This month Maine AHEC Network and its community partners at Maine Access Immigrant Network and the New Mainers Public Health Initiative were awarded a two-year Community Responsive Grant from Maine Health Access Foundation. The project title is: Strengthening our Healthcare Workforce: Empowering New Mainer Youth to Explore and Pursue Health Careers. The project will deliver health career exploration learning activities, career planning support, and leadership skill-building to facilitate entry into the health professions for New Mainer youth from immigrant families in Cumberland and Androscoggin counties, with an aim to increase equity and diversity in the health care workforce, and ultimately, improve health outcomes.
There are five primary components of this project which include: 1) learning opportunities for students to gain exposure to health careers and to receive mentorship; 2) support for student internship opportunities in the health field; 3) college preparation and career planning sessions for youth and their families; 4) leadership and civic engagement learning opportunities; and 5) ongoing support for youth and their families. Graduate students from the AHEC Scholars program will participate in the delivery of learning activities for this project. This funding allows AHEC and its partners to build upon a project that was funded over the past five years by the federal Office of Minority Health.