Houston, TX
Kena Bush was born in New Jersey and is a U.S. citizen who has been a resident of Houston, Texas, for over 20 years. Kena is a State of Texas Certified Community Health Worker with more than 9 years of experience, a State of Texas Certified Peer Support Specialist for over 12 years, and a State of Texas Certified Peer Support Supervisor for more than 3 years. Kena holds 101 accredited college credits from the State of Texas.
Kena is an active volunteer member of NAMI and currently serves as a NAMI Board of Director for Region 9 for the State of Texas. Additionally, Kena is an active member of the State of Texas Office of Justice Bureau (OJB) Peer Review Committee and a member of the Community Health Worker National Association.
Kena also volunteers with the State of Texas Public Health Department through the Health Ambassador Partner Program. Kena currently attends Houston Community College in the Human Services Program and is two college courses away from becoming an LCDC-I (Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor – Intern). Kena holds an Associate’s Degree in Information Technology/Medical Terminology with a specialization in Medical Billing, Coding, and Transcription. Kena has also attended Springfield College, majoring and minoring in Human Services.
Kena has served Texas communities for over 11 years, working with populations including individuals experiencing mental health challenges, substance use/abuse, re-entry, co-occurring conditions, senior citizens, underserved and rural communities, those involved in the criminal justice system, and individuals with chronic diseases. Kena is committed to advocacy, education, group facilitation, launching new groups and businesses, raising awareness about domestic violence, Narcan education and distribution, and connecting individuals to community resources.
Kena conducts community street outreach and provides accredited educational literature on a wide range of topics, including mental health disorder signs and symptoms, sexually transmitted diseases, opioid education, chronic health conditions, medication-assisted treatment, COVID-19, suicide prevention, intimate partner violence, multimorbidity, bullying, healthy coping skills, and overdose prevention.
Kena has worked with communities of various ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses, cultures, genders, gender identities, races, religions, and creeds. One of Kena’s main objectives is: “To help individuals improve their quality of life.”
Ambassador story coming soon!