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March to make visible: Latino LGBTQI+ community in California faces discrimination despite rights

Eric Alcocer Chavez

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2024.06.28

March to make visible: Latino LGBTQI+ community in California faces discrimination despite rights

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She fled Guatemala at a very young age because she could not accept rejection, violence from society, or even death for her sexual orientation and gender identity. Zafiro Rivera has lived in San Francisco, California, since 1992, where she faces daily challenges such as transphobia, homophobia, and discrimination, acts of hate that, despite her struggle, continue to persist.

Always beautiful, with an infectious smile and full of enthusiasm, Zafiro went from being a victim to raising her voice to fight for the rights of trans women and the LGBTQI+ community, especially those of Latin origin, who, out of fear, shame or ignorance, have been left behind in the protection of their rights.

Latino LGBTQI community — Zafiro Rivera, a transgender woman, former sex worker, and current activist. Photo: Eric Alcocer.

Zafiro Rivera, a transgender woman, former sex worker, and current activist, has seen fellow activists die from addiction problems and, for this reason, has not remained silent in the face of the problems faced by girls like her.

“Many transgender women in San Francisco face stigmas and problems such as transphobia, discrimination, lack of job opportunities, access to decent housing or immigration status that allows them to have better living conditions,” Zafiro Rivera told Península 360 Press.

For Zafiro, being a trans girl is not easy. “We face many challenges, especially in our places of origin. We face transphobia, discrimination, even among ourselves, but we also experience these problems in cities like San Francisco.”

“That’s why we do the marches,” Zafiro said, while she adjusts her hair and confirms that she looks beautiful. “We have to make ourselves present so that our voices are heard, to make ourselves visible, so that people understand us and comprehend us a little more. It is important that the population knows and respects gender diversity.”

There and here, the same problems

Her vanity prevents her from doing so, but Zafiro is fully aware of the problems that trans girls face in San Francisco and other towns, the same ones that have persisted for years despite California being one of the most progressive states in terms of LGBTTTIQ+ rights.

“Problems like lack of housing, health insurance, immigration, many things that girls need. There is help, but sometimes there are barriers to people getting that help: language, immigration status, all of these are things that prevent girls from being able to access those services,” she stressed.

Paying bills, rent, food and clothing is something we all go through in our adult lives, but what happens when you can't get a job because of your sexual preference or gender? While it's true that discrimination for any of these reasons is prohibited, it is a constant practice behind closed doors, which is why many trans women are forced to become sex workers.

“Many of us have to resort to sex work because we are not given work because we are transgender girls, so it is an option that we have to make, although many girls do find and can do work like any normal person,” she explained.

As an activist and health promoter, she acknowledged that, in the past, she resorted to sex work as a way to obtain resources.

“I am currently in an organization that works for people living with HIV, that supports Latinos and members of the LGBTQI+ community. I always talk to other trans girls to let them know that they can get ahead,” she said.

According to data from the Trans Employment Initiative (TEEI), an organization that supports transgender and gender non-conforming (GNC) people, 47 percent of transgender people in the United States reported having been unfairly fired or denied employment.

In turn, 76 percent say they have experienced harassment in the workplace. Trans people are twice as likely as the general population to be out of work, despite the fact that trans people are also twice as likely to have a bachelor’s degree. As a result, San Francisco’s trans and GNC community faces widespread poverty and homelessness.

two souls

Transphobia, homophobia, discrimination, lack of professional employment opportunities, housing, and comprehensive personal development are problems that occur daily among members of the lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community living in California, especially when they are immigrants and/or Latinxs.

This was denounced by Ángel C Fabian-Tlahuizpapalotl, executive director of American Indian Two-Spirits Bay Area (BAAITS) ‒ Two-Spirit Indian-American of the Bay Area‒, an organization with a presence in various parts of the United States, dedicated to human rights, promoting culture through spirituality, as well as focusing on art with people who identify as two-spirit, such as Native Americans or indigenous LGBTQI+ people.

“I think that something that still exists, unfortunately, is discrimination. I was just giving a presentation to leaders of a health organization, and there is still a lot of work to be done in the community,” Vera told Península 360 Press.

The activist said that there are “indigenous people in the transgender community who identify as such, unfortunately, they experience the highest rates of homelessness and joblessness, where abuse persists. There are people who are discriminated against, the highest rate is in the transgender community, and many who identify as two-spirited.”

Vera regretted that “many indigenous youth who are part of the community also figure among the highest rates of people who think about suicide, who are discriminated against, who suffer from harassment in schools. The good thing is that there are also many beautiful things in this population.”

He stressed that “among the double-spirited population, we have a lot of courage, a lot of strength to move forward, especially because of our indigenous identity, our customs, our culture, our ancestral and original languages, which are very strong and very much alive.”

