Arcata House Partnership Expands Support for Humboldt County’s Most Vulnerable

Arcata House Partnership (AHP) continues to be a vital lifeline for people in Humboldt County facing homelessness and food insecurity. Each year, AHP serves more than 900 individuals through a range of essential services, including street outreach, emergency shelters for adults and families, a food pantry, and permanent housing solutions.

In 2023, AHP received funding through the Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Capacity and Infrastructure Transition, Expansion, and Development (CITED) initiative to launch a new program offering Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports services to unhoused adults. The program quickly launched and began delivering critical support to eligible individuals across the organization.

As demand for services grew, so did the need for trained Community Health Workers (CHW). However, existing training programs were often too lengthy, costly, or infrequently available. That’s when Partnership HealthPlan of California stepped in with a grant through the Incentive Payment Program (IPP) under California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM)—a major transformation effort by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to improve care for Medi-Cal members. AHP applied and was awarded funding to develop its own CHW training program.

The result is a comprehensive training curriculum that covers all 11 core competencies required by the State of California:

• Communication
• Building relationships
• Coordinating services
• Supporting personal growth
• Advocacy
• Teaching and group facilitation
• Needs assessment
• Outreach
• Professional conduct
• Evaluation and research
• Public health knowledge

The training is interactive and accessible, using videos, handouts, group activities, and discussions. Built-in knowledge checks ensure participants fully grasp each topic before moving forward.

Recognizing that other organizations across California faced similar workforce challenges, AHP made the training available online in two free, week-long sessions. To date, 71 people from 20 different organizations have completed the program.

Thanks to the support from DHCS through PATH CITED and Partnership HealthPlan of California through IPP/CalAIM, AHP now has a sustainable way to build and maintain a skilled team of CHWs. These investments have strengthened AHP’s ability to deliver ECM and Community Support services—and have created a ripple effect of impact across the state.

AHP is deeply grateful for the funding and partnership that made this work possible.