Promotoras is a project that is focus in the hispanic community to empower and educate our community in different aspects of their life as mental health and well being.The idea is to bring the community together and see how we can support this families to have activities that help to decrease mental health problems, such depression and anxiety through different activities as support group, dance's therapy class,family nights,parenting classes or crafts groups, whatever they decided to do in their community for their own benefit and we can train them to start their own group, with the skills that can help them to develop a group or to find a place for the group to meet, etc.

Our mission is to support, traing and help to develop those leaders that exist already in the community to expand our local network,develop and find groups locally, and to find a common interest where everybody can feel comfortable and that they belong to the group and can work as a team to accomplish their goals. A few examples of our promotoras groups are:

SUPPORT GROUP IN HUGHSON

1) Spanish woman’s support group which meets Wesdneday mornings from 9:30-11:00. We are actually having the collaboration of a counselor from El Concilio that is coming once at week and helping to the person that needs to see a counselong after the group. This sessions need to be schedule at least one week on advance.

Some of the topics discussed during group meetings are:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Migration and how this affect us.
• Depression
• Self-esteem
• How to talk with our teenagers....
• Childcare and healthy snacks are provided.

It is necessary mention that this group started with 5 ladies coming  when we started on April 6th of 2011 and now the number of ladies attending the support group it varies between 20 to 25. Some of the changes that the ladies report are feeling more confident on parenting skills, able to express feelings and happy to have a place to meet and talk without been judged, have the opportunity to been listen for someone that have the culture backgroung and able to understand how difficult is to be living in a different place with no family around.

SUPPORT GROUP AT THE MIGRANT CAMP IN EMPIRE

2) This support group was one of the Promotora's ideas to do a welcome for those families that are coming once a year to Empire, and the ladies make 250 burritos and also got donations from our center about nutrition information and a toy for kids. Our Promotora have had the idea of start a support group once at week and we found out that some families never met before and they were feeling alone and not able to get in touch with the others... Once that the group started on May 2011, the ladies where meeting with no place to meet, behind the office and they found out that the most important thing is to share their knowledge and to be able to communicate and to organize the community that they have a massive event, where they were invited all people from the Migrant Camp to have a family event on September 19 2011 and they have over 200 people, with folklorico dancers, a clown, pot luck and a DJ,  everything was at low cost or no cost for them. They also got donations to do ruffles.

We also got the collaboration of a counselor from El Concilio that was going to the group once a month and they ladies love the fact that everybody got together and been sitting on the grass and been capable to express feelings and worries that they have.

But, maybe, one of the most important things is that they were getting together, as a community and were feeling happy to met and have friends at the group. They also reported to have less stress and now have power to act in behalf of themselves and to coordinate to get some extra help from us and the same time they mentioned that now, whereever they are going they know that they can do the same thing and have a better quality of life.

• Clases de Crianza
• Finanzas y presupuesto
• Estres
• Nutricion
• Se provee cuidado de ninos y bocadillos.