Proudly gay and positive

For Juan Pablo Medellín, who identifies as a gay, cisgender Latino man, immigrant and proudly Mexican, “although there has been progress in the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, discrimination for various reasons can be present, there are laws that protect us but we have to continue working to enforce them.”

In this regard, he recalled that “this whole gay pride month movement began in New York City, a few decades ago, because at the time there was a lot of repression against people of the same gender who gathered together.”

“Ultimately, for me, it is a way of living, of being ourselves, being honest with ourselves. There are many people who question 'pride of what?' It is not about showing off, which is one of the things that people complain a lot about, but rather it is a personal issue, about being able to be who we want to be, because the LGBTQI+ community has always been discriminated against and violated,” she said.

Juan Pablo recalled that the attacks against the community “have reached the point where many people have to live a life of lies, lead double lives, pretend to be someone they are not; that is why it is a source of pride to say 'this is me, no matter who it may bother', for me that is the importance, to accept ourselves first,” he stressed.

Originally from Mexico City but raised in Aguascalientes, from a very young age he had to turn to a social organization to receive information about sexual and gender orientation, as well as on the subject of HIV. “I am very grateful for the help I received at the time, because it was the way I was able to find peace of mind in this regard.”

“I came to San Francisco six years ago. For me, it has been a place that offers many advantages to people in the community. I say this because the two biggest challenges I have had in my life have been coming out of the closet as a teenager and being diagnosed with HIV, which fortunately these days is no longer comparable to what it was in the 80s or 90s, but it is still something that changes your life because you are a victim of stigma.”

In favor of an “inclusive pride”

BAAITS Executive Director Ángel Fabian Vera mentioned that, in many ancestral cultures, being part of the LGBTQI+ community was something admired, not under a community or under an acronym, it was simply because one could be freer, but it was not something out of the ordinary.

He explained that double-spirited people, as they were known, “were and continue to be special, but during colonization, specifically in our Latin American cultures, Catholicism tried to erase much of what already existed in our native communities.”

“We, as double-spirited people, were in charge of our families, of ceremonies, we were medicine people, of rituals in our communities, but that was taken away from us by colonization,” she explained.

In this regard, he asked the general population to be in favor of inclusive pride, because, unfortunately, in the case of the double-spirited population, discrimination can come from other members of the community.

"We have to continue moving forward, demanding that attention be paid to the problems that we know exist, that are experienced daily by our population. The demand must be, above all, with our leaders, who are the ones who make decisions regarding public policies," he added.

Important data:

LGBTQI+ is an acronym that refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and intersex people. The term has evolved over time to include all gender identities and sexual orientations, hence the “+” symbol.

The term LGTBIQ+ began to be used in the 1990s, although over time it has been adapted to new groups in the world.

History of gay pride celebration

International LGBTIQ+ Pride Day, also known as Gay Pride Day or simply Gay Pride, is celebrated every year on June 28 with the aim of urging tolerance, equality and dignity for gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, queer, and intersex people, among others.

The celebration is on June 28 because that date commemorates the Stonewall riots (New York, USA) of 1969, which marked the beginning of the homosexual liberation movement.

These riots consisted of a series of spontaneous and violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early hours of June 28, 1969, in the pub known as the Stonewall Inn in the New York neighborhood of Greenwich Village, one of the few spaces of freedom for the homosexual community that was frequently harassed by the city police.

The Stonewall Inn's regulars had had enough of this homophobic harassment and that day the police wanted to arrest several of the 200 people who were in the bar for reasons as simple as two men or women dancing together or not wearing clothing considered traditional for their sex.

This resource is supported in whole or in part by funding provided by the State of California, administered by the California State Library in partnership with the California Department of Social Services and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as part of the Stop the Hate program To report a hate incident or hate crime and get support, go to AC vs Hate.

You may be interested in: The vote of young immigrants can make a difference in November elections: Adelina Nicholls

No surprises. Trump lies on immigration issues in debate with CNN's Biden

Pamela Cruz

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2024.06.28

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With 130 days to go until the presidential elections in the United States, tempers are high, a situation that was reflected during the first debate between the Democrat and current president, Joseph Biden, and the Republican and former president, Donald Trump, the latter pointing out and pointing out the poor management of the current administration in immigration matters, for which he resorted to lies.

This Thursday, a presidential debate was held between the two presidential candidates, an unprecedented event so far in advance of the elections, and before both the Democratic and Republican conventions take place, so the presentation of sensitive issues such as immigration was one of the critical points of the night.

Amid all the back-and-forth, Trump accused Biden of allowing millions of unauthorized immigrants into the country, arguing that the country's southern border is open.

Here are three fact checks of claims made during the debate related to immigration:

“He decided to open our border, open our country,” Trump said of Biden during the debate.

This is not an accurate statement, as while unauthorized crossings have reached a record number during the Biden administration, the border is not “open.” In fact, it could be said to be more reinforced than ever.

