Volume 1, Issue 4 | April 2022
Our Monthly News & Updates
COPE Team Participates in Health Fair in Jackson County
On April 14, the COPE team participated in the Health Fair in Jackson County providing various services, including "Ask a Doc" station and handing out nearly to 200 COVID-19 at-home test kits.

Members at the Health Fair included: Dr. Allen Greiner (a Southeast regional liaison and patient care provider team member), Ruaa Hassaballa-Muhammad (Community Regional Lead for Northeast Region) and Stevie Goodpasture (Community Health Worker of Jackson and Brown County).

Dr. Ximena Garcia (Special Advisor to the Governor for COVID-19 Vaccination Equity) also stopped by the booth and learned about the activities and partnerships the team has been building in the Northeast region. She is pictured here with the team.

Thanks to Ruaa Hassaballa-Muhammad for sharing these photos and updates.
COPE Team Visits the Central Region
On April 19, the COPE team visited the Central region and participated in the Local Health Equity Team meetings in Mitchell and Barton County.

Christina Pacheco (Project Director), Angela Scott (Community Health Worker Field Supervisor), Nadine Long (the Regional Community Lead for the Central Region) and Allison Honn (Regional Liaison for the Central Region) also toured the Dream Center of Central Kansas, which serves more than 400 people a week through faith-based ministries, residential treatment program for trafficking victims, a program that helps teens who have aged out of foster care and a soup kitchen. They ended their visit with a tour to Housing Opportunities Inc., a non-profit organization that provides affordable housing in Barton County.

Courtesy photo: Christina Pacheco
COPE Team Visited Seward County
Clarissa Carrillo Martinez, Community Regional Lead for the West region, just started her new position but has steadily built relationships across the region. Members pictured during the team's West region tour included (left to right and clockwise): Julie Foster, Karina Vazquez, Angela Scott (Community Health Worker Field Supervisor), Susan Lukwago, Christina Pacheco (Project Director), Sarah Foreman (LHEAT lead for Seward County), Ton Miras Neira (Community Health Worker Project Manager), Clarissa Carrillo Martinez and Laura Enriquez.

Foster, Lukwago, Enriquez and Vazquez are Community Health Worker of Seward County.

Courtesy photo: Julie Foster
COPE in the Media
This video was produced by Belinda Estes, Community Services Director of NEK-CAP, Inc.
Check out this TikTok video from our partner NEK-CAP, Inc. (Northeast Kansas Community Action Program). This 24-sec video highlights NEK-CAP's partnership with KDHE, KU Medical Center and COPE, along with the collaborated test kit distribution efforts.
This video was produced by Dawn McNay, Director of Development of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas.
How do COPE partners communicate the importance of COVID-19 preventive measures to college students? Our partner Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas might just have the answer.

This 'Spring Break - Staying Safe' video featured a young college-aged actor, engaging in preventive behaviors. The spot ended by urging college students to be ready for their next adventure with a COVID vaccine, test kit and masks.
Member Spotlight
Hello! My name is Clarissa Carrillo Martinez, Community Regional Lead for the West region. I am originally from Durango, Mexico, but my family and I have lived in Liberal, KS since I was ten years old. I am a believer and advocate of education. I have experienced firsthand the great opportunities and the enrichment that education can offer and the many doors it can open. I am a first-generation college student. I graduated with my bachelor's degree from Emporia State University and I am only three classes away from finishing my MBA with an emphasis in marketing. 

I enjoy teaching Beginners English as a Second Language (ESL) at the Adult Learning Center in my community in my free time. My passion is to help community members learn and connect with resources. Sometimes a kind action or offering to help someone can make a huge difference and sometimes change someone's life.
Hi, I am Linda Gibson, a Community Health Worker for the COPE project in Junction City, Geary County. My office is in the Konza Prairie Community Health Center*. I am an alumni of the Geary County public school district in Junction City. I am a graduate student at the University of Toledo studying Criminal Justice, a Health and Human Service field. While attending college at the University of Toledo, I worked for the State of Ohio Department of Corrections as a Corrections Officer, Temporary Case Manager and promoted to Correctional Counselor/Sergeant. During my employment with the Ohio Department of Corrections, I studied Chemical Dependency. I obtained employment working in the inner-city communities of Toledo, Ohio and Dayton, Ohio as a Client Care Specialists with a certification in Qualified Mental Health and a Chemical Dependency. I am a co-author of a collaborative book called From Mother with Love, Letter to Our Sons. I work on community projects with my friends and I am actively volunteering my services in the community, assisting other organizations who are helping individuals in our community.

My trainings and education have allowed me to help individuals who were re-entering communities from prison, individuals who were suffering with addiction, behavioral health issues, caregivers and individuals who needed assistance with meeting their social service needs.

I am enjoying my job as a Community Health Worker for the COPE project because it allows me to assist individuals in the community and that means everything to me. My mother taught me the importance of community service when I was a little girl in the Brownies and Girl Scouts of America. Since 1971, my mother has been volunteering her time and providing services, from donating items to playing bingo with the veterans in the Veterans hospital in Topeka. I am grateful for my mom and I appreciate being a part of the COPE project. We are a Great team, and we are doing to do Great things in the Junction City community.

*Konza Prairie Community Health Center provides comprehensive medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare services for all people, regardless of income or insurance status. As a not-for-profit Federally Qualified Health Center, Konza clinics in Junction City and Manhattan serve patients from ten counties. Learn more about Konza at www.kpchc.org.
Hola, my name is Julie Foster. I am a Community Health Worker in Liberal, Seward County. My family immigrated to California from Mexico when I was 6 years old. We eventually moved to Kansas where I have lived for the last 20 years. I graduated from Seward County Community College with an associate degree in Criminal Justice. Over the last 15 years, I have worked to serve our community and its families through different positions within our community. Prior to joining the COPE team, I was working with the RADAX-UP project. I am a member of the League of United Latin American Citizen (LULAC), Liberal Cultural Festival Committee, Seward County Health Department Family Planning Advisory Committee and Liberal Area Coalition for Families.

