Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Alameda County, CA
Since 1971, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc. (TVHC) has provided culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to low-income Latino families in Southern Alameda County in California. TVHC is recognized as an innovative leader in empowering community members as "parent advocates” to become engaged in their children’s’ education, host meetings with their local school principals and superintendents, and learn outreach strategies and advocacy skills.
Most of the parent advocates are low-income, Spanish speaking, stay-at-home mothers―and some fathers―who attend weekly CAFÉ (Club de Aprendizaje Para Una Familia Estable/Learning Club to Build a Stable Family) meetings and are trained in leadership development, community resources, and health issues. TVHC's parent advocates go into the community to reach Latino families wherever they are, including schools, homes, and community events. Every year parent advocates reach more than 3,000 community members through their workshops, outreach, and presentations.
Parent Advocates play a key role in TVHC's efforts to strengthen families and communities. They meet with representatives from 25 partner organizations to learn about community resources such as A-G requirements for college, gang prevention strategies, housing assistance, and health care. Then the parent advocates go into the school community and connect people to these resources. The parent advocates are available for one-on-one sessions with families and frequently perform such duties as accompanying parents to meetings with their child's teacher, the school counselor or principal, or other school meetings and events.
Maricela Gutierrez, Director of Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, states that the Parent Advocates are powerful advocates for school health centers, which provide valuable health care and other services for students and their families. Through the work of the parent advocates, health centers have been established at two local high schools. In addition to providing health care, these centers offer a variety of programs free of charge to youth and the entire community. Programs aimed at youth include peer education and counseling, conflict mediation, youth advisory board, and intervention programs for young women and men, as well as various types of creative outlets, including a variety of dance classes.
The CAFÉ Program holds discussion groups that meet weekly to talk about issues of concern to parents and other caregivers, such as navigating the school system, academic testing, and health issues affecting their children. Maricela says the center has been able to build an extremely strong connection with parents and other caregivers because of their involvement with the center from the very beginning. "We had parents on the planning committee, which helped them feel connected. We also assured we were culturally competent from the beginning, recognizing culturally specific groups and different languages."
Programs like the Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center Parent Advocates work to give children an important ingredient for academic success―strong, healthy, and capable families.
For more information, contact Maricela Gutiérrez, Director, School Based/School Linked Health Services, Tiburcio Vásquez Health Center, Inc., at mgutierrez@tvhc.org.