The federal government has added more sections to the walls on the southern border, while military operations have increased in various parts of the area, and the number of expedited expulsions has grown.

It is noteworthy that a large majority of Republican lawmakers have not allowed a $118 billion border agreement to be passed in the Senate. This bill would have given the U.S. executive the power to close the border with Mexico to asylum seekers when the daily average of illegal crossings exceeded 5,000.

Trump also claimed that immigrants are committing crimes, calling it “immigration crime.” It is true that there are cases of people who entered the country illegally and have committed serious crimes, however, data shows that the vast majority do not commit crimes, and there are even Northwestern University study which examines a 150-year period and found that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.

In this regard, the Republican argued that immigrants arrive in the United States illegally from "mental institutions" and "asylums."

In the debate held on CNN, Trump said that immigrants who arrive in the country illegally are housed in “luxury hotels” while veterans are on the streets.

He also stated that during his administration (January 20, 2017 - January 20, 2021), the country had the “most secure border in history.”

“We have to get a lot of these people out and we have to get them out fast because they are destroying our country,” Trump said during the 90-minute debate in Atlanta.

While he did not explain how he would carry out mass deportations, Trump has repeatedly said he would carry out a mass deportation campaign of undocumented immigrants using local law enforcement, the National Guard and potentially the U.S. military.

“And because of (Biden’s) ridiculous, insane and very stupid policies, people are coming in and killing our citizens at a level we’ve never seen,” Trump said, without providing substantial evidence.

After moderator Jake Tapper pressed both candidates on their immigration plans by asking, “Why should voters trust you to solve this crisis?” Trump dodged the question, instead making sweeping assessments about immigration based on isolated crimes.

In response, he reiterated his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants if he wins a second term.

Tapper countered: “Does that mean they will deport all undocumented immigrants in the United States, including those who have jobs, including those whose spouses are citizens and those who have lived here for decades? And if so, how will they do it?”

Trump not only did not answer, but he diverted the conversation towards terrorism and crime, which, according to him, immigrants bring with them.

You may be interested in: Trump's immigration plan: system that puts residents and migrants at risk

Redwood City names Tanisha Werner as new Director of Engineering and Transportation

Community

Pamela Cruz

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2024.06.28

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Redwood City names Tanisha Werner as new Director of Engineering and Transportation

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La administradora de Redwood City, Melissa Stevenson Díaz, anunció el nombramiento de Tanisha Werner como nueva directora de Ingeniería y Transporte.

“Estamos encantados de dar la bienvenida a Tanisha de nuevo a Redwood City”, declaró Stevenson Díaz. “Su experiencia en ingeniería y su compromiso con el servicio a la comunidad la convierten en la persona perfecta para este puesto. Esperamos contar con su liderazgo para impulsar las iniciativas de infraestructuras y transporte de nuestra ciudad.”

Werner, quien iniciará sus funciones el 15 de julio, cuenta con más de 18 años de experiencia de responsabilidad progresiva en ingeniería civil, con especial atención a los proyectos de infraestructuras que benefician al público.

Recientemente, Werner ocupó el cargo de directora adjunta de Infraestructuras en SamTrans, donde trabajó en la gestión del diseño y la construcción de infraestructuras críticas para la transición a cero emisiones.

Anteriormente, ocupó el cargo de subdirectora de Obras Públicas/Ingeniera Municipal en la ciudad de Menlo Park, allí supervisó un Programa de Mejoras Capitales de 100 millones de dólares y dirigió un equipo responsable de la revisión del desarrollo privado y de las secciones de servicios públicos.

La carrera anterior de Werner incluyó puestos de responsabilidad progresiva en las ciudades de Sunnyvale y Santa Clara, y en el Distrito Regional de Espacios Abiertos de la Península Media. En particular, comenzó su carrera de servicio público en Redwood City como ingeniera adjunta, gestionando programas de repavimentación de calzadas y proyectos de mejora de capital.

Werner posee un máster en Administración Pública por la Universidad Estatal de San José y una licenciatura en Ingeniería Civil por la Universidad Estatal de Fresno.

“Me siento honrada de tener la oportunidad de dirigir el Departamento de Ingeniería y Transporte de Redwood City. Esta ciudad ocupa un lugar especial en mi corazón como punto de partida de mi carrera de servicio público. Me comprometo a aprovechar mi experiencia para mejorar las infraestructuras de nuestra ciudad y a trabajar en colaboración con nuestra comunidad para alcanzar nuestros objetivos”, expresó Werner.

Como directora de Ingeniería y Transporte, Werner supervisará las funciones de uso y desarrollo del suelo, incluyendo el desarrollo del suelo, la ingeniería y el transporte.

Además, tendrá la responsabilidad funcional del Capital Improvements Program (CIP) de la ciudad, que abarca los servicios públicos, los proyectos cívicos y las inspecciones de la construcción.

