Outreach and Enrollment of Uninsured Hispanic Populations VENTANILLAS DE BIENESTAR Christina Lopez-Gutierrez National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) Mano y Corazón Binational Conference of Multicultural Health Care Solutions, El Paso, Texas, September 27-28, 2013

1. Outreach and Enrollment of Uninsured
Hispanic populations
VENTANILLAS DE BIENESTAR
Christina Lopez-Gutierrez
September 2013

2. Health Care Reform Community of Practice
A collaborative effort between the following partners:
• SAMHSA, Office of Behavioral Health Equity
• National Network to Eliminate Disparities
• National Latino Behavioral Health Association
• National Leadership Council of African American
Behavioral Health Association
• National Asian American and Pacific Islander Mental
Health Association
• National Council of Urban Indian Health

3. Community of Practice Purpose
•To identify effective and outreach enrollment
practices of uninsured Latino communities.
•To provide free webinar training and one to
one technical assistance to community partners
on outreach and enrollment practices.
•NLBHA’S initiative is called
• “Ve ntanillas de Bie ne star”
[Windows of Wellbeing]

4. Latinos/Hispanic
Number of Latinos Uninsured: 16 million
Behavioral Health Disparities
• High rates of depression
• Access mental health services at
disproportionately lower rates
• More than half of the uninsured Hispanic
Americans did not have a usual source of health
care

5. Latino/Hispanics
Outreach and Enrollment Barriers and Challenges
• Families who are Linguistically Isolated and
have no English speakers to engage in accessing
services or who are Limited English Proficient
• Stigma, Fear and Discrimination experiences
• Financial Barriers - Little or not enough income
to pay for out of pocket expenses, co-pays, or
prescription costs

6. Effective Outreach and Enrollment Practices
Ferias de Salud (Behavioral Health Fairs)
•Organize, participate or sponsor a community health fair
that provides a safe, known and trusted venue when
conducting outreach and enrollment activities.
•The health fair provides a wide array of health and
behavioral health information tables, health screenings,
family friendly activities, prevention and treatment resource
packets along with face to face contact.
• Conducted by a consumer led organization called
Albuquerque Center for Hope & Recovery.

7. Effective Outreach and Enrollment Practices
Promotores (Community Health Workers)
•Use promotores to provide face to face assistance
with enrollment information (similar to peer
navigators and peer support workers).
•Their work is in the community and are well-known
in the community, highly trusted, maintain
confidentiality.
•Speak Spanish and conduct extensive
outreach and community grassroots work.
[Campesinos sin Frontera – Arizona]

8. Effective Outreach and Enrollment Practices
Telenovela (Soap Opera)
Spanish television and media outlets broadcast
outreach and enrollment efforts called
“Encrucijada”.
This public-private approach uses a television
medium to broadcast Latino families who portray
Latino themes about behavioral health conditions
and family discussions about seeking help,
information and community resources.
(Colorado Health Foundation)

9. Effective Outreach and Enrollment Practices
Faith Based Outreach
•Mental health outreach is conducted by Peer Support
workers at places of worship in the community.
•Materials are made available on Sundays and
depending on faith leaders personnel were available
to meet congregants and members.
•Clergy members are invited to conferences and
workshops on mental health topics. Clergy members
could avail themselves of resource information.
[New Jersey Mental Health Association of Addiction
Agencies]

10. Ventanillas de Bienestar Webinars
•NLBHA has sponsored six free webinars
nationally in August and September 2013 on how
to implement these effective practices. Four in
English & two in Spanish. Six new webinars will
be conducted in October 2013 on Latino youth
and young adults.
•Interested individuals, agencies, NAMI affiliates
& state organizations can sign up as partners at
no cost @ www.nlbha.org for webinar training.
•NLBHA’s collaborators are the National Network
to Eliminate Disparities and Urban Strategies.

11. In Collaboration with
URBAN STRATEGIES

12. NAMI/NLBHA
Joint ACA Fact Sheet for Latino Families
•An easy to read Fact Sheet for Latinos families.
•Basic information on buying health insurance.
•Enrollment begins October 1, 2013
•English and Spanish version.
•Go to www.nami.org/healthcoverage
•For broad distribution in your community.

13. Contact information
National Latino Behavioral Health
Association
Sign up as a partner at no cost at
www.nlbha.org
You can also email us at admin@nlbha.org
Contact Fredrick Sandoval, MPA
NLBHA Operations Manager