Healthcare

El Centro Hispano: Empowering A Growing Latinx Community

info@paulimurraycenter.org — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:52:15 +0000

El Centro Hispano: Empowering A Growing Latinx Community info@paulimurr… Mon, 03/29/2021 - 14:52

El Centro Hispano (ECH) was founded in 1992 to advocate for and address the needs of Durham’s growing Latinx and Hispanic community. By 1997, ECH became an independent nonprofit, and in 2000, it was a partner in the opening of the first Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) in the state. ECH has grown over the past 30 years from serving 200 people to serving thousands. It is now the largest grassroots Latinx organization in the state, with branches in Durham, Carrboro, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

El Centro Hispano has four focus areas. The first is education, which includes literacy and ESL classes for Spanish-speaking adults who want to complete elementary or secondary schooling. The second is economic development, best represented by ECH’s partnership with the LCCU, which has become known as one of the most influential and reliable financial resources for Durham’s Latinx community by empowering individuals and equipping them with the knowledge to make their own financial decisions. The third focus area is health and well-being, which includes ECH’s annual health fair, which provides health screenings and educational sessions, including support groups for Latinx members of the LGBTQ community across North Carolina. And the fourth area is community engagement and advocacy, which ECH encourages through leadership development programs in order to empower Latinx adults and teens to be change-makers in the larger community.

When asked about the impact that El Centro Hispano has had on her life, Jovita Leyva Espinoza said, “I feel secure, with better self-esteem. I know that I can pursue difficult goals and reach them. I am raising three children as a single mom, and showing them that despite our age or our life circumstances we can reach our goals. I feel like a new person, I see my future differently, and I know that it is never too late to learn.”

Sources:

https://elcentronc.org/about-us/

https://sites.duke.edu/latinosindurham/2015/01/05/el-centro-hispano/

https://blog.bcbsnc.com/2017/05/el-centro-hispano-invigorated-durham-25-years/

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.927822638454 35.989192430309)

Tags:

Latino/a community

Education

Economic Justice

Healthcare

Community Organizing

2000 Chapel Hill Road, Suite 26A, Durham, NC 27707

Sara Heilman

Living for a Brighter Tomorrow: Latinx Families Overcome Mental Health Struggles

info@paulimurraycenter.org — Mon, 29 Mar 2021 18:47:01 +0000

Living for a Brighter Tomorrow: Latinx Families Overcome Mental Health Struggles info@paulimurr… Mon, 03/29/2021 - 14:47

“Venir acá es como estar en el desierto y llegar a tomar agua. Al venir acá, me siento renovada.”

Coming here is like being in the desert and finding water to drink. When I come here, I feel renewed. — El Futuro Patient

El Futuro was founded as a volunteer effort in 2001 to meet the otherwise unmet or ignored need for bilingual mental health services for North Carolina’s growing Latinx and immigrant communities. El Futuro has grown to become one of the state’s most trusted resources for culturally inclusive and responsive mental health services despite drastic cuts in funding for community-based mental health care since 2004. El Futuro offers clinic based services, such as mental health evaluations, family treatment, and substance abuse treatment, as well as evidence-based practices, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and trauma-sensitive yoga.

While El Futuro serves people of all ages, the organization prides itself on the care it takes to provide support to young Latinx people and students who may otherwise be socially isolated. One word is at the center of El Futuro’s efforts: familia. The most meaningful achievements of the organization are when families grow together, not allowing mental health battles to prevent them from achieving their dreams for the future. In fact, El Futuro’s primary source of referrals is from the friends and families of clients, reflecting the trust that the Latinx Durham community has invested in the organization.

Learn more at https://elfuturo-nc.org/

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.927813489781 35.988723849326)

Tags:

Latino/a community

Healthcare

2020 Chapel Hill Rd. Suite 23, Durham, NC 27707

Sara Heilman

Lesbian & Gay Health Project - Bridging Healthcare and Community Organizing

balau — Wed, 08 Jun 2016 19:43:23 +0000

Lesbian & Gay Health Project - Bridging Healthcare and Community Organizing balau Wed, 06/08/2016 - 15:43

The Durham Lesbian and Gay Health Project (LGHP) was founded in 1982 “to openly and affirmatively promote individual and community well-being of gay men and lesbians…” Founders David Jolly, Carl Wittman, Timer McBride, and Aida Wakil wanted to connect gay men and lesbians with gay-friendly physicians and more information about their health needs, given that the HIV/AIDS crisis was looming, revealing deep homophobia in the healthcare system.

The group served the Durham community through referrals, educational programs and direct support. As the AIDS crisis deepened, the organization grew, transitioning from a volunteer-run group to a non-profit staffed by directors Jill Duvall and Scott Hustead. The project primarily supported white gay men, providing services for those affected by HIV/AIDS. The Project created a network of support formed in response to public stigma surrounding the AIDS crisis. To support additional community members the LGHP organized a Lesbian Health Clinic but this effort never received as much attention.

The organization struggled, despite paid staff to sustain their fundraising and grant writing efforts and experienced a number of internal leadership struggles. The LGHP was also criticized by the African American community for not doing a good job serving the needs of people of color. LGHP lost its momentum and closed in 1996 in part because it was unable to address these racial, gender, and class divides.

However, through the LGHP and other community-based projects, the organizing capacity of LGBT people grew as they mobilized to support each other and build their political power.

