Sixteen community coalitions from across South Texas have been selected for the third cohort of Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Prosperemos Juntos | Thriving Together (PJTT) Learning Collaborative.
The coalitions are all based in three geographic areas – Bexar County, the Mid-Border region (Dimmit, Edwards, Kinney, LaSalle, Maverick, Real, Uvalde, Val Verde,
and Zavala counties), and the Laredo area (Webb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg counties). They will begin a six-month learning collaborative in March 2023 and explore various frameworks to ultimately equip themselves to develop and implement a health equity strategy for their community.
Prosperemos Juntos | Thriving Together is a capacity-building opportunity for communities to substantially accelerate their journey from health to equity. MHM believes communities hold the solutions to improve their health and well-being. The goal of the collaborative is to equip coalitions with skills and resources to strategically advance health equity, using the Pathways to Population Health framework as a guide.
“The Prosperemos Juntos | Thriving Together program is one of the ways that we advance our strategic focus of strengthening communities,” said Jaime Wesolowski, President & CEO of Methodist Healthcare Ministries. “It has been an invigorating experience for our team as it allows us to have a stronger and deeper level of engagement where we learn and co-create the solutions with people who live, work, pray, and play in the communities we serve.”
This is the third cohort of MHM’s Prosperemos Juntos | Thriving Together Learning Collaborative.
The first cohort was launched in 2021. The curriculum for the Learning Collaborative was developed in partnership with WE In the World and Rio Grande Valley Language Justice Collective.
The Webb County coalitions selected for the cohort include:
● Un Paso Adelante Por Salud
o Texas A&M, Christ Church Episcopal, San Francisco Javier Catholic Church, Laredo First Assembly Church, United Baptist Church of Laredo
● Healthy Community Advocates of South Texas
o South Texas Food Bank, Laredo College, Gateway Community Health Center
● Creciendo Juntos
o Area Health Education Center, MPH Salud, Las Promesas de Laredo
● Laredo Green District Development
o Rio Grande International Study Center, Azteca Economic Development & Preservation Corporation, Laredo Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability, Laredo Main Street, MileOne, City Makery, Monte Mucho Audubon Society, City of Laredo Health Department
● Zacate Creek Creative
o Daphne Art Foundation, City of Laredo Parks & Recreations, Able City, Laredo Film Society
● Laredo Healthy Food Systems
o City Makery, Laredo Center for Urban Agriculture and Sustainability, City of Laredo Health
Department
● Drug Free Communities (FACE)
o South Texas Promotora Association, Gateway Community Health Center, Holding Institute
● Laredo Health Promotores
o Laredo Health Department, Laredo Stroke Support, El Metro, Bethany House of Laredo
During the learning collaborative, Methodist Healthcare Ministries’ Communities of Solutions (CoS) team supports the coalitions in developing a multi-sector collaboration that incorporates persons with recent lived experience of the challenges that the coalition is tackling into the coalition’s leadership team. The goal is for community coalitions to identify and focus on one vital community condition (such as humane housing or reliable transportation) that contributes to the well-being of the entire community. Each coalition creates a strategic framework or plan of action for advancing health equity.
The CoS team meets regularly with the coalitions, schedules monthly check-ins to
build rapport and trust, and also offer support as the coalitions learn and grow.
After completing the Learning Collaborative, coalitions are invited to apply to the Implementation Phase. The Implementation Phase lasts 3 years and includes funding as well as capacity-building resources.
Although coalitions will focus their time working in community, they will still be invited to collaborate with each other through convenings and peer coaching & learning.
For more information on the Prosperemos Juntos | Thriving Together Learning Collaborative, visit: https://www.mhm.org/thriving-communities/.
(About Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries broadens the definition of healthcare by providing low-cost clinical care for the uninsured and by supporting community-led efforts that improve living conditions that cause people to be sick in the first place. We use our earnings as co-owners of Methodist Healthcare to ensure that people who are economically disadvantaged and uninsured can live their healthiest lives.
We do this by advocating for, investing in and providing access to quality clinical care and addressing factors that affect health—including economic mobility, supportive relationships, food security, broadband access, and safe neighborhoods. Ultimately, we fulfill our mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God” by advancing health equity so that more resilient individuals & families living in the 74 counties we serve can thrive.)
