Town Square Collaborative, in collaboration with the Arkansas Rural Health Partnership, is piloting Faith in Action: A Congregation-Based Community Health Worker and Civic Engagement Initiative in rural Southeast Arkansas. The initiative is designed to strengthen faith-based leadership, expand community health outreach, and build a scalable model for civic engagement in rural communities.
Through this initiative, local faith-based organizations will identify trusted congregation members to be trained as Community Health Workers through the Arkansas Rural Health Academy. Participants will receive training in community health work, Mental Health First Aid, Basic Life Support, Narcan response, and program development, equipping them to serve as trusted connectors between their congregations, local resources, healthcare partners, and community organizations.
Once trained, congregation-based CHWs will work within their churches to identify health, social, and civic needs, support resource navigation, strengthen outreach, and bring shared priorities forward through a coordinated faith-based engagement process. The pilot will culminate in a community action plan that reflects the needs and voices of participating congregations.
By investing in trusted leaders already embedded within rural communities, Faith in Action moves beyond traditional outreach and builds a sustainable, community-led model for improving health, strengthening connection, and mobilizing collective action. Lessons learned from the pilot will guide future expansion of the model across rural Arkansas.
“We are honored and excited to partner with Town Square Collaborative on this transformational initiative. What sets this project apart is the intentional decision to begin in rural communities—not as an afterthought, but as the foundation. By being present, listening locally, and building from the ground up, Town Square Collaborative is helping create a model that is both meaningful for rural communities and scalable across the state. We are deeply appreciative of this partnership and look forward to the impact this work will have for Arkansas.”
Mellie Boagni, CEO of Arkansas Rural Health Partnership
Through the partnership with the Town Square Collaborative, we are piloting a civic engagement program.
