Press Releases

Gonzales City Manager Rene Mendez and Carmel Gil, Director of Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships, will be presenters at the 2022 Western Forum for Migrant and Community Health Conference being held April 11-13 in Portland, Oregon. 

The topic of their presentation is Community Health Workers: Supporting Special Populations through a Pandemic.  Mendez and Gil are invited to speak on the process the city developed to implement a Community Health Worker program to educate and support the city's most vulnerable community members during the pandemic. 

Gonzales began its Community Health Workers (CHW) program in November 2020 and became a partner in the VIDA (Virus Integrated Distribution of Aid) CHW program that began in January of 2021.  More than 110 CHWs in ten county wide organizations were trained as part of the program and are equipped to deliver information about the importance of COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and assist community members with access to resources. Gonzales was one of the first cities in Monterey County to exceed 90% of eligible residents receiving at least one dose of the Covid 19 vaccine.

The conference is being hosted by the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association.  The Association is a member organization that strengthens community and migrant health centers by leveraging regional power and resources on their behalf.  The theme of this year's conference: "Adelante: Building Resilience & Strength for a Healthy & Just Recovery" recognizes the journey, the work, the innovation, and the sacrifices made over the past couple years by frontline workers, communities, and partners.

For more information about the conference go to https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.nwrpca.org/resource/resmgr/western_forum/2022/WF22_Agenda.pdf