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Hi everyone!
I just conducted my first interview this morning. I'm not sure exactly how much we're supposed to write, but I thought I would highlight some of the notes from my interview.

I interviewed Marcia, who is the Fitness Director at the Downtown YMCA in Green Bay. When I asked her about the needs/problems facing the Spanish-speaking community, she said:

"Definitely the language barrier. It's hard to communicate our rules and regulations. When our childcare center closes at 1 pm and we're announcing over the loud speaker that a child needs to be picked up, they might not understand that. Sometimes they don't understand that their membership money is actually being taken from their bank account, so the following month it's upsetting to them when membership fees have been deducted.
She also added that:

"Green Bay is not the most cutting-edge community. It's a great community, but it's older, so there are probably some racial boundaries that adds to the problems."

When I asked about what the Y is doing to help with services, she said:

"This fall we're starting a new salsa-aerobics class, that will be taught in Spanish and English. I wanted to provide something for our Spanish speakers, because they come to the Y, they attend. It's their Y as much as it is for anyone else."

"We are also sending people from our front-desk staff to learn Spanish-speaking basics. We need to be able to communicate our services and how to use the equipment. Our registration forms have also been redone in Spanish as well."

Marcia said her goal is to have a trainer at each Y who is bi-lingual. She also always wants someone working who can communicate effectively with Spanish speakers.

Again, these are just some highlights from the interview. I'm curious to see what the others have to say.

On a personal note, I teach classes at this Y, and I do have some Spanish speakers in my classes. A few months ago, I wrote down some activities and put them in a hat that the class could choose from. They were all in English, such as, "run stairs," "run track," "step aerobics," "jump rope," etc. The Spanish speakers looked at them and just gave me this puzzled look, so I demonstrated and they understood. I felt very naive and promised from now on I would find someone to help me write these in both languages!

It's been great reading about the community interviews so far. It demonstrates there are multiple values to this process. Not only do you learn more about the Spanish-speaking community, but opportunities arise for future partnerships. I can't wait to read more!

Emily

Hello again!
I had another great discussion this morning with Karla, who is a children's librarian at Brown County's East Branch. Karla is also participating on a panel for the WLA Conference on serving the Hispanic community. We ended up talking pretty frankly for about 45 minutes, and I will highlight some of the things we discussed.

Karla also feels that communication and the language barriers are the biggest problems for Spanish speakers. It's hard for families to find the time to learn another language, and having their kids translate for them at the doctor's office or insurance agency puts a big burden on the children. It also doesn't help with the self-esteem in the adults.

Karla is not happy with the negativity that seems to be in the local media regarding Spanish speakers.

"They need access to information," Karla said. "They need to learn English in order to survive and have a life here, so the library can provide them those resources and a quiet place to study. They also need our support and a welcoming community."

When Karla started working at her branch eight years ago, there were maybe one or two Latinos who would come in, and the selection of books in Spanish was very little. They were also pretty battered and poorly written. Now, the Spanish-speaking population at their library has "sky-rocketed." They have also built up a nice collection of adult and kid books in Spanish with grant money and donations.

Karla also took it upon herself to learn Spanish so she could communicate with people more easily. She also does a weekly bi-lingual storytime and collaborates with local schools on giving kindergarten kids tours of the library.

She's happy with the progress they've made, but her ultimate goal would be to have more bi-lingual staff at the libraries, and have someone specifically for Spanish-speaking programming and other needs. She also would like to see their entire Summer Reading Program in English and Spanish.

Karla told me how one time a Spanish-speaking gentleman came in the library asking for GED materials.
"I kept encouraging him to check out these books," she said. "It took weeks and weeks. Many of our Spanish speakers are from Mexico, where the public library system is not as good as it is here. Or often times, the materials have to stay in the library."

"When I finally got him to check out the GED book, he opened his wallet and asked 'how much?' I told him, 'nothing, it's free to check out!'
She said, "He thought he had to pay for it. I just can't imagine how many other people might not know of the resources we can provide."

Community Leader Interview
August 20, 2007
Rev. Leigh, Vicar, St. John’s Episcopal Church, Sparta WI
Conducted by: Marcia Sarnowski, Winding Rivers Library System, La Crosse WI
:
Rev. Leigh was ordained in 2003. She grew up in Texas, where she studied Spanish in school and became fluent in the language. She came to Sparta (in western Wisconsin, population about 9,000) from northern Wisconsin. When she arrived in 2004 there were an average of 33 people attending Sunday services. The church began to offer English classes, and now the worship attendance has increased to about 65, and includes Hispanic families. Recently the church has instituted Spanish language worship services. Leigh provides assistance with translation, counseling, and connecting people with community services when they need them.

