UNETE is a grassroot non-profit organization with the mission to collaborate and co-create inclusive and equitable spaces that foster health, strengthen self advocacy and promote wellness for the whole-person and whole-community.
We advance health and wellbeing throughout the lifecourse by promoting and facilitating access to resources for historically and presently marginalized communities. Based on a human rights framework, UNETE’s vision is to equitably facilitate immediate and lasting transformation in lives across Western North Carolina (WNC).
Our Community Health Care Workers have dedicated their efforts “with, by, and for” the community for decades. Our initiatives address the social and structural determinants of health by sustainably amplifying the wisdom and strengths of the community. UNETE provides person-centered and resiliency-informed services tailored to meet the holistic needs of WNC individuals and families.
The CHWS model is giving UNETE an opportunity to formalize many decades of service, creativity, and knowledge. UNETE will continue strengthening the resilience of our community at large and promoting equity with MANOS , FAROS, De Mujer a Mujer NC and collaborating with agencies and organizations seeking mutual support and strong collaborations.
As one of our main public health initiatives, UNETE embraces the Community Health Worker (CHW) model as one of the best tools to promote equity. Our team is partnering with other local organizations to develop the next generation of trusted multicultural and multilingual frontline CHWs who center and strive to collectively achieve the highest attainable standard of health for everyone.
By being the bridge between the social services and the individual/community, our CHWs build capacity for self-efficacy, foster synergistic connections, and provide education as well as socio-emotional support. The CHWs understand and celebrate the diversity of NC identities because they are deeply rooted in the communities that they serve.
CHWs work in coordination with local health departments (LHDs) and contact tracers to identify and connect with individuals who require assistance
CHWs provide education and outreach in hard to reach Communities about COVID-19 and related health issues. They provider information about prevention and sources of support during exposure and treatment.
CHWs leverage NCCARE 360, the nation's first statewide technology platform uniting traditional healthcare settings and organizations, to address non-medical drivers such as food, housing, transportation, employment and interpersonal safety
CHWs provide vaccine education and outreach to historically marginalized communities and individuals to ensure access to information needed to make informed decisions about getting the vaccine.
CHWs will help individuals connect with community resources for safe housing, culturally competent healthcare and financial assistance
CHWs support individuals in accessing vaccines, including registration, setting appointments and 2nd dose reminders. Partnering with community organizations that support vaccine events and help ensure equity in delivery of vaccines
Mentoring and Nurturing Our Students (M.A.N.O.S)
In order, to encourage Latino youth to consider a path to college and careers, this program was created in 2009 and continues to provide a safe space for students and their parents. Two hundred seventy-five unduplicated students have been encouraged to cultivate a culture of academic achievement, social engagement, and community accountability.
Freedom, Advocacy, Resilience for Our Students (F.A.R.O.S)
This weekly club was founded three years ago to offer Erwin Middle Latino students (7th and 8th grades) a weekly space to navigate challenges related with identity, adult expectations, self-advocacy, academics, and emotional growth. 45 students have been served and reported gaining skills in dealing with problems and in transitioning to high school with less anxiety.
De Mujer a Mujer NC
This a grassroots volunteer-based community group founded in 2016 by Latino women as result of focus groups and collaboration between Children First/CIS and Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC)
De Mujer A Mujer NC (DMAM) believes in creating a culture which supports women and their families in achieving a comprehensive well-being through equity, solidarity and empowerment.
UNETE has achieve a goal of mirroring throughout our CHWs the population we are trying outreaching with our efforts. We can say that our current team of CHWs and staff has reached a very ambitious goal of diversity. Each of us are related to either one or more than one of the intersectionality paths that we must consider in order to reach our common goal of equity.
We are a team that can assure to our LGTBQ community, African American families, Latinx, Southern Appalachian, Cherokee and FIP that they will be served by their peers. We also have peer support specialists, highly formally educated team members, bilingual members, people with shared lived experience, youth and middle age team members… and we are not stopping in allocating efforts to hire more CHWs who represents EVERYONE!
We also have peer support specialists, highly formally educated team members, bilingual members, people with shared lived experience, youth and middle age team members… and we are not stopping in allocating efforts to hire more CHWs who represents EVERYONE!
At the Mexican Mobile Consulate where UNETE had the opportunity to outreach over 500 people, there was one Latino gentleman who was very oppositional to the vaccine. Our UNETE CHW kept patiently and intentionally listening to his concerns and answering his questions. After a while he found out that thanks to that conversation the gentleman not only decided to get vaccinated but next day he showed up with his wife and she got vaccinated too!
A middle-aged local couple was lost, and they were looking for directions to the stadium. Our CHW started looking for directions but didn’t miss the opportunity to explain the benefits of being protected with the vaccine and making sure they could enjoy more games to come. They got their directions and decided to get vaccinated right there! Obviously as grandparents they were already willing to support their grandchildren and stay also healthy for them.
