Health Promotion Services

Nuestra Comunidad Sana (Our Healthy Community) is also called Health Promotion Services at The Next Door. We provide culturally appropriate health services, advocacy, outreach, and education for the Latino and other communities that have been historically underserved.

At The Next Door, we decided to use the term “Latino” to describe our Spanish-speaking community because that’s the term they recognize most. However, you may also see the terms, “Hispanic” and “Latinx” on our website and in written documents because they are also terms used to describe our Spanish-speaking community.

Our Programs

Our Advance Directive (AD) campaign raises awareness about what the AD is and why it is so important. An AD is a legal document where an adult assigns a healthcare representative to speak for them and honor their treatment wishes if they cannot speak for themselves in a medical crisis.
Learn to reduce stress, problem-solve ways to deal with feelings, and communicate more effectively while parenting through divorce or separation.

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Founded in 2017, Columbia Gorge Pride Alliance (CGPA) provide a safe space for LGBTQIA2S+ in the Gorge. Our LGBTQIA2S+ Youth Leadership Council is for ages 16 to 20. The Council works to promote equity and inclusion. It also conducts an LGBTQ+ needs assessment in Hood River and Wasco counties. We supply free gear that is gender affirming and can help with updating documents to the correct gender marker or name.
Equity Corps of Oregon is an effort to ensure that every eligible Oregonian can defend themselves against unfair deportation or being excluded from civic activities because of their immigration status.
Our Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention program helps people in our community to make healthier choices. We do this by making changes to the places and systems around us, as well as the rules and policies that affect our lives. We focus on things like reducing tobacco use, promoting healthy and nutritious foods, and encouraging exercise.
Hombres Autoresponsables para Parar el Abuso (HAPA) is a domestic violence intervention program. We serve Latino men who have hurt their partners and families through the use of control, abuse, or violence in Hood River, Wasco, Klickitat and Skamania counties. Referrals come from the court, law offices or self-referrals. There is an initial private intake session followed by at least 36 weekly group sessions in Oregon and at least 30 sessions in Washington. The intake costs $65 and group sessions cost $45 per session.
Mid-Columbia Health Equity Advocates (MCHEA) is our Regional Health Equity Coalition. MCHEA is made up of four smaller groups that work on wellness priorities for their communities. The groups are: Latinos en Accion (Latinos in Action), Abogadores de la Comunidad (Advocates for the Community), Natives Along the Big River, and Gorge Health Equity Collaborative. MCHEA helps make sure there is health equity in our communities that have been underserved.
We work with many groups to help Migrant Seasonal Farm Workers (MSFWs) in the Gorge. We do this by making sure MSFWs have access to things like masks for smoke, healthcare, safe places to live and work, healthy food, and wellness information. We work to make sure MSFWs are safe and healthy while they work.
Our Odell Hispanic Coalition aims to help the Hispanic community and its partners reduce and ultimately stop young people from using drugs and alcohol. We do this in a way that is culturally sensitive. They offer different trainings on different topics, events that help young people and others find ways to avoid drugs and alcohol, and meetings once a month to share ideas on how to make the coalition better and reach more people.
Understanding Our Cultures plans events where people from different cultures can share and learn about each other. They organize performances and exhibits that showcase the Latino/a/x and Indigenous communities. This helps bring people together and make our community stronger.
Valle Verde, or Green Valley, works to help Latino people in the Gorge improve their mental health by building awareness and helping mental health providers meet the needs of Latinos. We have three ways of doing this: working to reduce the negative feelings people have, or stigma, about mental health issues, educating people about mental health and the resources available to them in the Columbia Gorge area, and having community health workers provide informal counseling to community members for about three hours each week.
Our Voter Mobilization Project aims to increase the number of registered voters and civic engagement among the Latino/x community in the Mid-Columbia Gorge region. This project has three goals: to get more Latino people registered to vote, to get people more involved in their community, and to help people feel more like they belong.