You may be interested in: San Mateo County to implement CARE Court strategy to provide critical mental health services

San Mateo County to protect farm workers from H5N1 virus

Health

Pamela Cruz

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2024.06.28

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San Mateo County to protect farm workers from H5N1 virus

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In response to the possibility of infection with H5N1, also known as bird flu, San Mateo County Health is participating in a statewide program to provide personal protective equipment to poultry and dairy farm workers.

Cases of H5N1 have been detected among birds in the Bay Area and in other animals, including dairy cows, nationwide.

While there have been three recent human cases reported nationwide among workers in close contact with dairy cows, there are no known cases of H5N1 in humans or livestock in California to date.

According to health authorities, the current risk to the general public is low, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The CDC recommends that dairy farm workers and others who handle raw milk, as well as slaughterhouse and poultry farm workers, have personal protective equipment, including an N95 mask or other approved respirator, gloves, goggles, and a face shield available if needed.

County Health is providing, upon request, a one-time supply of PPE to farms, businesses and organizations that employ or provide services to dairy farm workers, raw milk handlers, and slaughterhouse and poultry workers, the county said in a statement.

According to CalOSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations, the use of PPE is voluntary when there are no confirmed occupational exposures to H5N1, but respirators must be provided and worn when employees work closely with animals or products known or suspected to be infected with H5N1, including animal excrements and other materials that have been in contact with the animal.

Poultry and dairy farm operators, as well as community organizations that serve poultry and dairy farm workers, can request a 30-day supply of PPE for at-risk workers by emailing the County Health Department at HS_MHOAC@smcgov.org.

The deadline to place an order is July 9, 2024. The PPE ordering program is available only to commercial operators and farmworker support organizations and not to individuals.

Personal protective equipment is intended for immediate use and to allow time for facilities to obtain and distribute their own supplies. Materials cannot be returned to CDPH or County Health.

You may be interested in: The threat of bird flu

Half Moon Bay City Council rejects appeals, approves housing plan for low-income farmworkers

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.06.28

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By Alise Maripuu. Bay City News.

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Construction of affordable housing for the community's elderly farmworkers will go ahead, the Half Moon Bay City Council decided Wednesday, rejecting efforts to delay the project.

Council members listened to arguments from applicants, appellants and the public for nearly three hours before deliberating and ultimately voting unanimously to support the project.

The January 2023 shooting in Half Moon Bay, where a farmworker allegedly shot and killed seven coworkers at Mountain Mushroom Farm, exposed the poor living conditions in the area. The tragedy prompted the city to initiate plans to develop affordable housing for its farmworkers at 555 Kelly Ave. in the downtown area.

“In the immediate aftermath of the horrific shooting, a light flooded into the city of Half Moon Bay and brought to light the living conditions of farmworkers,” said Lilli Rey, president of Ayudando Latinos A Soñar’s board of directors.

The nonprofit provides resources and assistance to families and individuals in need in California's coastal communities. They will provide services directly to residents of low-income housing at 555 Kelly Ave. in a Farmworker Resource Center.

Multiple appeals were filed raising concerns about the location, building size, and the lack of a comprehensive parking plan in the project. Several members of the public also reiterated the same uncertainties during public comment.

“I have a problem with this project and this is how it has changed since it was originally approved. It has changed from four stories to five stories,” said David Gorn, a member of the Half Moon Bay Planning Commission. “It has changed from studio apartments to larger apartments. When it changes, it adds almost twice as many people than what was originally approved.”

The project began as a four-story building with 40 studio apartment units. The developers then changed the units to a mix of 26 one-bedrooms, eight two-bedrooms and six studios, while adding another floor.

Mercy Housing is leading the development of 555 Kelly Ave. It is an organization that creates and manages low-income housing across the country.

Mercy compromised on community concerns about building height by reducing the floor-to-ceiling height on each level so that the resulting building height increase would be just five feet above four stories, said Ramie Dare, director of real estate for Mercy Housing California.

Opponents of the project said emotions were getting in the way and that the city should use logic to evaluate its decision and wait to ensure a more carefully planned project.

But there has also been pressure from above since California Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized Half Moon Bay for the delay in a statement issued in May.

“This delay is egregious and puts the well-being of Californians at risk. The state Housing Accountability Unit is reviewing the city’s actions and will take all necessary steps to hold Half Moon Bay accountable if the project does not move forward as required by state law,” Newsom said at the time.

Council members had mixed opinions about the project during deliberations. Robert Brownstone and Harvey Rarback supported the plan. Rarback had an issue with limited parking spaces, but suggested negotiating with Our Lady of the Pillar Catholic Church next to the project site, which has plenty of parking spaces.

“If people are waiting for a comprehensive parking solution downtown, they’re going to be waiting for a while, and I don’t think this project can wait for a while,” Rarback said.