What I find most rewarding about my career is that I have had the opportunity to help others and make a difference in someone’s life. I pride myself in what I do and am very proud of all the work we have done to serve our community over the last couple of years. I am also very grateful for all the wonderful people I have met along the way.

I have two amazing boys. M.J.,16, is a high school sophomore who is goal-driven and a track star. Mason, 9, is a 4th grader and has a bubbly, positive personality and is a king at UNO. We love traveling, watching superhero movies and playing board games. Our favorite movie is The Avengers.

Fun Facts: I was an only child for 15 years. I love to clean and organize. Summer is my favorite season. When I was little, I wanted to be a cashier. I have a Boston Terrier named Brody that loves to nap as much as I do.
Team Activity Highlight
At the Community Health Worker (CHW) State Collaborative on April 26, the CHW team discussed the client database in-depth. Harshdeep Acharya (International Scholar) demonstrated how to enter data into the Clients, Events and Partner Information tabs. The database will go into production on May 2 and CHWs will have about a week to complete the items on the database. Angela Scott (CHW Field Supervisor) also shared with CHWs how to use a paper-and-pencil version of the client assessment to increase the efficiency of field work and client visits. Finally, Ton Miras Neira (CHW Project Manager) discussed expectations for client encounters, assessments, goal-setting and documentation.
Flor Sanchez, Community Health Worker of Barton County, shared this photo of her community engagement in action during our team's visit to the West region. She is pictured here supporting our senior citizens in a senior center. Sanchez's office is in the Heart of Kansas Family Health Care, Inc.

We can't wait to see more actions from Barton County. Thanks to Christina Pacheco (Project Director) for bringing this to our attention!
COPE is devoted to not only building relationships across the state but also team building. Recently, Jody Hoener (Regional Community Lead for the Southeast region) and Ruaa Hassaballa-Muhammad (Regional Community Lead for the Northeast region) spent an afternoon together sharing expertise with each other and strategizing ways to enhance equity in their respective communities. We can't wait to see impactful work resulted from their conversations!
Worthy of Note
Dr. Ithar Hassaballa on the Evaluation Team was the Keynote speaker for the McNair Scholars Program 30th Annual Banquet on April 27. As a former McNair Scholar, Hassaballa was honored to celebrate both graduating and current scholars. In her speech, she discussed her research journey from beginning as a McNair Scholar conducting research in Sudan until current research related to health equity in Kansas and HIV in Kenya spanning more than a decade. Hassaballa gave the scholars three lessons learned as part of her research journey. Those lessons learned were: 1) self-study is the most important research [understanding who you are and who you want to become], 2) no matter the obstacle, you can do it with the right people around you and 3) show up as your authentic self and be open to opportunities. Congratulations!

Courtesy photo: Ithar Hassaballa
On April 5, Harshdeep Acharya, International Scholar for COPE, presented "Improving the health of Kansans through Communities Organizing to Promote Equity (COPE)” at the University of Kansas Student Research Forum. This marked the first academic presentation of the COPE project.

Acharya described how COPE uses a community-engaged approach to enhance the public health structure in Kansas. The significant role of Community Health Workers and Local Health Equity Action Team members was also highlighted in the poster, along with logo design, media coverage and COPE's participation at the 2022 Kansas Governor's Public Health Conference.
Ian Knight was recently elected as Co-chair for RADx-UP's Engaging Black/African American Working Group. As co-chair, Knight will lead the working group initiatives and facilitate collaborations with assigned CDCC liaisons.

Knight will be responsible for crafting supportive strategies that promote cooperation with the many projects across the United States while identifying subject matter experts to complete relevant deliverables to the group.
We would love to hear from you! Share any noteworthy stories and activities you'd like for us to include in our future newsletters. 
Quote of the Month
"The difference between winners and losers is that winners didn't quit." - Unknown


As we continue to fight for health equity across the state, we must recognize that we will occasionally fall short. Still, we will learn from our shortcomings and continue the mission wiser and more resilient than before. 
Celebrating Arab American Heritage Month in April

There are about 200 million Arabs worldwide. In the U.S., there are currently 3.7 million Arab Americans, who have ancestry in one of the world’s 22 Arab nations, including Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoro Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Yemen. Arab countries are religiously and ethnically diverse with Islam being the dominant religion.

According to the Arab American Institute, there are about 23,868 Arabs in Kansas with the most residing in the following counties: Sedgwick, Johnson, Wyandotte, Riley and Douglas. The majority of Arab Americans are native-born and nearly 82% of Arabs in the U.S. are citizens. The majority of Arab Americans could trace their ancestral roots to Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iraq. The largest number of new Arab immigrants to Kansas came from Somalia, Iraq and Jordan.

To honor the history and traditions important to our community, we want to highlight the following:


Sources: Bellevue College, Insight into Diversity, UC Davis Health, The Federation of American Scientists, Yalla Count me In!, Arab American National Museum and The Arab American Historical Foundation
Recognizing National Minority Health Month
April is also National Minority Health Month. This year's theme is "Give Your Community a Boost!" Although this newsletter comes to you towards the end of April, we hope you will continue to recognize the impact of health disparities on racial and ethnic minority groups and to advocate for actions that promote equity and advancement.
COPE Newsletter Archives
Missed our prior issues? Want to share our work with community partners? Our prior issues can be found below.

Issue 1 (January 2022): Welcome to the COPE Family!
We are only as strong as our community. Share this with friends and colleagues in your network so they can learn about COPE.