People began arriving from Mexico around twelve years ago to work at the Valley Pride meat processing plant in Norwalk, WI, a small village about 15 miles from Sparta. Gradually more people came and found jobs in Sparta with several local companies. The majority are from two villages in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. It is not known exactly how many people are here, though the number of Hispanic children attending area schools is known. People have also arrived from other countries: Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Peru, as well as other states in Mexico. Many are indigenous (native people) – they hardly speak Spanish. A very few have a high school education. Some have completed 8th grade, most have less than a 6th grade education. The community struggles with prejudice and bigotry from external sources, but these issues also exist within Hispanic groups, with friction present among the different cultures.

There are many needs facing the Spanish-speaking community in this area, the most pressing being English language proficiency, and assistance with translation and interpretation, and help navigating the system (e.g. getting a driver’s license). Transportation is a challenge in households where two members work different shifts to accommodate child care needs; there is not enough child care assistance for those without local family support. Domestic violence is a problem which plagues many families. Cultural understanding of parenting is different from U.S. expectations (e.g. leaving small children alone in order to take care of other family members); this can result in problems with social services agencies. Many live in daily fear of immigration sweeps through employment sites, that they will be separated from their children with no warning. Many do not understand how the US medical system works. If they need medical attention they most often wait until after job hours (evenings and weekends) and then go the hospital emergency room, the most expensive care option. In Mexico, in towns where there are clinics, the care is free all the time. Dental care is very hard for these families to get in this region.

Spanish-speaking community members need better paying jobs, like many area people, so they can support their families; Hispanics are often the first ones laid off, in seasonal industries. They need a dependable network of people they can trust to ask for assistance with translation, interpreting, and instruction about how to access social and medical services. There is a free clinic which serves the area, one evening a week. Women are eligible for Badger Care [state health insurance] while they are pregnant, and for a short time after delivery. Children born here are eligible for Badger Care and food purchase assistance. However, people often don’t understand that they must reapply for these services, and they do not respond to printed mailings they receive, in time to meet deadline dates. There is a local food pantry for those in need, but it is rarely used by the Hispanic community. There are some faith-based volunteer groups who provide assistance upon request. There is a Job Center office in Monroe County which can provide assistance with finding employment. Free tax help is available. There is a bilingual social worker on the county human services staff – but only one.

The family support system is very strong. Most are dependable, hard workers – they have come here for jobs because there are so few in the small villages of their native countries. They are proud of their cultures and their countries. Many are generous to a fault, and will give to someone in need, even if they have little to spare. However, many lack reading and writing skills in Spanish, as well as English. Prejudice and racism divide the community; yet there is a perception that all Spanish-speakers are one homogeneous group. Many are reluctant to ask for help, to look less than capable; they perceive their vulnerability as failure.

There is a need for informal, accessible education, from trusted people. The most effective format is probably a tutoring classroom, with instruction offered to individuals or small groups. People need language instruction and general living information (e.g. home and apartment maintenance for those used to living in very different conditions). Leaders need to come from within the community to be bridges with area residents.

Leigh will connect us with a liaison from the Spanish-speaking community (she will suggest that this person call me – after the September training session). Leigh suggests that representatives from public health organizations, the school district ELL department, and the Job Service Center would be able to help identify community needs.

Leigh finished the interview by saying, “I’m glad they [the Spanish-speaking community] are here. I believe God sent them to us, for us, to get us out of our perception that consumption and greed are what life is all about.” Leigh is working to develop a resource center to make it easier for people to find the information they need to have a better life in the community. She plans to work closely with the local library director.

