NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx Community Health Workers (CHW) Mariam Diakite and Desiree Martinez have helped provide two Bronx families with much-needed support for their young children who are dealing with speech and developmental delays.
Support services offered by CHW include connecting patients and sending referrals to appropriate agencies, such as Early Intervention (EI), the Committee for Pre-School on Special Education (CPSE) and the Committee on Special Education (CSE).
The first child, four-year-old Mateo, who immigrated to the United States with his family from Ecuador, had been unable to speak. Before receiving assistance from Diakite and Martinez, he had been limited to communicating via gestures.
Diakite and Martinez spent seven months navigating obstacles before securing speech and occupational therapy for Mateo twice a week.
“We worked to ensure the parents felt comfortable sharing their concerns in their own language,” Diakite said.
Now, thanks in large part to the efforts of Diakite and Martinez, Mateo is verbal. He is currently happy and thriving in preschool.
“My child can now communicate and play with others,” Mateo’s mother said. “Without CHW support, this would not have been possible.”
The other child they helped was a five-year-old boy named Koffi, who immigrated with his family to the country from Togo. After his family entered the shelter system, he was found to be unable to hold a spoon or pencil, in addition to struggling to speak.
The CHWs devoted three years to coordinating referrals, escorting Koffi’s family to appointments and helping them overcome missed evaluations and language barriers.
“Every obstacle meant finding another solution,” Martinez said.
Diakite, who is fluent in French, eventually started accompanying the family to visits, marking a major turning point. This led to Koffi receiving consistent speech therapy and special education support.
Today, Koffi is a kindergarten student. He also takes part in after-school programs. His family now stably lives in the Bronx.
“Our community health workers play a vital role connecting families to developmental, behavioral and social services,” North Central Bronx Hospital Attending Physician Dr. Elisa Karp said. “For immigrant families learning to navigate complex systems, their advocacy is transformative.”
North Central Bronx Hospital’s CHW Program helped connect more than 460 at-risk children to critical services in 2025.
“These stories show how CHWs empower families and prevent delays in care that can change a child’s life forever,” North Central Bronx Hospital CHW Supervisor Hilda Reyes said.
