The Alchemy of Community

At the intersection of life’s greatest challenges lies our greatest potential.

Our community's health is not just a process to be managed, but a connection to be nurtured.

At Our Community, Our Seniors Corp. (OCOS), we don’t just bridge the gap

between systemic frameworks and rural health disparities... we build capacity inside the gaps

for our community members who are managing life within them.

Training and Certification

CHW Certification: 80 to 120 Hours (12 Weeks)

Welcome to The Alchemy of Lived Experience Syllabus

Your Lived Experience is Your Greatest Asset. Turn it into a Career.

DHCS / HCAI Aligned Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification Training with OCOS

Exclusive Cohorts: To protect the quality of our mentorship and training,

this foundational program is only offered 2 to 3 times per year.

At Our Community, Our Seniors Corp. (OCOS), we believe that true community-based care cannot be learned entirely from a textbook. Lived experience is the gold that comes from some of life's most heavy, leaden lessons. When those life lessons are paired with professional work experience and foundational health education basics, you become an invaluable asset to your family, your neighbors, and the surrounding community.

Becoming a CHW isn't just a career decision; it's a choice to become a living extension of vital Social Determinants of Health. CHWs initiate critical interventions, picking up right at the front door when Primary Care, Behavioral Health, First Responders, and Social Workers have provided instructions that require deep life changes and a trusted guide.

Our premier 80-Hour CHW Certification Training (with an (optional) extra 30-hour advanced work experience module) merges the state-of-the-art Foundations for Community Health Workers (3rd Edition) training curriculum offered by San Francisco Community College with our proprietary The Alchemy of Lived Experience framework.

Are you ready?

To be an active part of the solution?
To move the needle forward in Lake County?
To become a knowledgeable, capable, and empowering "co-pilot" for individuals and families?

Community members are waiting for trusted guidance

and we will teach you how to navigate:

Justice-Involvement & Health as Reentry: Analyzing how the carceral system disrupts social drivers of health for families with children, and preventing the disruption of early development and social skills for toddlers.
Behavioral Health Integration: Implementing practical coping skills for sustainable, healthy life changes.
Age-Related Challenges: Caring for aging loved ones and navigating the realities of senior care.
New Diagnoses: Providing steady guidance when clinical instructions require sudden lifestyle shifts.
Essential Stabilities: Solving complex barriers around Food Security and Housing Stability.
Growing Families: Supporting the crucial early stages of maternal and child health.

What Makes Us Different?

The Training Experience...

Honoring Your Story: We utilize The Alchemy of Lived Experience text and The Alchemy of Impact workbook to help you transform your personal resilience into a professional, community-based healthcare skillset.

Our training is built for:

Autonomy: Designed entirely for busy adults. Enjoy a hybrid learning model featuring dynamic, in-person sessions at our Community Health Innovation Lab (CHIL) in beautiful Clearlake, paired with flexible home assignments and practical workplace integration.
Real-World Fieldwork: Complete your certification with absolute confidence. Your baseline training concludes with an intensive, 10-hour supervised home-visiting work experience focused on local family support.
Fast-Tracked Entry: 80 - 120 hours streamlined into 12 weeks, this curriculum is highly optimized for individuals already entering the public health workspace or looking to up-skill rapidly without sacrificing depth.
Optional Extended Practicum: Access an additional 30-hour supervised work experience assignment, setting the bar high so you can hit the ground running in your new "boots on the ground" career.

What You Will Master

CHW Core Competencies & Specializations:

CHW Scope of Work: Know precisely where your work as a CHW begins and ends.
Knowing When to Escalate: Understanding clinical oversight, boundaries, and safe care protocols.
Mandated Reporting: Confidently knowing when and how to report to protect vulnerable individuals.
Healthcare as Reentry: Integrating the CHW and CalAIM frameworks, services, and procedures (including navigating 2026 transitional benefits).
Motivational Interviewing: Learn the clinical art of "listening for clues" to unlock behavioral change.
Becoming a "Networking Ally": Navigating local Health and Human Services Systems to connect families directly to vital social supports.
Optional Lifespan Outreach: Specialized training modules for families with Infants (Ages 0-3), Adolescents, Adults, and Aging Adults.

The Next Cohort is Forming Now!

Spaces are strictly limited to protect the quality of our instructional training and individual mentorship. If you are ready to move the needle in your own life and your community, do not wait for the next cycle.