Cultural Diversity Training: Albemarle’s Latino Residents

1. Cultural Diversity Training:Albemarle’s Latino Residents An Albemarle County Training By Linda Hemby February 17, 2009

2. What this training can do • Introduce county staff to our area Latino population • Provide an overview of barriers Latinos confront when interacting with county agencies • Suggest some ways of enhancing customer service to Latinos • Share local resources and myth busting facts

3. What this training can’t do • Provide details In other words, this training is meant to be an introduction, a beginning, to generate thought and discussion about our local Latino population and how we can best serve them.

4. Why offer this training? • To improve customer service: Latinos are an ever increasing population in the U.S., in Virginia and locally. • To comply with federal laws (Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and guidelines • “Cultural sensitivity is a prerequisite to professional competence. This is not merely a fairness issue.” (Asa Hilliard, 1984)

5. Terminology • Culture: values, assumptions and perceptions that are instilled early on in life and are expressed in the way we behave and interact. • Diversity: all of the things that make us different from one another. • Cultural sensitivity: valuing and learning from diversity and being willing and quick to adequately respond to differences. • Cultural competence: ability to work effectively with individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

6. Beware of generalizations! • Hispanic vs Latino • Not all Latinos are recent immigrants: Texas originally belonged to Mexico and many Mexican Americans in California and elsewhere have been in the U.S. for centuries.

7. Beware of generalizations! • Not all Latinos are from Mexico: 18 Spanish speaking Latin American countries plus Brazil • Innumerable other differences among Latinos: from historic, geographic, language, color & ethnicity, socio-economic class, education level, etc. to cuisine and reason for coming to the U.S.

8. Beware of generalizations! • Acculturation differences: some don’t identify with the customs of their community of origin and don’t see themselves as Latino; many find it difficult to adapt to U.S. culture and remain strongly connected to the culture of their birth country; and others view themselves as bicultural (i.e., Mexican American), connected to values, traditions, and experiences of both countries

9. Latino Demographics - Nationwide • 45.5 million Hispanics or 15% of the total population • Only Mexico and Colombia have larger Hispanic populations • Largest minority in 23 States (50% live in CA & TX) • Origins: Mexicans (64%), Puerto Rica (10%), Cuban (3.5%), Salvadoran (3%) and Dominicans (2.7%) …

10. Latino Demographics - Nationwide • 78%, ages 5 and older, speak a language other than English at home • 24% speak English very well • 88% of U.S. born adult children speak English Source: Pew Hispanic Center http://pewhispanic.org

11. Latino Demographics - Virginia • One in 10 Virginians is foreign-born. • The largest foreign-born populations are in Arlington and Alexandria (20% each), Harrisonburg (9%), and Charlottesville, Richmond, Virginia Beach and Winchester (6% each). • In 2007, the top five countries of birth were El Salvador, Mexico, Korea, Philippines and India.

12. Latino Demographics - Virginia • 481,500 Latinos • Over half are Mexican; the rest are largely Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans • Half are U.S. born citizens. 13% are naturalized citizens. The rest are living in the State with or without legal authorization. Around 85% of Virginia’s Latino children under 18 are U.S. born Source: UVA Weldon Cooper Center

13. Latino Demographics - Cville • 5 – 6,000 Latinos reside in the greater Charlottesville/Albemarle area • Mostly Mexicans, Salvadorans and Hondurans • Enclaves: Fashion Square Mall area, large area in front of Albemarle High School (Peyton & Commonwealth, two trailer parks, etc.), Southwood, Esmont, Crozet, etc.

14. Latino Demographics - Cville • Many newcomers (Hondurans, indigenous Mexicans) • Higher level of undocumented adults • Most children are U.S. born

15. Our Latino PopulationSocio-economic Commonalities • Rural poor • Limited or no experiences with • modern conveniences (from plumbing and wash machines to bank accounts and birth control) • legal and bureaucratic policy, processes and protocol • agencies that provide benefits and services • civil, human, and consumer rights

16. Our Latino PopulationSocio-economic Commonalities • Illiteracy is high • Adults have little knowledge of English • Low acculturation, especially among adults

17. Our Latino Population Cultural Commonalities • Family Centered (lifetime allegiance/loyalty, interdependence, collective good vs individualism, extended family includes friends)

18. Our Latino Population Cultural Commonalities • Hierarchical society: respect for and/or fear of authority figures (age, social position, economic status, or the police and other government workers) • Fearof “rocking the boat”: avoiding conflict even when there is a wrongdoing; not challenging or asking questions; not reporting discrimination and other injustices or crime (even more so with the undocumented)

19. Our Latino Population Cultural Commonalities • Being personable and friendly: being polite, smiling and showing warmth and enthusiasm; direct personal contact vs letters and voicemails; close physical proximity vs being separated by a desk or security window; touching. • Trust: being personable and over time, reaching a high level of comfort by showing respect and in other ways dispelling misconceptions.

