Family Support Group Meetings Encourage Networking and Promote Preventive Care
Empowering Oaxacan Farmworkers through Monthly Community Meetings
Family Support Group Meetings Encourage Networking and Promote Preventive Care
2008, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast
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In an effort to better communicate with their Spanish/Mixteco-speaking patients, Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHC) began to work closely with local organizers to develop El Pueblo Entero: Foro para los Campesinos (The Whole Community: Forum for Farmworkers), a monthly family support group addressing the concerns of farmworkers in the Santa Maria Valley. This grassroots outreach effort with non-traditional organizers provides an opportunity for farmworkers to network among themselves and to learn about local social service agencies.
Working closely with the United Farm Workers and local agricultural agencies, the monthly meetings were developed to address the importance of preventive health care as well as to facilitate discussion regarding health and social services to farmworkers. CHC recognizes the need to listen to farmworkers in order to effectively address their needs and break down barriers to health care.
The monthly gathering allows CHC to simultaneously focus on the health care needs of each individual family while also educating the entire group. Shortly after the forum, monthly bilingual (Mixteco and Spanish) health classes are held that address the needs expressed by participants in the forum. Personal health care needs are discussed with a specialized educator, addressing topics such as women’s health, sexuality, HIV, pesticide exposure, housing, labor laws, and cancer support. The health education sessions are conducted in a comfortable, non-threatening environment with many service organizations represented. CHC believes that the familia approach lets farmworkers know that CHC cares about their health and empowers them to make their own health care decisions while also facilitating leadership development within the community.
Empowering Oaxacan Farmworkers through Monthly Community Meetings
2008, Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project
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Since 2001, the Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) has been empowering the 20,000 indigenous Oaxacan farmworkers in Ventura County who face linguistic and cultural barriers to health care. In monthly community meetings, an average of 200 Mixtec families come together to share a communal meal, exchange information and concerns in their own language, receive assistance with the necessities of life (i.e., food, clothing, and disposable diapers), and develop a strong collective voice. The meetings offer an excellent forum for presenting health-related information, collaborating with public and private service agencies, and assisting community members to access medical services.
The community meeting approach is culturally appropriate and effective because it draws on the inherent strengths and communication style of the indigenous community it serves, with an emphasis on cultural pride and language preservation. The Mixtec traditional community service model, where everyone is expected to share in the work of maintaining the community, aids the functioning of the meetings. Also, because Mixtec is a non-written language, verbal exchanges and interactive presentations are the most effective approaches to communication. Cultural events are celebrated as well such as “Children’s Day” and Guelaguetza, a traditional holiday where Oaxacans renew their commitment to contributing to the betterment of their community. Also, instead of banning children at meetings, a degree of disruption is accepted as a small price to pay for enabling entire families to attend.
Mixtec health promoters are a key example of the leadership development that MICOP embraces; they play a critical role in organizing these monthly meetings. They serve as community health advocates and have assisted the community in demanding culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Their efforts have resulted in the hiring of over a dozen Mixtec interpreters and outreach workers at health care agencies. The visibility and leverage of the Mixtec community in Ventura County and beyond has increased immeasurably due to this program.
