More NorCal Reflections

My last visit in California before we headed north was with Dr. Lucia Kaiser.  Lucia is an Extension Nutrition Specialist with University of California at Davis and is in the final stages of her career at UC.  I was somewhat familiar with Dr. Kaiser's work having seen it highlighted at professional meetings.  I had never met her before and was charmed by her warmth and her commitment to her current project.  I was glad I had the opportunity to interview her.

Lucia in her office.

Her project focuses on delivering messages about parenting and obesity prevention to newly immigrated residents of the Central Valley in a rural area near Fresno.  About 400 parents are involved in the study and only about half participate. About 79% are Mexican immigrants and there is a fairly low acculturation level in the group.  Some of the things they are learning are that parenting around food is a difficult thing to influence, especially when the cultural norms are different from those being taught.  The more hands on, the more impact on and involvement of the students.  They have gone to having a promotora teaching hands on cooking classes and moved away from some of the more didactic classes. They also have formed a walking club to promote physical activity.  This fits with what we have experienced as well.   Lucia shared that the mothers are getting mixed messages about the obesity risk their children face.  They are using health report cards to share with the parents weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) information.  Lucia was not understanding why the report cards were not really influencing behavior until she dug a little deeper.  The area physicians were advising the parents not to worry, not to put their kids on diets and were assuring them they would "grow out" of their fat stage.  This is a common concern in our country and it speaks to the need to help the medical community understand the importance of non-diet interventions for children.  I am working on a study that is focusing on helping both parents and preschoolers understand about satiety and becoming aware of their cues for satisfaction and fullness.  Lucia and her team took a community awareness approach and used simple graphic examples to compare the obesity rates in the general population and in the targeted community.

The color of the folders represent obesity rates in the normal population and then the targeted community. Green represents normal weight, yellow, at risk and red obese.  The comparisons between the right side (average population) and the targeted community (left) speak for themselves.

The parents were able to see the differences and Lucia reported that the "lights went on" (my words).

Lucia hopes to continue this work in a consulting role in other communities after she retires this fall.

We had a very interesting discussion about the role of trauma in her study community and in the immigrant community as a whole.  I have been asking about trauma all along the way on this trip and about teen parents and the status in each community where I have made program visits.  I shared my experience of visiting with the women in the Kino women's shelter in Nogales, Sonora.  I shared what I learned about the high incidence of rape for women who attempt the border crossing.  Lucia and I shared tears.  It was good to see that she was not hardened to the reality of what was happening.  She spoke about rape as well.  She has colleagues in school of nursing who are finding rape is an issue with teens and that some of the evidence points to the field workers.  I am concerned about the culture of sexual assault that is created by the inhumane conditions on the borders and during the journeys through both Mexico and the US.  I know it is compounded by impoverished lives folks are forced to lead and the shadows in which many exist.   I am aware that the fear of reporting a rape can be exacerbated by fear of the law, immigration issues, cultural silence about rape.  It is not a good situation.  This was not the first time I heard concerns about sexual assault of young Latinas on the trip.  

I cannot help but think that the trauma exists at the community level and is exemplified in a variety of ways.  I wonder how much trauma, post traumatic stress and the threat of loss and grief affects the choices people are making about food and their weight? Good questions to which I do not have the answers.  To assume that there is no impact would be a mistake.  Lots to think about.

I am almost half way through this sabbatical and I have more questions than I have answers.  I suspect this is part of the process.  I am certainly learning a great deal so far and look forward to the next 3 months.  I will continue to blog.  I am finding it very helpful for my own learning.  One of the gifts of this time away from my normal duties is having the time to reflect and process.  I have always enjoyed journaling and I am finding a renewed energy for that in this blog.  Upcoming is a trip to Arizona, a trip to New York City, work with a colleague and scholar in Oregon and time to start working on fund proposals for our Fortaleciendo Familias program revision.

Thanks for reading.

The Long and Winding Road Home

We are back in Bellingham!  I am grateful to be at home despite the broken furnace, the broken washing machine and the funky power issues that happened while we were away.  Mike and I are both hoping that when you add the little repair we had to make to the car while we were in Tucson that we are done with repair and replacement for now.  The best news for me is the new washer and dryer that will arrive on Wednesday.    (The old washer died a noble death and the dryer was operating at half strength.)

We diligently kept track of the total miles we put on our car over the 41 days we were gone - 5210 miles.  Such a long way for us.  Mike is used to riding his bike as much as he can and I have been spoiled by living 2 miles from my office.  We are used to doing most things within about 5 miles of our home.  Even my little airport is 5 miles from my house.  One of the things I realized is that I really do not like road trips that much.  Maybe if the trip can be completed in one day and is no more than 5 hours.  Maybe if the stay on the other end is long and leisurely, like the snowbirds we saw and met all over California and Arizona, it makes sense.  By the end of the trip I would look longingly at airplanes and think about how quickly those people are going to get to where they are going.  I look forward to flying to and from Arizona next week for a short visit with the Arizona State University Latino Resilience Enterprise team.

I am sure that some of my bias against long road trips on fast moving interstate highways is that I walked away from a horrific high speed rollover accident almost 31 years ago.  I was 6 months pregnant.  Seat belts saved my life and that of my husband and now nearly 31 year old son Ben.  To this day large trucks cause me some anxiety.  We were hit by a semi-truck, thrown across all lanes of I-5 and then broadsided and flipped into a ditch.  We hung upside down while we waited for rescuers.
I had some amazing visits on this trip that made it worthwhile.   I am really grateful for all the people who agreed to give me their time and energy and I learned a great deal.  I was surprised by the generous hearts and the colorful art I saw all along the way.  I will write again in the next couple of days about the last couple of days of visiting in NorCal.  In the meantime I will post a couple of pictures I took on a brief visit we made to the state capital in Sacramento.