Councilwoman Deborah Penrose said she had attended the meeting hoping to propose a motion to reject the project and request that the original plan for four stories and 40 studio units be returned. But hours of public comment and hearing the urgent needs for these homes from the community led Penrose to move forward with the new plan.

“I have to act with my heart and not my head,” Penrose said. “It may end up hurting a lot of people because of traffic conditions and parking and the rest of the needs of the community. If that’s the case, I’ll have made a mistake, but I’m willing to do it because that’s what my heart tells me to do.”

Ultimately, all council members sided with the project's supporters, demonstrating their priority of getting older farmworkers improved housing rather than waiting any longer to create a perfect plan.

“We cannot allow perfection to be the enemy of good,” Rarback said.

You may be interested in: $40 million allocated for affordable housing in San Mateo County

The vote of young immigrants can make a difference in November elections: Adelina Nicholls

Migration

sandra martinez

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2024.06.26

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The vote of young immigrants can make a difference in November elections: Adelina Nicholls

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The vote of young immigrants is crucial in the upcoming presidential elections that will take place in the United States in November. The children of migrant communities have reached voting age, so the second and third generations are ready to make decisions for themselves, their families and their community.

"We believe that it is essential that our communities go out to vote and there are possibilities to make a change, to make a difference, we know that the white vote and the African-American vote are almost tied, but the vote of the Latino community can make a difference," said Adelina Nicholls, during the radio program Hecho en California with Marcos Gutierrez.

Adelina Nicholls is a sociologist from the Autonomous University of Mexico and has lived in Atlanta for many years. She is currently the executive director of the Georgia Alliance for Human Rights, and has worked with the most vulnerable immigrant communities for years.

For Adelina, people who can vote have a privilege that many would wish for; young people who are new voters come from Latin American families, mostly undocumented, however, they do not feel enthusiastic about voting because they do not sympathize with the candidates and their proposals.

According to migration statistics from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2023 annual bulletin, the majority of migrants entering Mexico do so with the intention of reaching the southwestern border of the United States. In 2023, a total of 2,542,074 migrant encounters were recorded on the southwestern border of the United States.

In 2018, a large number of young children of immigrants were voting for the first time, which is why one of the most important civic outreach programs was started. This program is focused on voting issues to raise awareness of the importance of citizen participation, said Nicholls.

Election issues, Nicholls said, should be of interest to young people because they directly impact the opportunities that may come to them, their friends and family. For example, in Georgia, citizens have not had access to a driver's license for about 25 years and face constant traffic tickets.

"What we are asking for is that the vote be used to protect communities, that this privilege be used to help and not to divide, because the vote is about us, not about them, the candidates," he stressed.

Nicholls is currently working on issues related to voting, especially the impact of participation by Latin American communities, who face the greatest misinformation and rejection due to not feeling like an important sector.

The work that has been carried out in the state of Georgia has been organizing grassroots communities, mainly immigrants, where they have been working for 25 years with low-income communities, giving priority to rural areas.

“We believe that this work is essential to create a network that is aware of the needs of these migrant communities, whether they have documents or not,” Nicholls said.

He concluded by saying that although demographic change is coming, a change of mentality is needed to truly take into account the young people who represent the future of the country.

You may be interested in: Trump's immigration plan: system that puts residents and migrants at risk

They present an initiative to increase support for domestic violence calls

Community

Pamela Cruz

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2024.06.26

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They present an initiative to increase support for domestic violence calls

Domestic violence calls are the go-to option to keep victims safe, San Mateo County is introducing an initiative that will send survivor advocates along with police to certain 911 calls.

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Concerned about the domestic violence that exists in the San Mateo County, supervisors on Tuesday introduced a bill that would send survivor advocates along with police to certain 911 calls.

Once the scene is safe (and the victim is willing), a survivor advocate from the new Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team will offer services and support that will include help finding emergency shelter, navigating the legal system, and locating prompt and ongoing support and care.

“This pilot, born out of the Domestic Violence Council Task Force formed last year, is an exciting example of what can happen when all of our agencies work together to meet the moment when survivors need support the most,” said Supervisor Noelia Corzo, President of the Domestic Violence Council.

"We hope this pilot will save lives," he stressed.

The Council’s Task Force on Domestic Violence was formed in 2023 following the deaths of five women at the hands of their abusers, while the new response team was born out of evidence-based findings that immediate intervention with trained advocates can save lives in addition to preventing future abuse, the county said in a statement.

Supervisors on Tuesday selected Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse, or CORA, as the county's partner in establishing the Domestic Violence Emergency Response Team.

Likewise, supervisors authorized the County Executive Office to negotiate a contract with CORA to operate an 18-month pilot response program.

“We know that the sooner we can engage a family and their children in a variety of services, including counseling, the more likely a family will be able to break out of a cycle of abuse,” said Karen Ferguson, executive director of CORA. “This program, in partnership with law enforcement’s response to domestic-related incidents, offers vital community support.”