For More Information:

http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/findingaids/nclghp/

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic531338.files/WGS%201177%20Lekus%20Health%20Care.pdf

http://outhistory.org/exhibits/show/nc-lgbt/health-care/healthline

Date

Fri, 01/01/1982 - 12:00

Mon, 01/01/1996 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.918775 36.017401)

Tags:

LGBTQ Rights

Healthcare

1200 Broad Street - The 1995 location - There were several others.

Jeff Feng and Madi McMichael

Union Organizing at Duke Hospital

balau — Thu, 05 May 2016 19:52:31 +0000

Union Organizing at Duke Hospital balau Thu, 05/05/2016 - 15:52

Duke University Hospital workers fought for the opportunity for collective power in the face of an institutionally discriminatory Duke Hospital Administration… With worker’s rights movements buzzing around Duke’s campus starting in the late 1960s, the Duke Medical Center was on the verge of drastic changes. In 1974, Duke Medical Center workers had finally reached their tipping point.

Workers were dissatisfied with Duke Hospital’s half-hearted attempt to address racial inequality, because while the percentage of black workers at the hospital perfectly reflected the percentage of black residents in Durham, these black workers were only employed in lower level jobs and had no representation in the hospital administration.

With no representation, when the administration cut black workers salaries and increased hours, there was no one to fight for what was in their best interest. So, In I974, when the National Labor Relations Act was amended to allow employees of nonprofit Hospitals to unionize, lower level Duke Medical Center workers made their first efforts to gain collective bargaining power by campaigning for unionization.

The workers employed the help of Howard Fuller and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Local chapter 77 to manage the campaign for unionization. They organized hospital walkouts, sit ins, pamphlets, and media involvement to increase awareness of the value of unionizing. But once the hospital administration began to realize that unionization effort was gaining momentum, they distributed anti-union propaganda, hired a union busting management company, and packed the Nation Labor Relations Board union election with white, high level staffers.

As a result, not only did the 1974 unionization drive fail, but that failure also discouraged future worker’s participation and led to the failure of the 1978 hospital unionization drive as well. Still to this day there have been a concentration of black hospital workers in the lower level jobs while as recently as 2002 a registered nurse claimed to be fired for unionization efforts.[1] Although unsuccessful, the 1974 hospital unionization drive sparked the 30 year conversation about workers rights and Duke University’s failure to uphold those rights

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_University_Hospital_Unionization_Drives

Date

Tue, 01/22/1974 - 12:00

Thu, 02/15/1979 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.93729 36.007)

Tags:

Healthcare

Union Organizing

Duke University

2301 Erwin Road

Chelsea Grain

Free Quality Health Care for All: Lincoln Hospital

balau — Wed, 04 May 2016 19:35:01 +0000

Free Quality Health Care for All: Lincoln Hospital balau Wed, 05/04/2016 - 15:35

Lincoln was the only hospital within a 25-mile radius of Durham that would treat African Americans until the early 1960s when Watts Hospital integrated its wards. Before this integration, Blacks often turned to midwives and home remedies for their healthcare. Dr. Stanford Warren, John Merrick, and Dr. Aaron Moore, Durham’s first Black physician, founded Lincoln hospital in 1901 so that the African American community had its own medical facility where Black physicians and nurses could practice and receive training. Many people supported Lincoln’s founding, including a generous donation from Mr. Washington Duke, a well-known Durham businessman.

The lack of access to healthcare was a key strategy of Jim Crow segregation – it perpetuated economic inequality and social immobility. Black Americans in good health are able to prosper, work, and advocate for themselves. The hospital was also an economic engine in the community and served people from across central North Carolina. Lincoln’s efforts to provide quality health care services, available to all despite their ability to pay, helped decrease the high mortality rate in Durham’s Black community. But Lincoln hospital could only rely upon 30% of annual income from patients – the remaining support came from endowments, the city and county of Durham, and other outside donations.

Lincoln Hospital also focused on prevention: health educators, nurses, and physicians conducted workshops for community members at churches, clubs, and schools. They held weekly clinics to teach prenatal and postnatal care to mothers who could not afford personal physicians, empowering them to make good choices regarding the birth and care of their children.

Lincoln Hospital chose to integrate its staff, hiring qualified white medical professionals to expand the number of patients that could be treated. This collaboration of expertise and skill allowed the hospital to provide a safety net for those who were unable to access and afford healthcare. Lincoln transformed itself from a full-scale hospital to Lincoln Community Health in 1976. It continues in its mission to serve the Durham community today, providing services to all citizens including those without health insurance or who could not otherwise afford care.

Sources:

"History." Lincoln Community Health Center. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://lincolnchc.org/?page_id=6340.

"The Lasting Legacy of Lincoln Hospital." The Duke Endowment. Last modified 2020. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://www.dukeendowment.org/content/lincoln-hospital-spotlight-durham-news.

"Lincoln Hospital – Fayetteville Street." Open Durham. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://www.opendurham.org/buildings/lincoln-hospital-fayetteville-street.

Watts, C. D., and F. W. Scott. "Lincoln Hospital of Durham, North Carolina: A Short History." Journal of the National Medical Association 57, no. 2 (March 1965): 177-83. Accessed December 1, 2020. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610830/.

Date

Thu, 07/04/1901 - 12:00

Location Coordinates

POINT (-78.910339 35.990443)

Tags:

Healthcare

Civil Rights

Dr. Aaron Moore

Lincoln Community Health Center
525 East Proctor Street (now 1301 Fayetteville Street)
Durham, NC

Amiya Mehrotra and Christina Williams