20. Our Latino Population Cultural Commonalities • Fatalism or when each day is taken as it comes • little experience with the concept of punctuality or planning ahead • Spirituality (based more on widespread cultural beliefs, including superstitions and folklore, than on affiliation with a particular religion)

21. Our Latino Population Cultural Commonalities • Strong positive work values: pride, self-discipline, perseverance, grateful for having a job, loyalty • Machismo, etc.

22. Our Latino PopulationService Access Barriers • Limited information and knowledge of services, where they are located, their policies, procedures, processes, and Clients’ rights to redress • Being embarrassed about asking for help outside of the family (or church)

23. Our Latino PopulationService Access Barriers • Latinos lack of English fluency (to communicate or understand) • Lack of bilingual/bicultural service providers • Inconsistent or non-use of interpreter services

24. Our Latino PopulationService Access Barriers • Agency misunderstandings due to the lack of cultural awareness of service providers • as irresponsible • as not forthcoming • as understanding all or some of what is being said • who assume Clients are literate • Misconceptions or anti-immigrant sentiments of service providers

25. Recommendations for Service Providers • “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela • Be sensitive to whoever you are interacting with. • Be aware of your own attitudes and how they may impact on service delivery.

26. Recommendations for Service Providers • Be accessible: • Show respect. Speak English slowly and clearly and don’t raise your voice. • Don’t assume the Client understands you. If you do not speak fluent Spanish, use a bilingual co-worker or an interpreter service or other resource. Avoid using children to act as interpreters.

27. Recommendations for Service Providers • Make time to learn about Latino culture to be more understanding and responsive to cultural idiosyncrasies. • Encourage questions and make sure the Client understands. • Make sure you understand.

28. Recommendations for Service Providers • Build trust: • Be warm and personable rather than distant and formal. • Be attentive and take time to listen. • Show respect.

29. Recommendations for Service Providers • Explain, in a clear and concise way, agency policies, procedures, processes, and Clients’ rights. • Learn and use a few Spanish words. • And in other ways, show you care and really do want to help.

30. Recommendations for County Agencies • Learn about and develop mechanisms to comply with LEP federal policy and guidelines • Develop LEP guidelines for your staff, along with monitoring procedures and sanctions to ensure their compliance.

31. Recommendations for County Agencies • Develop culturally sensitive informative written materials (i.e., minimal text) • Use Spanish language forms and other documents • Offer a bilingual telephone service • Include bilingual and bicultural skills as a hiring preference.

32. Recommendations for County Agencies • Encourage and/or provide ongoing cultural sensitivity trainings, including attendance at Creciendo Juntos (CJ) and other Latino oriented venues and reviews and discussions of information on the CJ website (www.cj-network.org).

33. Recommendations for County Agencies – Word of Caution • “In order for a person to be bicultural and operate as a liaison between cultures, it is not sufficient for him or her to be from an ethnic minority. In fact, if a person who looks like a member of an ethnic minority group has adopted Anglo American values and identifies with the mainstream culture, he or she may be a poor choice to represent their culture of origin in collaborative efforts.” Source: Toolkit for Cross-Cultural Collaboration, Chapter I

34. Trainer • Linda Hemby is a sociologist and human rights activist. She has dual nationality (U.S./El Salvador), is bilingual and bicultural. She lived in El Salvador for 20+ years, visits each year for a month, and plans on returning there to live. She works at Social Services and is a member of the CJ Executive Committee. Linda can be reached at lhemby@albemarle.org

35. References This power point presentation, as well as a handout provided during the training – which identifies online and other resources for myth busting fact sheets and local resources for Latinos – is available on the CJ website at http://www.cj-network.org/lep.html#sensitivity