Community Voices: High school students of color raising awareness about racial and ethnic health disparities impacting Boston's communities

CCHERS's Community Voices program aims to encourage high school students of color to pursue careers in the health professions and to raise awareness about racial and ethnic health disparities impacting Boston's communities. A didactic curriculum in chronic illness, health disparities, community advocacy, and photojournalism paired with employment at community health centers allows the students to learn about and document health inequities in their communities. They use “Photovoice”, a community-based participatory research method that incorporates photography, writing, and social action to produce a photo essay on disparities which tours public venues throughout Boston and Massachusetts. The Community Voices photo essays have been featured at universities, community events, non-profit organizations, health professions conferences, and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, as well as in the Boston Metro newspaper and TV and internet news programs. Each year the photo essay is printed in the form of a booklet and widely distributed. In 2008, some participants also documented disparities through an oral history project.

Community Voices has grown rapidly from 7 students in 2007 to 24 students in 2008. In 2009, Community Voices expanded from a summer program to a year-round experience, now being piloted at several Boston Public Schools and training 70 new students. New components to the 2009 program include training in health policy, public speaking, and radio broadcasting.