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Empowering the community contributes to positive changes in their physical, social and chemical environments to improve community health. Community health empowerment models emphasize that people must actively participate in, and take responsibility for, their own education while promoting the idea that community is capable of creating positive health changes beyond adaptations in their personal lives. In applying this approach to community health, community members first identify health problems that they wish to overcome and explore the individual, community and organizational bases of those problems. Once their skills and knowledge are strengthened, participants design community health actions that bring about structural changes that positively affect the underlying causes of problems they have identified. In addition, they are able to plan activities for projects that will encourage people to adopt health-promoting practices.

In recent summary conversations with the wellness village staff and volunteers, all expressed their gratitude in having the opportunity to engage in a long-term endeavor to improve community health. They also credited CYCHI for the positive changes in their communities. Their neighborhoods are cleaner and more beautiful; neighbors feel safer and proud of their community; parents are proud of their children; residents are part of decisionmaking processes; and youth and adults are more connected to each other. More importantly, they believe that their families and their communities are healthier as a result of their participation in CYCHI.

During the course of five years, CYCHI’s youth development approach created a cadre of young people committed to community health, social change and environmental improvements. Many young people involved in the wellness villages underwent significant and positive changes and developed and strengthened skills such as analytical thinking, problem solving, public speaking, networking and leadership. Many of the youth attribute the improvement in their academic performance, employment opportunities and social relationships to CYCHI. Because of their participation in CYCHI, young people who had never even thought of college are pursuing careers in health, community service and evaluation. CYCHI activities encouraged youth and adults to work together as partners, developing stronger social networks in their communities. The communities engaged in CYCHI proved capable of overcoming many challenges to successfully meet objectives that addressed their needs. Their work will continue to inform efforts in California that attempt to understand what is required to build community health from the bottom up as well as from the top down.