Liliana Rojas-Guyler

Dr. Rojas-Guyler presented on the health concerns of the Latino community in Cincinnati.  I was most surprised to learn that the health of immigrants, including Hispanics, is statistically better when they arrive in the US, but quickly deteriorates to or below the level of the "native" population.  A main contributor to this decline is stress, and there are many stressors in the life of a recent immigrant: poverty, discrimination, low-paying jobs,  ineffective schools, and substandard housing.  I am aware that the life of an immigrant can be very difficult, but it shocking to realize that, even when coming from great poverty, their health is often better in their native county than in the US.

The Healing Center

What a wonderful outing this was to go to The Healing Center!  This awesome place houses various components to help the Latino immigrant maneuver through life in Ohio.  Different departments such as   clothing, food, household items, and shelter can be addressed as soon as you walk through the door.  We took a tour of different departments beginning with intake which consisted of seven cubicles.  Next, we went through the children's hangout that had a rock wall, flat screen TV, and an infant care room - all in top condition!  We toured the warehouse which was immaculate and organized well.  The clothing store looked like a section out of Macy's where parents can shop for clothing with a card and walk out with a bag full of needed items twice a month.  This is crucial for most as they may come from warmer climates and may not have coats, sweaters, or insulated boots.  There are rooms for Latino students to worship on Sunday and a chapel for anyone who needs to fellowship and pray with others.  I will absolutely volunteer there in the children's center.

Jacqueline Rioja Velarde

Jacqueline Rioja Velarde, co-founder of Latinas en Ohio, a women's advocate and leadership educational program for Latina women came and spoke on adopting a self-identity within the Latina culture as they try and assimilate into the state of Ohio. She spoke on the self-social identity that she embraced upon entering the U.S. from Lima, Peru.  Although she is a professional educator turned administrator, her inability to let go of her Peruvian roots ran deep initially.  She spoke about leaving a beautiful country where she enjoyed the freedom to move about the country within her profession, having to come here for her son's health, and having to overcome stereotypes of being unable to speak the language, being uneducated, and appearing to be stupid.  She struggled with having a cultural identity as well as she began to embrace the cultural differences that she brought with her from Peru from those of other Latinos from varying countries. She began to network out of feelings of isolation of being the only Latino in her neighborhood.  She then spoke about the intercultural identity of finally ending up being bilingual, Democratic, and surprisingly, a "woman of color."  This was interesting as she shared with us that she would have been considered to be white in her native country of Peru.  Her identity struggle has now brought her full circle.

Sherry Neal - Attorney

Sherry Neal brought a wealth of knowledge regarding immigration reform and shared with us some interesting facts about how immigrants come into our country.  She first talked about the F1 status for foreign students and the unknown fact that they are welcomed not only for their wealth of knowledge, but for their full priced tuition payments.  She talked about the H1B Visa which is a work authorization type of visa where a company sponsors a professional or blue collar worker and how their kids can attend a public school for free.  Then she mentioned the undocumented immigrant who may have come on a visa, but didn't leave when the time allotment expired.  As a result of this, immigration reform has taken root in the United States government.  In 1986 the Immigration Reform/Control Act was passed by congress which began to penalize undocumented workers, but granted amnesty to nearly two million people thanks largely to President Ronald Reagan.  Atty. Neal went on to discuss the I94 Card which is the current way that the U.S. tracks the movement in terms of entry and exit dates for any foreigner entering this country.  There have been problems, though, in how this document is processed and enforced. The attachment of this policy that requires that undocumented immigrants leave the country if they have remained here illegally past six months whereby they must remain out of the country for three years before they can return, and then up to ten years if they have remained here illegally for more than a year.  For those who left as required, they may a day late and a dollar short of being on the path to citizenship if this new bill passes both the House and Senate and grants literally millions of people the right to call this country their permanent home.  Time will tell this tale.

Main Street Schoolhouse

The Main Street Schoolhouse is amazing in that it not only educates non-english speaking adults who have immigrated from countries like Nicaragua, Guatemala, Peru, and Mexico, it serves as a high school for kids who are at risk or have dropped out as well.  Karen Cocina is a gem.  She founded the school in 1997 with just three students and has grown over twenty years later into a school that will graduate nearly 175 seniors this year.  This private school serves students year round and tailors their program to meet the individual needs of each student, so it's not a one-stop-shop so to speak.  Students are assessed and transcripts are perused upon a student's arrival  they are given workbooks with english translations and a tutor to sit alongside them for private tutoring. This is a luxury that most public schools could never dream of.  I applaud the work that Karen is doing.

Dr. Liliana Rojas-Guyler

     I found it interesting that even though her professional direction originally did not have an Hispanic direction to it, that via her practicum or internship, she ended up heading in that direction.  It was helpful to hear about her life and the immigrant stories of her family.  When she talked about her mother's attempts to learn English, I was reminded about how complex languages are, and how the head of World Languages for the state of Ohio department Dr. Wirtz(?)said that we have been kidding ourselves about what we are really accomplishing at the various levels of high school instruction.  Certainly that is not the same as living in the country where the language is spoken, but that is not without its difficulties either.  Often it is hard to get corrections or help and sometimes it is easy to keep on making the same mistakes.

Guest Speaker: Dr. Liliana Rojas-Guyler

Thursday's presentation by Dr. Rojas-Guyler on health issues in the latino community focused in part on some of the major dilemmas therein.  The "hispanic paradox" that results from these dilemmas strikes me as a bizarre and problematic phenomenon.  Some of the problems faced by recent immigrants to the U.S. are unsurprising; factors such as financial limitations, access to transportation, and health-related knowledge are expected due to the high correlation between recent immigrant status and low socio-economic status.  Additionally, the language barrier can create an obstacle for these individuals.

One problem I did not expect involves the role of doctor as authority figure.  Out of respect for physicians and their position, many latino immigrants will defer to doctors to the point of not asking questions, not requesting clarifications, and not engaging in dialogue.  I tend to take for granted that everyone approaches the doctor/patient relationship as one occurring in the arena of commerce and in which patients take ownership of their health.  Culture as a barrier to this relationship, to the detriment of individual and family health, is quite a new concept to me.