As a pilot program, the program will begin with the Daly City and San Mateo police departments and the North Fair Oaks Sheriff's Office.

Under a developing protocol, law enforcement is responsible for stabilizing a scene, such as stopping a crime, arresting a suspect, or ensuring the safety of a victim, for example.

Once the scene is stabilized, CORA's survivor advocate will provide support and a variety of services.

To do so, advocates will be trained in culturally competent response, the county said. Advocacy services will be available approximately 40 hours per week with flexible scheduling as needed. When an advocate is not available, officials will provide information about CORA services 24 hours a day.

“Together, we stand united against domestic violence. Our co-response task force exemplifies our unwavering commitment to protecting and supporting victims and ending domestic violence. Through collaboration and dedication, we are creating a safer and stronger community for all,” said Sheriff Christina Corpus.

Supervisors authorized negotiating a contract with CORA for up to $800,000. Funds from the Measure K half-cent local sales tax will provide seed money for the pilot. Officials will evaluate the program's effectiveness throughout the pilot period.

Violence in numbers

One in five women in California who experience homelessness said intimate partner violence was the reason they left their last home, according to a report by the UCSF Benioff Housing and Homelessness Initiative.
In 2022, there were 1.37 million incidents of domestic violence victimization, according to the U.S. Bureau of Criminal Justice Statistics. More than half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.
96 percent of murder or suicide victims are women, according to a study published by the National Institutes of Health.
In San Mateo County, 911 operators receive, on average, nearly five calls a day, 365 days a year, reporting domestic violence, according to the state Attorney General's Office.
Nearly half of victimizations from intimate partner abuse and domestic violence are not reported to police.

You may be interested in: Victims of domestic violence are at greater risk due to lack of access to housing

Dozens of San Francisco County inmates in isolation due to COVID outbreak

San Francisco

Peninsula 360 Press

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2024.06.26

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Dozens of San Francisco County inmates in isolation due to COVID outbreak

COVID outbreak has dozens of San Francisco County inmates in isolation, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office said there are 42 confirmed COVID inmates in its custody, with the highest numbers reported at County Jail No. 3 in San Bruno.

By Gabe Agcaoili. Bay City News.

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More than three dozen inmates at the San Francisco County Jail are in isolation due to a COVID outbreak at the correctional facility, the Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

In a statement, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office He said there are 42 confirmed COVID-19 inmates in his custody, with the highest numbers reported at County Jail No. 3 in San Bruno, which has the largest inmate population.

According to officials, 3.3 percent of the county's jail population tested positive for the virus as of Tuesday.

“Prison staff began noticing an increase in COVID cases on Thursday, June 20, and took immediate steps to test and separate infected individuals from the rest of the population. COVID testing will now be ordered on a regular basis for high-risk patients,” the police agency said.

Inmates and prison staff, including law enforcement officers, nurses and teachers, have been encouraged to wear N-95 or KN-95 masks, and testing kits are available.

“To prevent the spread of infection, staff are advised not to come to work if they are experiencing symptoms such as fever, cough, congestion, sore throat and body aches,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

You may be interested in: Medi-Cal transforms to eliminate health disparities

San Mateo County to implement CARE Court strategy to provide critical mental health services

Pamela Cruz

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2024.06.26

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San Mateo County is launching a new strategy to provide critical mental health, housing and other services to people with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders called CARE Court.

Local officials see the new CARE Court program, which will begin locally on July 1, as key to helping vulnerable people get the treatment they need while reducing the homeless crisis.

Established by Senate Bill 1338 and sponsored by Governor Gavin Newsom, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act seeks to end the odyssey of homelessness, short-term psychiatric hospitalization, and incarceration for those suffering from serious, untreated mental illness.

CARE Court connects a person struggling with untreated mental illness (and often substance use issues as well) with a court-ordered care plan for up to 24 months.

Each plan is managed by a care team in the community and may include clinically prescribed individualized interventions with various support services, medications, and a housing plan.

The client-centered approach also includes a public advocate and support to help make self-directed care decisions, in addition to your full clinical team.

The outpatient program is intended to be an intervention for residents with more severe disabilities, allowing them to remain in their community to stabilize, begin to heal, and transition out of homelessness in a less restrictive environment.

“The CARE Court program’s community-based framework aligns with Behavioral Health and Recovery Services’ vision to improve care within our community and support recovery with compassion and respect,” said Dr. Jei Africa, director of the County’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Services.

“The ability to access essential behavioral health services in a community setting as opposed to an institutional one helps clients and their families engage in treatment while remaining close to their support system. We see CARE Court as another tool to help people connect with services in their recovery process,” she added.

The court-ordered response under the CARE Act can be initiated by a family member, a mental or behavioral health professional, a first responder, or a person seeking assistance, for example. That can start the process of enrolling someone in the state-funded program.

The July 1 launch puts San Mateo County among the first in California to implement the program ahead of the state-imposed December 2024 deadline.

