Keeping Our Neighbors Healthy Part 2: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Lane County's Immigrant Communities
On November 12, the Lane Equity Coalition and the Integration Network for Immigrants of Lane County held their second event in an online series, Keeping Our Neighbors Healthy: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Lane County's Immigrant Communities. This event focused on how the greater Lane County community can continue to work together to strengthen supports for immigrant and refugee communities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event began with discussion from two keynote speakers, centering their experience and the resources they have found useful navigating this pandemic in Lane County. They spoke to the specific difficulties immigrants face dealing with this health crisis, from access to resources, to a lack of governmental safety net available to them.
The speakers addressed the difficulty in awareness of resources in immigrant communities and encouraged local organizations and non-profits to adjust their outreach to better serve these especially vulnerable communities, from providing information in different languages to making sure their services are accessible, both culturally and physically.
The event then transitioned to breakout sessions, each focused on a separate aspect of the intersections of the COVID-19 pandemic and resource access for Lane County’s immigrant communities.
One of these intersections was healthcare, both in physical and mental well-being. Speakers Patricia Cortez, MSW, and Dr. Lauren Herbert, of PeaceHealth Medical Group Pediatrics Infectious Diseases, addressed the disproportionate infection rate in communities of color, as well as the large portion of immigrant communities that are front line workers. Patricia shared the inaccessibility of mental health services and the need for more support based in love and respect for the communities.
Another topic was the unique challenges and opportunities for addressing this pandemic among rural communities. Speakers Ana Maria Dudley, Dr. Willy Foster, and Lise Colgan shared their unique experiences serving rural communities in Lane County. They addressed the barriers in reaching out to immigrant populations, especially in rural communities. Dudley and Colgan discussed the relationships that have been built through rural Family Resource Centers. These create a model for systems and organizations to strengthen access by learning from groups like the South Lane School District Family Resource Center, who have spent years developing trust with the immigrant community and who provide an open door for partner collaboration. While these populations are smaller and more spread out, these services are even more essential as rural communities trying to access resources and medical information.
The third topic was focused on community organizations and decreasing barriers to access. This section was uniquely held entirely in Spanish. Speakers Monica C. Blaine, MSW, CSWA, Bilingual Mental Health Therapist with Centro Latino Americano, Bilingual Mental Health Therapist and Ana Contreras, Social Services Team Manager with Centro Latino Americano focused on their work at Centro Latino Americano, and how other community models can adapt their services and outreach to decrease barriers such as community equity and inclusivity, language and cultural appropriateness.
This event highlighted the importance of collaboration, in particular between the mental health and social service sectors in our community. Access barriers have been exacerbated as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and many of our local organizations are working to strengthen holistic healthcare, rural health, and access to culturally- appropriate resources. By following the lead of those doing this important work, our community can work together to strengthen supports for immigrants and refugees in Lane County.
Live Healthy Lane extends their gratitude to the individuals and organizations who graciously shared their experiences, amidst a host of technical challenges that reduced the time allotted to learn from their expertise.
They also acknowledge that asking presenters to share their struggles so vulnerably with attendees— many of us holding a variety of privilege and power— seemed at best, altruistic, and at worst, exploitative. We have immense gratitude for the stories shared, and also commit to doing better in the future to ensure we aren’t perpetuating injustice and exploitation of people’s experiences. Thank you for helping hold us accountable, too, as we continue this journey of embedding antiracism, inclusion, and belonging in all of our work.
Live Healthy Lane also thanks Integration Network for Immigrants of Lane County for helping develop this series on impacts of COVID-19. Though intended to be a three-part series, we are canceling our final event to give us time to explore if we are adequately meeting our goal of truly helping advance equity in Lane County.
We hope you will continue these important discussions within your community and organizations.
Thank you to our fiscal sponsors, PacificSource Community Solutions and Trillium Community Health Plan, whose support enables us to host and refine these educational opportunities in our community.
To learn more about the first event in this series, click here.