La Clínica believes that a healthy community produces and nurtures healthy individuals, and healthy individuals bring about and maintain a healthy community. This belief is strongly placed into action in the Community Health Education (CHE) Department. Casa CHE’s work is based on Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s “conscientization” movement of having people actively participate in and take responsibility for their own education, while creating positive social change. Casa CHE empowers individuals to take an active role in building a healthy community through several programs, including training youth and adult peer educators, deploying an innovative case management program for high risk individuals across La Clínica clinic sites in Alameda County, and addressing food security, access to healthy food, and healthy eating through the Healthy Food/Healthy Families program.