I interviewed Linda Callon, the director of the Westside Community Action Network Center in Kansas City, Missouri, on August 28.The center serves two needs in the community:
•Neighborhood & community policing organization, one of 6 remaining in KCMO. Triage for: the D’s in a blighted, crime ridden neighborhood: disengaged, disenfranchised, distressed, devolved or devolving neighborhoods.
•Gathering place for day laborers: in 2002, an outreach program for migrant workers was started. In 2003, the current space was rehabbed. In 2004, the day laborers were moved from Southwest Blvd. to her location as they were becoming an increasing problem for small business owners, patrons, and residents along SW Blvd. as it became more gentrified.
Westside provides:
•A dayroom, kitchen facilities, showers, lockers for the homeless day laborers
•Health services through Jackson County Health Dept.
•Two on-site neighborhood police officers who speak Spanish
•An on-site building codes inspector
•Some ESL training
Ethnic make-up of community: 60 % Hispanic (mostly of Mexican extraction), 20% Afro-American, and 20% other.
Lynda’s parents emigrated from Canada to KC area when she was a small child. He father was a French Canadian who didn’t learn French because his mother thought her children would be more successful if they spoke English rather than French. As Lynda remarked, “Little did my grandmother know that one day Canada would be bi-lingual.” Lynda, on her own initiative, took 2 semesters of Spanish at local community colleges, and speaks what she calls “Lynda Spanish” which the day laborers and community residents have a lot of fun helping her with. She needed a job in 1994, so Linda created her own position by filling a need in the community where she lives.
Lynda’s Concerns, Hopes, and Plans
•Lynda worries about how the love of learning light goes out of the eyes of the children, especially the boys, somewhere in the 4-6th grade. She feels that people don’t rise to low expectations so when the neighborhood educators don’t set high expectations and promote rigorous standards, her children are cheated.
•Lynda worries about the effect of poor parenting on the children in her neighborhood as the culture is pervasive with instant gratification rather than long term goal setting. The parents are often poorly educated and have a lot of false pride about that, so education just isn’t on the family agenda.
•As long as her day laborers see themselves as “dirt”, they are going to be treated like dirt. Most of them are disconnected from society, families, community, etc. She is hoping this winter to work with them on their self images. She would like to have a male role model to participate in this project.
•Lynda would like to see more literacy tie in with KCMO’s health department’s Esperanza Para la Familia project which provides pre and post natal services for mothers until 3 months after delivery. She thinks education should made a mandatory adjunct to this program while the mothers and mothers- to- be are a captive audience.
•Language is not the friend of her neighborhood residents; even in their native language they are frequently inarticulate and illiterate. They struggle with critical thinking and analytical skills.
You can learn more about the Westside CAN by visiting its web sites: westcan@crn.org, and www.westsidecan.org

Yesterday, I had my first leader interview. It made me realize how much I have to learn as far as the community in Nashville as well as how important it is for me to triple my efforts to learn Spanish. It will be life changing pursuing this quest and my efforts and training may be a small ripple that I hope will spread.


Maricruz Figueroa, St Edwards Hispanic Church, Nashville, TN August 30, 2007

Some leaders come in small packages without big titles. I started off interviewing Fr. Joseph Breen re: the Hispanic Church that St. Edwards Catholic Church of Nashville started, Our Lady of Guadalupe, which will open December 12, 2007. It will be the first Hispanic Catholic Church in the Diocese. Currently they have 2 Hispanic Masses at St. E’s on Sunday Afternoon. He suggested that I come to the 2:00 service to make announcements about the library programs because it would reach ~700 people. He regrets that he cannot speak Spanish. I told him I was rapidly trying to learn it.

Within 10 minutes he turned me over to Maricruz Figueroa, a lovely lady who really had the pulse of the Hispanic experience. She herself has a Masters in Sports Medicine and came here from Mexico. With this as her background when she first came here, all she could find to do was to be a translator for a restaurant. She is now and has been one of the “go to” people in the area looking for help. She was a volunteer for the Hispanic church for 8 years and a fulltime employee the last two years. She said that the reasons the Hispanic community does not use the library is:

1) Language – not enough Spanish speakers in the library system.
2) Both parents work long hours and different hours. Most programs are while they are at work.
3) Education is the key and the mothers usually don’t know English at all, have perhaps just elementary education so they don’t read well in their own language. She feels that they need to learn how to read to their children in English.
4) Don’t have a library card because of the picture ID requirement. Afraid to give too much information because of deportation.

There are a lot of programs sponsored by the Catholic Diocese in the Middle Tennessee area. The hesitancy of the illegal immigrants to christen their children or register for school has to be overcome. But the hardest thing to hear was that they have a legitimate reason to be afraid. Parents are seized and deported and the children are left behind. I was amazed at the number of people who work beyond their jobs to help once they see the problem. At the nearby YMCA, there is a gentleman who works with 7th graders and above, plus the parents, to achieve academic success. However, many colleges will not take an application from a student without a social security number. Vanderbilt and Belmont will if they are straight A students. The parents could get a passport through the Mexican Consulate in Atlanta but if they are pulled over while driving they can be arrested because they are illegal immigrants and also do not have a driver’s license.