The Behavioral Health and Recovery Services CARE team can partner with clients and families to answer questions, support the petition process, and assist them toward recovery. To contact the CARE team, call 650-372-6125 or email CAREBHRS@smcgov.org. To read more about the CARE process in San Mateo County, visit: Click here.

Additional support, such as a Family Resource Guide, how to complete a petition, and training materials, can be accessed through the CARE Act Resource Center at care-act.org.

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Bridging the Rural Divide in Medi-Cal Services

Peter Schurmann

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2024.06.25

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Tulelake, in northern Siskiyou County, is among the most underserved communities in a county ranked among the poorest in the state. Access to public health care is a top concern for many.

Above: Four years after its founding in 1941, the area surrounding the town of Tulelake became the site of a vast internment camp for 18,000 Japanese Americans during World War II. Today, Tulelake is a majority Latino community and one of the most underserved in Siskiyou County. (Credit: Manuel Oritz.)

Listen to this note:

TULELAKE, Ca. – In March of this year, voters in Siskiyou County District 1 headed to the polls to elect their representative to the county Board of Supervisors. Among the three candidates, two listed law enforcement and support for farmers as their top priorities.

Angelina Cook, the third candidate, made access to public health care her main issue.

“My motivation for running was to address the litany of unmet needs in the county, and public health is ground zero,” said Cook, managing director of the McCloud Watershed Council in the town of McCloud at the southern end of Siskiyou County. “Without physical health, there is no economic health,” Cook said. He lost by a wide margin.

Once the “wood basket” of California, Siskiyou today ranks among the poorest counties in the state and is consistently at or near the bottom in health outcomes, according to 2023 report from the California Rural Policy Center at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Cook calls District 1 — which encompasses much of the eastern half of the county — “the most underserved and unrepresented of all the disadvantaged communities” in Siskiyou and blames county elected officials for “focusing on recruiting big industry, rather than addressing local needs.”

Laura Perez runs the Early Head Start program in Tulelake, where she has lived for more than 30 years. “We don’t have any support for families here,” she says of the area’s lack of health care infrastructure. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)

For residents of Tulelake, a small, majority-Latino farmworker community on the eastern edge of District 1, that disconnect has dire consequences.

“We only have one clinic, and they schedule appointments months in advance. We don’t have a pharmacy. We don’t have transportation. There are no providers,” says Laura Perez, who runs the Early Head Start program in Tulelake (population 889). Those needing immediate care must travel 30 miles across the state line to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where doctors may or may not accept Medi-Cal depending on who is on call on a given day.

Perez talks of waiting up to a year for new Medi-Cal applications to be processed by the county (according to the Department of Health Care Services, the process should take no more than 45 days) with patients paying out of pocket in the meantime. For those who do get coverage, available services are limited and often far away.

A grassroots effort to meet health care needs

But in Tulelake, a grassroots movement is slowly gaining momentum to promote health education, help residents navigate available resources and overcome the mistrust that prevents many from seeking medical care.

The timing couldn't be more important.

On January 1, California made Medi-Cal (the state's version of Medicaid) available to all eligible residents, regardless of immigration status. At the same time, the state is also conducting a Spectacular expansion of services covered by Medi-Cal to address social factors that influence health. Issues such as poverty, nutrition and housing – once considered outside the scope of traditional health care but very important to residents here – are now considered legitimate targets for Medi-Cal services.

The challenge for Tulelake activists is learning to take advantage of the resources Medi-Cal wants to put in place. At the forefront of that effort is the nonprofit organization TEACH ‒Training, Employment, and Community Help‒ (Training, Employment, and Community Help) Inc.

Just south of the Oregon border, Tulelake is both stunning for its natural beauty and surprising for its isolation. (Credit: Peter Schurmann)

“I help clients with all sorts of applications,” says TEACH Family Support Worker Leticia Reyes. “Medi-Cal, Cal Fresh, Cal Works, low-income energy assistance, and pretty much anything they need. We’re the only place in town that does this.”

Reyes' colleague and fellow Tulelake native Kelly Harris says the agency — with a staff of just three — has logged about 1,600 hours since June of last year helping residents apply for Medi-Cal, all without funding. Otherwise, residents would have to make the two-hour drive to the county seat in Yreka.

Asked why the county doesn’t have more of a presence in the community, Reyes shrugged. “I’m not sure. They’ve never even come out to give us training.”

Multiple attempts to contact county officials for this story went unanswered.

Harris says part of the problem is that most of the county's attention — and funding — is focused on towns and communities that parallel the I5 corridor that runs north to south through central Siskiyou. Places like Tulelake, far to the east and just a stone's throw from the border with neighboring Modoc County, tend to be left out in the cold.

