Mission: Support community driven systems level change (policies, procedures, resources) that integrates and promotes health equity within New Mexico’s public health system.

Vision: An equity-promoting public health system responding to New Mexico needs

Who we are: Health Equity Leadership in our Systems (HELIOS) is a group of New Mexico organizations with expertise in community-specific public health work in the state, including Spanish-speaking, Native American, African American, and LGBTQ+ communities. The HELIOS lead organizations have each been supporting health in NM for more than 17 years, and formally convened as a coalition in 2019. The current leadership team consists of delegates from HEAL Plus NM (LGBTQ+ communities), STTC (Native American communities), NMCHWA (Spanish-speaking communities), and NMAAT (African American/Black communities). 

HELIOS expertise includes practical experience gained from supporting DOH programs in New Mexico, and across the United States, in topical areas such as commercial tobacco prevention and control, injury & violence prevention, community health assessments, health promotions and marketing, comprehensive cancer control, asthma control, and HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention services.

What we do:

• HELIOS contributes to effective equity-focused work by supporting or partnering in strategic plans, formative research, program design and development, implementation planning, evaluation, and accountability

• HELIOS is also available for priority population-specific consulting

Examples of HELIOS equity-centered guidance provided to public health systems: 

• Tobacco Control: Working draft of a logic model for equity-focused strategies to complement CDC logic models for prevention, cessation, and secondhand smoke (SHS) (link to powerpoint)

• Summary of HELIOS advisement themes to the New Mexico Department of Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in FY22: recommendations provided to the state tobacco control program about how to integrate equity-centered approaches within the state’s strategic plan and implementation (link to document)

Summary of Accomplishments

• Highlights from HELIOS and partners from FY22 activities in Tobacco Prevention and Control (link to document)

Examples of Disseminating Findings 

• Presentation by Maria Otero (Executive Director of NMCHWA) with National Alliance for Hispanic Health Nuestras Voces and NUPAC (link to presentation BTIS for NCToH 6-20-22)

• State of the State of New Mexico – Disparities Presentation for annual review of progress (link to HELIOS presentation by Jay Blackwell from 4/20/21)

• Sharing guidance and resources for statewide tobacco control partners (link to presentation HELIOS for contractor meeting 11/4/21)