She gave me the name of many other tireless Hispanic heroes in the area whom I plan to interview. Maricruz helps anyone she can when they come to the Hispanic Church offices. She has helped with applications and directs the Hispanic community to the services and agencies available.

This was huge eye opener.

I interviewed Chico Ramirez, who is the Director of the Multicultural Community Center in Green Bay. He has been in this position for four years and has lived in this community for 10 years. He also serves as a translator for several companies. We spoke candidly for about two hours! It was so interesting to hear about his childhood growing up in Texas. He asked me to come to the Hispanic Advisory Council meeting next week if I was interested and also said he'd help translate key phrases that I could use in my kickboxing classes. How nice!

Chico thinks that this area is very welcoming, but he thinks city officials are the ones who make it hard for Spanish speakers to find jobs. He doesn't think immigration was a "problem" until people made it a problem. 9/11 also had a big impact, because it got people to pay attention.

He did say that the language barrier is also a big problem, but unfortunately, there aren't enough places like the Literacy Council to help, and even they can't keep up with the tutors that are needed.

He said the banking industry is one area where they need to "get on board" in this area. He has a friend who works at a major bank who has fought with bosses on creating brochures in Spanish. A few of the banks have hired bi-lingual workers, but not enough.

Chico agreed to be part of the panel when I do my training in Green Bay, and he was really excited I was doing this. He definitely placed an emphasis on promoting multi-culturalism for all people.

I went about town interviewing a few of the many leaders in our community. Each one of them had invaluable insight and information on the community and the challenges that are ahead as our Spanish-speaking population continues to grow at a fast pace. As per the 2000 census, The Hispanic or Latino population in the City of Reading was 37.3%. Realistically speaking, this information is outdated to say the least. During the past five years, there has been an overwhelming increase in the Spanish-speaking population in our area. During my interviews I realized that there is a definite need for more outreach programs that help our Spanish-speaking population adjust and become active participants in the community. Awareness and an attitudinal change are in the process. Attached are note of the interviews I have conducted so far…..

Attachments:

Interview_with_Leon_Churchill.doc (25.5k)    Sergio_Mery.doc (27.5k)    Ileana_Torres_interview.doc (26.5k)

Hi I'm Catherine in Bozeman, Montana.

In making phone calls and doing interviews over the past few weeks I have discovered not only that a much larger community of Spanish-speakers are living and working in and around the Gallatin Valley but that a great group of people have been meeting for the last year to discuss and try to meet the needs of this growing community.

This group is CORO (Coalition of Resource Organizations). Coro translates to chorus in Spanish. It is a group of interested individuals that work in health care services, at the university, at the foodbank, for the church, for various state and county agencies. I've just been to a meeting yesterday and the stories that they shared just at that meeting heartwrenching.

They've welcomed me and the library into the group. Some were noticeably excited when I introduced myself and said I was with the library. The library is quickly becoming a cultural center here in the area and I think that the fact that we are becoming involved is a promising sign for the group.

The next meeting is the Friday after the Institute in Seattle and I'll have a chance to tell them all about SLO and recruit them for the area workshops.

It took a while to track down the community leaders I spoke to, but it was really worth the wait. I got some very interesting insights AND have a question for the group that I'm going to put right up front (in case you only have time to skim the interviews):

Our shared system (40 independent public libraries) requires the use of a photo ID in order to get a library card--partly to protect the library, but also ostensibly to protect people having their mail stolen and used to get a library card. This is extremely problematic for many Spanish speakers in our area, since a large proportion are undocumented. Anything to do with paperwork makes folks nervous, so proof of address is tricky enough...How do other libraries and shared systems get around this?

Attached is the write-up for the two interviews I did. Now I can see why several of the people who did one did another and then another! I feel like there is so much to learn and so many connections to make.

I interviewed Marissa Rodriguez of UMOS, a Wisconsin agency serving migrant agricultural workers, and I also interviewed Tim Stanton, ESL teacher at a local community college and Lucy Rojo, one of his students and a leader in the Spanish speaking community.

Attachments:

Marissa_Rodriguez_interview.doc (26.0k)