Incorporated in 2000

Mission: To design, implement, and assess bilingual/bicultural health promotion, education, and referral programming targeting low-wealth Lakelands Area residents.

Certifications: IRS 501(c)(3) designation; registered with the South Carolina Secretary of State as a charitable organization; United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties certified partner agency

Funding: US Department of Health and Human Services; South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services; Self Regional Healthcare Outreach Committee; South Carolina Office of Rural Health; BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Foundation; Self Family Foundation; Sisters of Charity; Food Lion Foundation; Emerald City Rotary; Heritage Sertoma; United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties

Memberships: South Carolina Free Clinic Association; National Association of Free Clinics; Coalition of Anti-Drug Coalitions of America

A Brief History

In 1997 Self Regional Healthcare convened and for two years hosted the Hispanic Health Issues Task Force, an ad hoc, county-wide group of healthcare and human services professionals focused on identifying and addressing barriers to appropriate healthcare encountered by Hispanic/Latino immigrants living in Greenwood County. Supported by a Duke Endowment Planning Grant, the Task Force conducted the first Hispanic/Latino healthcare needs assessment in South Carolina, which identified language barriers, cost, and lack of trust as the primary factors blocking Hispanic/Latino immigrant utilization of appropriate healthcare services. Informed by this pathbreaking needs assessment, the Task Force initiated an experimental project in 1998 designed to address those linguistic, economic, and sociocultural factors Hispanic/Latino respondents had identified as barriers to healthcare access. That volunteer-driven experiment, located in the New Haven Apartments, implemented health promotion and health education programming designed to help Spanish-speaking people overcome language and economic barriers to healthcare access: adult and pediatric health screenings and referrals; adult and children’s literacy programs; community-based translation services, all consciously designed to build trust in local healthcare and human services systems and providers. Within months, the 4-room apartment was transformed from a pilot project into a community-based, community-driven project and renamed The New Haven Community Center. While a professional infrastructure had fueled the initial agenda and forged the initial collaborative partnerships that supported the project, community engagement and involvement proved the crucial components that would sustain the initiative beyond the life of the Hispanic Health Issues Task Force. Anticipating programming and initiatives that extended throughout and beyond the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the New Haven Community Center, Community Initiatives filed articles of incorporation with the South Carolina Secretary of State in 2000 for the explicit purpose of designing, delivering, and assessing bilingual/bicultural health promotion, education, and referral programming that targets low-wealth Lakelands Area residents. Today Community Initiatives, Inc. defines “health” broadly, to include physical, mental, economic, cultural, neighborhood, and community well-being. Community Initiatives, Inc. takes pride in its “from the bottom up” orientation, devoting more than 95% of its annual income to direct programming and services.