Our Approach

At CHCM, all of our work is grounded in equity-centered, trauma-informed care. We recognize that health disparities are deeply intertwined with systemic injustices and historical trauma. Our approach ensures that healing and well-being are prioritized across all levels of community engagement and policy implementation.

Storytelling and accountability are fundamental to our work. By uplifting community voices and lived experiences, we foster transparency, honor personal narratives, and ensure that decision-making remains rooted in the realities of those most impacted. Through these practices, we create community-system solutions that not only address immediate health inequities but also transform the structures that perpetuate them.

Participatory budgeting empowers community members to have a direct role in deciding how funds are allocated to create stronger communities. Our Seniors Community Fund is a pilot project allowing community members to shape funding priorities and solutions to address their specific needs.

We believe that research should be by and for the community. Through our Community Institutional Review Board (IRB), we ensure that research conducted in our communities is owned by community members themselves, ethical, culturally competent, and directly benefits those involved.

Investing in future generations is key to achieving long-term health equity. Our pipeline programs create pathways for young people to enter careers in healthcare, public health, and advocacy, ensuring that the next generation of leaders reflects the communities they serve.

We translate policy into real-world impact. By embedding equity-centered, trauma-informed approaches into policy implementation, we ensure that legislation leads to meaningful, sustainable change.

Strategic community and system partnerships help us advance our mission of eliminating health disparities in Missouri. Through tools such as participatory budgeting, participatory research, policy-in-practice, and pipeline for workforce developed—supported by storytelling and system accountability—we drive change with an equity-centered, trauma-informed lens. Together, these efforts allow us to meaningfully reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities across the state.