Cesar Chavez is honored in a variety of places in California and Arizona.  We spent some time in the Central Valley near where he lived and worked and met people who were connected to him through their relatives.  This plaza was in downtown Sacramento.  We were lucky to walk through it after we parked the car.

All capitol buildings are majestic.  This is no exception.  We found our way inside and enjoyed displays from each county lining the walls on the visitors' floor.

The floor on the outside of the capitol building.  The marble was beautiful and spoke to me esthetically.

The golden bear, state mascot.  This fellow is brass and is touched by many school children each day.  A nearby state trooper advised us to skip touching for the sake of our health.  He is impressive.

Thanks for reading my ramblings!

Central Valley and NorCal

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I love green, in nature, in clothes, in paintings and quilts, and yes, the color of my eyes has always given me a pass on this day.  We have left the desert and are in a greener part of California.  We are in Davis, home of the University of California (UC) at Davis.  I learned it was originally a branch of the the original University of California at Berkeley.  It was started just as an agricultural branch and has grown up over the years into a lovely campus and town.  In my world of Extension UC Davis is considered one of the premier Land Grant Universities.  The Cooperative Extension offices here are large.  Most are populated with multiple agricultural advisors and there are a few others mixed in.  There are 58 counties in this behemoth state and only scattering of advisors who focus on families by offering nutrition and food security programs.  UC Cooperative Extension has both EFNEP (Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) and SNAP-ED (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, formerly know as Food Stamp Education Program Education).  I met with Cathi Lamp and her wonderful team members, Mariana Lopez and Teresa Rios-Spicer, while I was in Tulare County last week.  Yesterday I met with Marcel Horowitz and Sonia Fernandez in Yolo County.  I also met with David Ginsburg, manager for CalFresh/SNAP-ED at the state office.   They run a large program and have over 100 full time staff delivering direct education at the local level.

Cathi, Mariana and Teresa
Tulare County

Sonia, Drew and Marcel posing in front of the soil samples.
Yolo County

There are some interesting things happening in California.  There are large threats to the environment and agriculture from the on-going (fourth year) drought.  All along CA-99 there are large signs about the need for water to help farms survive.  The visible reminders remind all that there is a real threat.  The drought impacts all levels of life here.  Signs in the bathrooms in Davis remind people not to run water while lathering ones hands with soap.  Carefully turn it on and off as needed.  There is less work for the farm workers.  Marcel expected fewer people to show up in the Migrant Camps this year.  One person referred to the San Joaquin Valley as the Dust Bowl.  I had no idea if that was intentional or not.  Yesterday I heard that food prices will increase, people are painting their lawns green and that there are major issues between SoCal and NorCal as the locals refer to the 2 parts of the state about who and what gets the water resource.   So, for now, it is green and lush.  But how long will that last?  How long until the landscape is brown and withered because the water isn't available?  What crops will not be able to be planted.  Will there be a major migration to wetter areas of the country akin to that experienced in the 1930's?

The issues for the undocumented residents seems less urgent here.  Maybe because the population is so rich in Latino families and traditions.  There are some concerns for the safety of the undocumented, especially the parents and children.  When I spoke to my colleagues at the local extension offices they were aware that a number of the people they serve are undocumented.  They do not count (not do we) and they offer education in safe, familiar  places with bi-lingual bi-cultural staff as teachers.  I think the issue of immigration injustice is less pressing in the Central Valley and NorCal than the threat of the drought.  It is not ignored but it is not pressing.  Once people get this far north they settle in and are part of the landscape.

Where I saw more rawness and connection to the issue was at the Bethlehem Center in Visalia.  A faith based NGO that is under the wing of the Catholic Church in Visalia, the Bethlehem Center provides meals, two a day five days a week, some case management, a food pantry and a thrift store for low income and homeless residents of Visalia and the surrounding area.  I met with Benny Rodriguez and Lucio Pulido to talk about their services and to tour their facility.  Benny and Lucio told me that only about 10 percent of their families who come for meals are undocumented (estimated).  Benny shared with me an interesting fact.  In the point of time homeless count for Tulare and Kings Counties combined - 44% live in Visalia.  He said that only 2 children were counted in the last count.  He thinks that the children are hidden during the time for fear of having them taken away.  He also feels that the condition of being undocumented and homeless combined may be compounding the count.  I know that in my county the percent of homeless children is about 27%.

Benny shared with me that Dignity and Respect are the core principles for service at Bethlehem Center.  He spoke about a committee he formed - Voice of the Community.  They asked six of their homeless clients to assess the services at Bethlehem Center.  They told him they wanted more razors in their personal care kits, they wanted AA/NA groups at the center and they wanted inspirational art on the walls of the soup kitchen.  All have been added at the center.   Benny and Lucio excitedly brought out a print that has been used as the source for a mural on the wall.  Christ in the Breadlines was created by Fritz Eichenberg in 1953.  The image is powerful in its woodblock print form and also on the wall with some edits.  The people in the center report that they see themselves in the mural.  A homeless client at the center is the muralist and is also in the finishing stages of a Last Supper mural on the opposite long wall.  I was moved.

Panorama photo of the Christ in the Breadline mural

Benny Rodriguez, Director
Bethlehem Center

I was really glad I visited Tulare County.  I have more to share later.  For now, I will stop and get ready for today's visits and one more day in beautiful Davis, a town full of art!

Shovel Gate
The artist used over 400 used shovels to create this gate that marks one of the entrances to the Davis Arboretum.

Thanks for reading!