Lost in translation

Then there is the linguistic divide. Many of Tulelake's residents are monolingual Spanish speakers and need language assistance when applying for benefits. (The Medi-Cal website (The county's interpreter is only available in English, with a phone number that those needing help in Spanish can call.) Reyes recounts a disturbing encounter one of her clients had with a county-hired interpreter.

“Maria is my client. When she came here two and a half years ago, she applied for Medi-Cal. Her husband wasn’t working. She wasn’t working.” Two weeks went by and a call came from the interpreter. “Why aren’t you working? Why do you always have to depend on the government?” she asked Maria.

According to Reyes, this was not an isolated case. Other residents who wanted to enroll in Medi-Cal had had similar encounters with this same interpreter.

Reyes says she made multiple calls to the county to complain. “Nothing ever happened. I called the front desk and they said they would pass it on to the supervisor. No supervisor ever called. Never.”

Eventually, Maria was able to get herself and her husband enrolled. But as Reyes explains, the couple later lost coverage once her husband started working in the fields and their earnings put them over the eligibility limit. The problem is that farm work in Tulelake is seasonal. And once the season ended, Maria and her husband tried to re-enroll.

“And once again the interpreter called. 'Why are you still doing this? You need to find another job. Stop depending on the government? It's not right.' And once again I complained.”

That was in February. The county has not yet responded.

The ‘community is showing up’

Perla Ruiz, who moved to Tulelake from Mexico in 2014, works as a health and education specialist in Modoc County, where she helps manage a program that connects families with health services, including things like nutrition and transportation — the latter a key challenge for many.

In her spare time, she leads local dance classes for residents and last year helped design a float for the local Day of the Dead parade. The float, which featured papier-mâché doulas, won first prize.

Residents participate in a traditional textile workshop at a community event organized by the nonprofit SOAR Siskiyou, focusing on maternal and mental health and community and family relationships. (Photo: Peter Schurmann)

“Every year more families arrive from Mexico,” says Ruiz, “many of them undocumented or seeking asylum. And they don’t know that these services exist, or they are afraid to ask. In most cases, they meet the requirements.”

In the absence of support from Siskiyou County, Ruiz says residents are looking out for each other. She points to an older woman who works at a nearby store selling goods from Mexico and who, in her spare time, offers to give people rides to appointments or helps sort through any piece of county or state mail.

“There are not many options other than helping each other,” he says.

Renee Camilla agrees. Camilla was born and raised in San Francisco. The daughter of immigrants from Nicaragua, she moved to Siskiyou nine years earlier. Herbalism and trained doula, helped launch SOAR Siskiyou in 2021 (the name stands for Seeds of Ancestral Renewal) to support the health needs of low-income communities of color in the county.

“What’s so unique about Siskiyou as a whole and what we’re seeing here is that despite the lack of resources, despite the mistrust, the community is speaking out,” he explains.

SOAR uses art, culture and traditional practices to bridge the gap with immigrant communities who might otherwise feel alienated by social services like public health. Camilla’s team recently paired up with promotoras, community health workers and local artists for a community health workshop – the last of four organised by SOAR in Tulelake – focusing on maternal and mental health, and community and family relationships.

'Relationships and trust'

Cook applauds these efforts, but worries they won’t be enough to bring needed resources.

“Things get so desperate that volunteers eventually show up,” he says, calling Tulelake a “model for underserved communities in Siskiyou.” But, he says, “that’s not going to bring people who have the resources to do what’s needed.” He adds, “And those who have the resources are in air-conditioned offices in Yreka.”

Still, there are signs of change, albeit gradual.

Renee Camilla (R) is a trained herbalist and doula. She helped launch SOAR Siskiyou in 2021 to support the health needs of low-income communities of color in Siskiyou County. (Credit: Manuel Ortiz)

At the entrance to the SOAR event, Partnership Health, the managed care network that covers Siskiyou and about 24 other counties in far northern California, set up an information table with a Spanish-speaking representative who had just presented a workshop four hours west in Del Norte County.

“We were familiar with the access challenges in rural California. Challenges that are even more difficult with this expansion to adults,” said Amy Turnipseed, director of strategy and government affairs for Partnership Health.

According to Turnipseed, the Partnership has enrolled 70 new patients in Tulelake since the expansion phase of adult Medi-Cal began on Jan. 1. It is also working to bring on more providers through an ongoing recruitment program and expand the number of community health workers in the area.

“Workforce and access are issues that affect all Medi-Cal providers, but particularly in rural communities,” she explains. “We recognize this and try to support it by incentivizing providers to build foundations and roots” in the communities they serve.

“The way to reach this population is through relationships and trust,” Turnipseed says. “It’s building relationships, going into the community with people who can speak their language.”

This is the third in a series looking at Medi-Cal expansion in rural Northern California. You can read the first part here here, and the second part here. This project is a collaboration between EMS and Peninsula 360 and was funded by the California Health Equity Impact Fund 2024 ’s 2024 California Health Equity Impact Fund.

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