New Routes to Community Health Awards $1.8 Million to Improve Immigrant Health

New Routes to Community Health in Madison, Wisconsin, has announced $1.8 million in grants to improve the health of immigrants in the United States. A project of the Robert Wood Johnson and Benton foundations, New Routes awarded eight three-year grants of $225,000 to immigrant-led collaborations across the United States to create locally focused media and outreach campaigns that address immigrants’ health concerns. Immigrant groups, media makers, and prominent community institutions in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Oakland, Philadelphia, and San Francisco will work together to produce original content in English and immigrants’ first languages, including Amharic, Chinese, Creole, French, Lao, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese. The projects will employ a wide range of media, including television and radio features, telenovelas, first-person narratives, live theater, print, the Internet, and social marketing campaigns to grapple with topics such as treating mental health issues in Boston’s Haitian community, improving the working conditions of domestic workers in the Bay Area, and helping Chinese elderly navigate the healthcare system in Los Angeles. All content will be housed on the New Routes Web site and will be available for any community to use. “Immigrants are the new leaders and pathfinders on the route to the American Dream,” said New Routes national program director Beth Mastin. “Our program recognizes the challenges faced by immigrants, but we also see the opportunities they bring to renew our economy…and strengthen our society….Using today’s communications tools, and building leadership through collaboration with stakeholders, New Routes helps these twenty-first-century leaders create that American Dream.” For a complete list of the funded projects, visit the New Routes to Community Health Web site. Immigrant Groups Receive $1.8 Million to Create Media About Community Health. New Routes to Community Health Press Release 9/30/08.