How is Humboldt County’s non-English-speaking population navigating a complex set of health guidelines and social restrictions — rules that have changed course more than once during the global coronavirus pandemic?
It hasn’t been easy, but the message is coming across, said one local organizer stepping up to communicate information to the county’s Spanish-speaking residents.
“What I am doing is making documents in Spanish with the most official information and publishing that on the social networks,” said Brenda Perez, a community organizer with Centro del Pueblo. “We’re also making flyers and bulletins to send out to the community.”
On Friday, the group released a video offering step-by-step guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The steps mirror information put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The video adds another directive to immigrants: Don’t panic.
It’s a message that arrives during a statewide shelter-in-place order calling for people to stay at home unless absolutely necessary. Many Spanish-speaking immigrants will find cause for concern in the latest guidelines, Perez said.
While some immigrants who have spoken to Perez are able to shelter at home and care for their children after recent school district closures, others simply can’t take a day off work, since they’re employed in essential fields.
But many immigrant families aren’t in a position to socially distance, even at home, Perez said. If even one family member goes to work and becomes exposed to the virus, they may bring it home to close quarters.
“A larger part of the community is low-income,” she said. “They don’t have options. A lot of them live in trailer parks, with seven members of the family living there.”
In Fortuna, local physician Dr. Stephanie Dittmer says many residents who don’t speak English are concerned about the virus. Dittmer, who speaks Spanish, said the majority of her patients rely on Spanish as their first language.
“There’s a lot of fear,” Dittmer said, “but that’s not too much different than what’s occurring with English-speaking patients. The level of concern (about the virus) is equally high, and people depend on rumors and their inner circle of knowledge. It seems like there’s misinformation.”
Dittmer said there are more resources needed for immigrants in the Eel River Valley who can’t easily interpret the county and state’s official health information.
There are also concerns over mental health. While English-speaking residents have in-home entertainment options (or coronavirus news to keep them glued to their screens), the same isn’t true for Spanish-speaking residents, Perez said.
“What worries me the most are the people who don’t even have internet or computers at their houses,” she said. “What they have is one phone for their family, and that phone is sometimes very slow.”
Centro del Pueblo is delivering information in Spanish over certain radio stations, and last week aired a televised broadcast on Access Humboldt. The group is also updating its website and Facebook page often during the coronavirus outbreak.
For the Hmong population in Humboldt County, the statewide group Hmong Innovating Politics has language-specific information on its website. And while there aren’t local resources for Hmong residents, they can find relevant health guidelines on the state of Minnesota’s public health website.
Immigrants already find their own health and safety important, Perez said. What supersedes those concerns in the coronavirus era is a regard for their income and livelihood — as well as their dignity.
“We’ve heard about cases of discrimination, especially with housekeepers who take care of families and don’t even go out, but are now being told with extra emphasis to do wash their hair,” Perez said. “I would hope that people in Humboldt take the time to not confuse social distancing with social discrimination.”
Shomik Mukherjee can be reached at 707-441-0504.
