Youth Program...

Jovenes Por La Salud

For over fifteen years the Multicultural Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) has worked in health care and public health developing skills and expertise in assisting disadvantaged communities to create collaborative efforts for improving health.

By understanding a community's cultural assets and resources, and the various policies and practices that influence health status, MAHEC develops ideal health and human services outreach programs intended for the particular characteristics of that community. Our priority mission is promoting family-oriented primary health care through educational interventions in medically underserved areas of the Latino community in Los Angeles County.

Program Summary

Established in 1995, Jovenes Por La Salud is a career preparation program that exposes Latino students from Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School and Roosevelt High School, to opportunities available in the health care and medical field. Our priority mission is to assist deserving Latino students achieve academic and professional success by placing higher education within their reach. The program involves seven key components of services, which include:

• academic assistance
• college preparation
• mentorship
• leadership training
• summer employment in professional health care settings
• computer technology
• parent involvement

Each component is carefully executed to integrate the focus of higher education with emphasis on a career in the health care field.

Summer Program
Internship/Mentorship/Computer Training

Jovenes participants gain job skills they need to pursue successful careers by offering summer employment at local hospitals, clinics, and higher learning research institutions throughout the Los Angeles area. Participants are placed in professional settings where they can explore potential careers in the health care and medical field, learn the educational requirements for entering those careers and defray educational costs through a paid internship.

The program is six weeks long and requires that the students work four hours each day Monday through Thursday. The students meet at MAHEC every Friday, where they are exposed to health professionals and work on health-related projects. In addition, Jovenes participants gain technological skills through a computer technology program that includes comprehensive training on popular software applications, developing technology and on-line information systems.

Donations Welcome

Jovenes Por La Salud is a program that is designed to help Latino Students become aware of a wide range of professions available in the medical field. In addition, we mentor students and inform them of their future possibilities to motivate them to follow a path for a better future. In our effort to help students we provide them with educational information, community service opportunities, internships, and college trips. At the present time we are trying to do our best to proceed with more activities, but we lack the sufficient funds. We currently have 500 members and we, the officers, want to provide these students with:

• Scholarships - Jovenes Por La Salud would like to offer low income students a scholarship in order for them to pursue a college degree. With this scholarship they will be able to pay college expenses such as tuition, books, supplies, room and board, etc.
• College trips (out of state, private and remote colleges) - Jovenes Por La Salud wants to be able to take students to Northern California Universities such as University of California at Berkeley, Stanford and San Francisco State. We would do this in order to introduce the Northern California Universities to the students in Southern California.

These students are inspired to get ahead in life and most of them have been participating for a number of years. We are sure that you value education as a very important asset, especially to the younger generation. That is why we would like to ask for your kind benevolence.

Any monetary donation will be greatly appreciated, and will be put into good use, we are sure that the students will benefit from it. On behalf of Jovenes Por La Salud, we would like to thank you for your kind attention. If you have any questions please contact the Jovenes Por La Salud Coordinator:

Sara Lozano jovenespls@aol.com or call at 323-780-7640.

Fostering Network for Public Health