Increasing Cultural Tolerance and Mental Health/Violence Awareness in Northeast Iowa
the problem:
The program covers Bremer, Butler and Chickasaw counties in Iowa. However, Cedar Valley Friends of Family is the only organization which provides transitional housing in Northeast Iowa, and there is only one other organization in the Cedar Valley that does domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy. CVFF also offers the only domestic violence shelter and Take Charge of Your Body and Date Rape Prevention school programs in the three counties. There are also only a handful of mental health providers. The population in Iowa is still predominantly Caucasian at about 95%, and the majority of employees at these agencies are also Caucasian. However, African American population in our area has grown steadily, and Waterloo, a city in the Cedar Valley, has the second highest percentage of African Americans in Iowa. In addition, forty percent of African Americans in our area are below the age of twenty. The Hispanic population has increased by 150% since 1990 and represents 2/3s of Iowa’s population growth for the period. The records of CVFF and other partner organizations show a significant increase in the percentage of African Americans and Hispanics being served over the last two years, and they all report having problems with cultural and language barriers. Iowa Export: Center of Excellence on Health Disparities at the University of Northern Iowa has found that cultural access is a common barrier to care for both populations. Language barriers are the most significant barrier for the Hispanic population. The study also showed that the Hispanic and African American populations were much less trusting of health and other public organizations and less likely to seek help; however, due to the high percentage of female-headed households and poverty, they were also shown to be the two populations with the greatest need for violence and mental health services. *All my statistics come from the Iowa Census.
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people impacted:
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0why it's important:
The project addresses the above problem in a couple ways. The first way that it addresses this problem is by increasing the competency of service organizations to serve African Americans and Hispanics. Increased cultural awareness and Spanish language skills should make the two populations more willing and able to receive services. The second way that it addresses the problem is that it starts educating children early on about cultural sensitivity, violence issues and mental health issues. This aims to build a more integrated community. In addition, it sets up awareness and support programs specifically addressing the differing language and cultural barriers. This will allow children from the two populations to receive the care they desperately need, so they are able to have the same quality of life as Caucasian children in Iowa. The project achieves these goals by involving entire communities in enacting the programs mentioned in the "Build It" section.
the plan of action:
Over the last few weeks, I have been meeting with the Executive Director of our local domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy agency, Cedar Valley Friends of Family (CVFF), to develop a children's educational program on violence and mental health issues specifically for the Cedar Valley's growing Hispanic and African American populations. In addition, we are collaborating with public libraries and mental health agencies in our area to further extend and develop this program. We hope to bring in more project partners as the project evolves. I am just starting to raise money to fund possible initiatives such as buying culturally appropriate books and materials on violence and mental health issues in Spanish and English for CVFF, public libraries and other children's organizations, a school outreach initiative to teach children about issues such as bad touch/good touch, bullying and cultural sensitivity, support groups for African American and Hispanic children who have experienced violence, and a language partner volunteer program for Hispanic children. I have been writing grant applications, and I have begun to contact prominent businesses and people in our community for donations. Since the program is in its infancy, this is just the beginning of what my partner organizations and I plan to do. Our initial goals are to decrease hate crimes and racially/culturally motivated school bullying in our area, reduce the percentage of African American and Hispanic school drop-outs and juvenile delinquents, and increase the cultural awareness and Spanish skills of mental health agencies, CVFF and other relevant agencies in our area. In general, the main goal of the program is ensure that the Cedar Valley’s Hispanic and African American children are aware of violence and mental health issues, able to safely and effectively integrate into the community, and receive the same quality of service from organizations which deal with mental health and violence issues.
how you can get involved:
Others can help by donating money and time. They may also help by becoming more culturally aware and willing to reach out to citizens in their communities of differing races. For instance, we are going to have volunteers from the community become language partners for the Hispanic population. We will also need volunteers to assist with the school outreach programs. There is also an ongoing need for volunteers at Cedar Valley Friends of the Family to help run the crisis center, especially bilingual volunteers. Community organizations can help by holding cultural awareness seminars and assisting their employees to learn Spanish. Of course, citizens can also help by coming up with their own ideas on how our initiative can further develop and integrate our community!
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