Melody Strait’s award showcases the heart of community health workers

Melody and her mom, Connie, enjoyed the 2025 More childhood, please. Awards ceremony.

Melody received the first “Akron Children’s Advocate Award” at the 2025 More childhood, please™. Awards held Oct. 1. Although it’s an individual award, Melody shares it with her fellow community health workers (CHWs).

“What an honor to be nominated for the Advocate Award. I cried when I found out I won,” she shared. “Most people haven’t heard of CHWs or know what we do. I’m happy to tell people about the amazing work of our 9-person team at Akron Children’s.”

About CHWs

The only educational qualification for a CHW is a high school diploma. “You don’t need an advanced degree. What you must have is a heart for serving people in need, especially minority and impoverished communities,” Melody explained. “The ability to network with people and community organizations is also important, as you look for ways to help patients and families.

“So many aspects of being a CHW cannot be taught,” she continued. “It’s either something you know from being within the community or it’s ingrained in you personally.”

The Akron Children’s CHW team members have often faced similar challenges to the families they support. “I grew up in an impoverished community. I’m able to share with families that I pulled myself out of that environment – and they can as well,” Melody said. “One CHW was a refugee from Africa, so he can relate to what families who moved to America are going through. We also have CHWs who speak different languages, so it’s super cool that they can communicate directly with families in their primary languages.”

Melody enjoys hiking in places such as South Dakota (top) and North Carolina.

Melody’s journey

She spent 10 years as a medical assistant and ran a private medical office at one point. “I worked hard but felt stuck in the shadows,” she said. “I started as a medical assistant at Akron Children’s 5 years ago and then transferred to become a CHW in 2022. It’s always been my goal to work at Children’s – and being a CHW turned out to be my dream job. I wish I would’ve known about the CHW role years before I found it.”

For Melody, no two days are the same. She helps families find financial resources, make medical appointments and navigate the complex world of health care. She delivers medicine to patients’ homes if the parents have transportation issues. If a mom has anxiety about taking her child to the doctor, Melody accompanies the family to the appointment. “I can also help a provider understand a family’s cultural needs,” she said. “Or reassure a family that we’re trying to help them, not change their culture.”

Melody mostly works with students in the Warren City Schools district, collaborating with the Akron Children’s School-Based Health Care team there. Providers throughout Trumbull County also refer patients to her. In the summer when school is out, she provides home education for kids in Trumbull and Portage counties with chronic conditions including asthma and diabetes.

Melody cares for kids in the Warren school district, including Skyy Davis.

Many families deal with extreme circumstances, from trauma to financial hardships, which weigh on Melody. “I try to be a beacon of light for families, but it can be hard to leave work ‘at the door’ when I go home,” she said. “I think about what families go through every day and what I can do to help. Those thoughts run across my mind like the Wall Street stock ticker. I’ve taken steps to set more boundaries and tell myself, ‘OK, Mel, you’re done with work for the day. If you dwell on what’s happening with everybody else, you’ll get depressed.’” 

Tailoring her support

Melody develops trust and customizes care based on each family’s unique needs. “They know I’m coming in as a friend who wants to help them,” she said. “But I can’t do it alone; they need to work with me. Whether that’s 2 months or 5 years, my ultimate goal is helping them ‘graduate’ from needing me. I give them tools to make them sustainable and able to do things on their own.”

Melody is the first recipient of the Akron Children’s Advocate Award.

Although Melody is thrilled about the More childhood, please. Award and bringing awareness to the CHW role, the appreciation she receives from families is what matters most. “Sometimes you don’t feel like you did very much, but then you get a hug or a text that expresses a parent’s gratitude,” she shared. “You realize you did help, and that’s an awesome feeling. The family started as this little seedling. I ‘watered’ them and helped them become a big, beautiful tree. I feel so fulfilled in my life by doing this job.”