LAKEPORT–More than 20 representatives of agencies in and around Lake County attended a meeting of the minds Wednesday about how to provide services to the county”s Spanish-speaking population.
Reyna Lopez, the Hispanic outreach worker with Lake County Mental Health”s (LCMH) outreach services program, called the meeting. The focus was on how to start a program in Lake County similar to Nuestra Casa in Mendocino County. The non-profit organization offers tutoring services to students learning English, among other bilingual and cultural support services.
“There is a huge need out there that everyone sees, not just me,” Lopez said at the beginning of the meeting.
The discussion centered on how to start a Nuestra Casa non-profit in Lake County, and how to provide funding. Lake County Superintendent of Schools Dave Geck said that while the need was apparent, it needed to be quantified in the form of specific needs and how many people in Lake County could benefit.
Community member and Nuestra Casa representative Luisa Acosta said she plans to interview at least 150 Hispanic families using a survey of approximately 25 questions to assess the community”s needs. Six agency representatives volunteered to be on a committee to help conduct the face-to-face survey, reaching out to “campos,” labor camps where undocumented migrant workers live.
“There is a whole underground world, where the people take care of their own needs,” LCMH interpreter Esther Terin-Flores said.
Terin-Flores told the story of a man whose wife had a baby and gave the baby away while he was in jail. She did not know where to refer the man for help.
Acosta said she was angered when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in plain clothing arrested members of the Hispanic community on Fiesta Day at the 2006 Lake County Fair, a year when much of the county”s pear crop rotted on the ground.
Grant writer Annie Barnes said conducting a survey could take six months or more, and suggested the committee apply for a $10,000 to $20,000 planning grant to complete the process.
Agencies including the Konocti and Kelseyville school districts, Lake County Office of Education, Lake County Sheriff”s Office, Lakeside Clinic and Migrant Education Foundation were represented at the meeting.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
