in our community, hospitals, and clinics by providing consultation, education, and training

Minority Health Photo 3

Minority Health Photo 4

OBJECTIVES

  • Improve minority health at the community, family, and individual levels.
  • Increase the capacity of community groups to establish and implement a locally defined community health agenda.
  • Strengthen informal and formal social networks and sense of community by focusing on the strengths and assets of different racial, ethnic, and language groups.
  • Ensure that institutions, including the Public Health Division, are more accessible and responsive to community interests by building an integrated channel of information through the establishment of a network of community health outreach workers.
  • Participate in health policy forums, health plans, task forces, and committees to improve the health of minority groups.

Minority Health Photo 5

Community Health Outreach Workers

The MHP employs Community Health Outreach Workers (CHOWs) to achieve its organizational vision, mission, and objectives. CHOWs are frontline public health workers who have a close understanding of the communities and patients they serve, often sharing similar values, life experience, ethnic background, socio-economic status and language. CHOWs act as cultural mediators between communities and the healthcare, government, and social service systems. They are often embedded in care management teams and provide services complementary to those delivered by the formal health care network. CHOWs may be identified as: lay workers, health educators, health coaches, community health advisors, lay health advocates, lay health workers, promotores(as), family advocates, liaisons, outreach workers, peer counselors, patient navigators, outreach educators, community health representatives, peer health promoters, peer health educators, trained lay workers, and other designations (Goodwin & Tobler, 2008). In practice, CHOWs’ titles vary depending on their job duties, the organization that they work for, and the location they serve.  The MHP currently employs one full-time CHOW and 30 contract CHOWs working on multiple projects in collaboration with a wide range of community partners. 

Translation, interpretation, and cultural brokering services are available for the following racial, ethnic, and language groups in the Greater Portland Area: 

Acholi
French
Serbian
Arabic (Northern, Southern)
Khmer
Somali
Bosnian
Kinyarwanda
Spanish
Burundi
Lingala
Swahili
Chinese
Portuguese (Angolan, Brazilian)
Vietnamese
Croatian
Russian



   

If you are interested in becoming a CHOW and working with the MHP, please contact Nélida R. Berke at (207) 874-8735 or nrb@portlandmaine.gov

Arabic/Sudanese Health Helpline

ACA help lines