Healthy Archuleta aims to increase community capacity in the food and healthcare systems through career and workforce development, volunteer and community engagement, language equity training, and youth-focused programming. The following outlines the logic of this effort, presenting objectives, target audiences, activities, outputs, and expected outcomes, which helps beneficiaries and stakeholders contribute to and benefit from the process.

Focus on Career and Workforce

Objectives

1. Strengthen the Health Care Workforce. Expand and enhance the primary preventive and mental/behavioral health workforce through professional development, skill building, and linguistic and cultural competency training, aiming to reach populations with gaps in health service access or utilization.
2. Grow the Local Workforce. Provide training and skill development for community members to enter health, human service and food system careers, with a focus on expanding career pathways for local youth and underserved communities. 
3. Educate and Mentor youth. Build the skills and capacity of local youth to learn about and serve their community. 

Target Audience

1. Current Healthcare Professionals
2. Current Navigators, Community Health Workers, Advocates, and Case Workers
3. Community Members (youth and adults) interested in learning and developing health, human service, and food system careers

Activities

Offer Professional Development (PD) Topics:

• Cultural Competency and Cultural Humility Training
• Mental and Behavioral Health Skills - Motivational Interviewing (MI): Focus on utilizing MI to connect the community with services and integrate MI into professional practices.
• Food as Medicine 
• Integrated Health Topics
• Nutrition and Physical Fitness Topics
• Soil and Gut Health (Microbiomes)
• Managing Chronic Diseases
• Injury Prevention 
• Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention and Support
• Sleep Medicine
• Relationships (Family and Community System)
• Navigating & Supporting the Community to Access and Utilize Mental/Behavioral Health Services in Archuleta County
• Leadership's Role in Championing Primary Preventative Healthcare Access and Utilization Among Staff (eg. Focus on how leadership can support staff in connecting community to behavioral health services)
• The Community's Role in System Support and the Value of System-Community Connection for Client Service (eg. Supporting the community in accessing behavioral health and meeting behavioral health needs in the community)
• Meeting Behavioral Health Needs of Agricultural Communities

Support Health Career Advancement Opportunities:

• Lay Counseling Academy
• Community Health Worker (CHW) Training

​​Support Food System Career Advancement Opportunities:

• Food Safety
• Food Entrepreneurship
• Growers and Producers Forum Advancing Peer Learning
• Youth Food System Education
• Professionalism Practices

Support Health & Food System Career Advancement Opportunities:

• Community Interpretation Training
• ESL Training
• Career Exploration/ Career Fairs 
• Internship and Mentorship
• Building Professional Skills (Professionalism Practices)
• Career Exploration in Archuleta Career Path Development

Focus on Community

Objectives

1. Empower Community Members. Provide education and support for community members to develop their skills and capacity to improve health and wellness for themselves, their families and the community. 

Target Audience

1. Community Members (youth and adults) interested in health and wellness topics

Activities

​Offer Community Wellness Food Sessions/Activities:

• Food as Medicine 
• Nutrition and Physical Fitness Topics
• Regenerative Agriculture
• Soil and Gut Health (Microbiomes)
• Managing Chronic Diseases
• Garden Education and Mentorship
• Food Waste Prevention and Management including Composting toward Resource Recovery
• Food Safety and Food Processing
• Healthy Meal Planning
• Cooking with Local and Heritage Ingredients
• Engaging with Community Gardens and Growing Local food sources
• Resource Fair
• Health Fair

Offer Community Wellness and Health-Related Sessions/Activities:

• Mental and Behavioral Health Literacy
• Health and Insurance Literacy (including primary preventative healthcare)
• Food as Medicine 
• Integrated Health Topics
• Nutrition and Physical Fitness Topics
• Soil and Gut Health (Microbiomes)
• Managing Chronic Diseases
• Injury Prevention 
• Tobacco and Substance Abuse Prevention and Support
• Sleep Medicine
• Relationships (Family and Community System)
• Health Promotion and Wellness Topics
• Resource Fair
• Health Fair

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Outputs of These Efforts

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Expected Outcomes

Short-Term Outcomes

• Increased self-reported knowledge of health, wellness, or food topics (Understanding of subject matter).
• Increased awareness of the importance of reaching and serving underserved populations (From participation in trainings such as MI and CC).
• Commitment to improved communication and interpersonal skills that facilitate positive behavior change for clients (Confidence to implement actionable strategies).
• Increased awareness of career options and pathways, particularly for youth and underserved community members (From participation in career fairs, career presentations).
• Increased knowledge and skills necessary for health, human services and food system careers in the community (Applying practices and principles learned through professional development trainings and internships and mentorships).
• Increased confidence and clearer career goals for participating youth and those from underserved communities (Internships and mentorship).
• Enhanced networking, peer support and collaboration among participants (Food and health stakeholders and community members and organizations).
• Increased number of certified CHWs actively working in the community (CHW and interpretation trainings).
• Increased number of trained interpreters in Archuleta County (CHW and interpretation trainings).

Intermediate Outcomes

• Adequate and competent primary preventive and mental/ behavioral healthcare workforce. 
• Increased healthcare access for populations with historically low access and utilization of health services.
• Increased employment of trained community members in the local health, human services and food system workforce.
• Increased number of youth actively pursuing educational pathways or training relevant to health, human services and food professions.
• Greater civic engagement and participation in community initiatives among youth and those from underserved populations.
• Increased number of local, sustainable food businesses. 

Long-Term Outcomes

• Reduced health disparities and improved health outcomes for populations with historically low access and utilization of health services.
• Increased representation of community members from underserved populations in the healthcare, human service and food system workforce.
• Reduced healthcare shortages, ensuring equitable access to quality care for all community members.
• A local economy supported by a robust, home-grown workforce in critical healthcare and food-related sectors, with a significant reduction in out-migration of young talent.
• A more engaged, resilient, and self-sufficient community driven by a generation of local leaders who understand and actively contribute to meeting its evolving needs.
• Reduced socio-economic disparities and increased economic mobility and self-sufficiency within underserved communities.

This image illustrates Healthy Archuleta's proposed approach to fostering health career path development through its capacity building initiatives.