New FRC location

RHA was a great location for folks who lived there, but it was difficult for others to find. We contacted O’Brien Middle School as it was easy to find and easy to give directions to. The faculty and staff were very easy to work with. In retrospect, the only thing that was difficult was that I was put in the middle a lot. For example, if kids would misbehave, I was pulled in to interpret for the Spanish-speaking families. It was difficult for me not to take sides as I was often interpreting for families that were also clients of the Family Resource Center and I knew what was going on with family dynamics.

I met my friend Luz by happenstance. I was working one day and she was with the Food Bank, assisting people to fill out applications for SNAP, or Food Stamps. She was in the office with me and I got a phone call. The caller was Spanish-speaking, and I was assisting her with a housing issue. When I hung up, Luz asked me wide-eyed “¿Hablas Español? I said yes, and from that point on we had a great friendship. Luz, from Puerto Rico, was married to a Mexican man, so she made excellent food beloved in both countries.

About the same time, I was asked by my good friend Fátima if I would be willing to conduct Alitas, a mentoring group for young Latinas. I was uncomfortable with the idea as I speak Spanish, but I am not Latina. She said that she would have several girls in the North Valleys area that would have to miss out on a program that was available to other communities, so I agreed. I conducted the first class on my own, but after that I asked my Latino friends if they would be willing to help me as guest speakers. As such, the girls were educated on topics like how to get into College, how to use their bilingualism to their advantage in society and for employment possibilities, and much more.

I completed the sessions with my Alitas, and awarded them each a mug filled with goodies like a coupon for a session at the Aveda hair salon school.

The director of the Family Resource Center was now Joanne, and she ran things differently than Diana had. She was focused on updating our computer system as we were using an Access database in each center, and she wanted all of the centers to be able to communicate with each other. We eventually had a new system, but it was a big adjustment to learn it.