Contents

Meeting the Needs of America's Largest Minority
A Woman's Call for Help Empowers Thousands
Celebra la Ciencia: Changing the Face of Science
Break the Language Barrier with Universal Translations
Are You Doing Good Work? Contributors' Guidelines
Announcement: Latino Behavioral Health Conference
La Columna Vertebral: Facing Cervical Cancer

Upcoming Hispanic Radio Network Programming

Meeting the Needs of America's Largest Minority
By Arturo Vásquez, Executive Director, Self Reliance Foundation

This past June, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that Latinos have become the largest minority group in the country. Almost 39 million Latinos live in the United States today, making up over 13 percent of the population. While many of these Hispanic Americans are taking important strides in educational and economic achievement, the sad truth remains that by almost any indicator you choose to employ, Latinos today are still one of the most disenfranchised groups in the country. America's Hispanics experience the lowest levels of education, the lowest average income levels, the lowest rates of homeownership, and the lowest levels of access to health care and social services of all Americans. Poverty, together with cultural and language barriers, conspire to keep these many citizens from living out the full benefits of the American dream.

The Self Reliance Foundation (SRF), a nonprofit social marketing organization, and our media partner, Hispanic Radio Network (HRN), work assiduously to address these disparities by providing public education to America's Latino community on a wide range of issues. Our various programs not only inform Latinos about the topics that most affect them - from healthcare, to financial literacy, to education - but also facilitate access to culturally competent local service providers across the country. Currently, SRF and HRN offer a variety of informational and educational services including:

Mass Media Programming

SRF and HRN produce educational and informational programs for Spanish-language radio listeners throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. HRN's comprehensive network of more than 160 affiliate stations reaches 90 percent of U.S. Hispanic radio listeners. Additionally, SRF and HRN syndicate a weekly Spanish-language newspaper column with more than 90 newspapers with a combined circulation of 3.2 million copies.

Information and Referral Services

The Self Reliance Foundation supports its public awareness campaigns with a national toll-free information and referral helpline. This valuable resource is promoted through HRN's radio programming and newspaper columns, and links callers to over 12,000 local community organizations offering a range of services from healthcare to legal assistance to social services.

Festivals

The Self Reliance Foundation also provides bilingual informational and educational exhibits at Latino community festivals at various sites across the country. At our exhibits, children can learn how to build a bridge or see how the human lungs work, while adults can receive information on healthcare or find referrals to local service providers in their communities.

Fellowships

This innovative collaboration between SRF and universities allows college students to acquire hands-on outreach experience by working for the National Hispanic Resource Helpline. Currently, we partner with the University of New Mexico, San Diego State University, Pepperdine University, and the National Latino Research Center. Student fellows receive either work-study funds or academic credit for their efforts.

Cultural Competency

Most important, we realize at SRF that serving the Latino community means more than just providing information in Spanish. SRF and HRN's many Latino professionals hail from across the United States and Latin America and work to insure that our services are appropriately tailored to our clients' cultural norms and values.

As America ushers in a new and multicultural age where the paradigm of diversity replaces old notions of assimilation, the need to communicate with different groups in their own languages and using their own cultural references becomes all the more pressing. In launching this inaugural issue of Acceso Hispano, we, at SRF and HRN, hope to provide a forum for professionals from the grassroots to the national level to exchange ideas and share best practices in the growing field of Latino outreach.

A Woman's Call for Help Empowers Thousands
By Maite Arce Argleben, National Outreach Director, Self Reliance Foundation

It all started in a dirty old phone booth in Jamaica, New York. There, a young woman named Esperanza made the call that would change not only her life, but also the lives of thousands of Latinos. It took her eight weeks to build up the courage to pick up the phone. You see, she was pregnant and only 17. Her mamá and papá didn't know about it. In fact, they were in Puerto Rico and couldn't even see how her belly had grown. Only her cousin knew, because Esperanza was sharing the rent with her while working as a maid cleaning offices at night.

Esperanza's belly was getting bigger and bigger and she had spent weeks pretending it wasn't really happening. Instead, she daydreamed about getting married and having a nice, yellow house that her parents could move into with her. But she was going to be a mother, and very soon, maybe today.

As she walked closer to the phone booth to make the call, her belly was hurting more and more. Why is the pain getting worse? she asked herself, her fear growing. In her hand, she held a phone number that she had scribbled onto a paper towel weeks ago. She had heard a lady on the radio talking about how important it was for pregnant women to see the doctor during their pregnancy so that they can have a healthy baby. What if I call and they don't speak Spanish, what if they can't help me?she thought to herself. Nobody's gonna care about a girl from the barrio.

"She was going to be a mother,
and very soon, maybe today."

I, in the meantime, had been busy all day in Santa Fe, New Mexico, talking on the phone to radio program directors trying to convince them to broadcast our educational Spanish language shows. When a call came into our main number at the Hispanic Radio Network, I picked up the phone and answered in my usual business voice in English.

On the other end of the line, a soft voice said "ayúdeme por favor." I switched to Spanish.

She told me she was calling because she had heard a radio program that motivated her to call for help. She had called the radio station and they gave her this phone number. She said she was pregnant and she was having pains in her belly but that she had no one to help her. She said she felt alone and that she was scared.

I immediately became alarmed. Someone had to help this girl. I had to help this girl. I asked her questions. I wrote down all the information about her location and, before I put her on hold, I said, "No te preocupes. I will do all I can to get you the help you need".

I opened up another line and called information in her area code. I had never heard of Jamaica, New York, but the operator gave me the names and phone numbers of two hospitals in that area. I called both and eventually found a bilingual nurse named Margarita. Margarita sounded as concerned for the girl as I had been. She told me she would wait and meet the girl at the emergency room entrance, which was just one block away. She also said it was no problem that she had no health insurance, she would see that the girl received the treatment she needed.

I switched back to Esperanza and told her to walk one block north. There, she would see a big brown building with lots of windows and an ambulance outside. I told her to walk to the emergency room entrance where she would find a nurse named Margarita in a blue uniform waiting for her. Esperanza said to me, "Gracias. Dios te lo pague," and then we hung up. I sat in my chair and took a deep breath.

"A radio program had motivated
her to call for help."

As I drove home that day I thought about Esperanza and her journey into motherhood: What did the future hold for her? What if she needed food for her baby after she gave birth? Who was going to care for the baby while she was at work? Would she have enough money to support herself and the child? My anxiety grew until I realized that, at least for today, Esperanza had Margarita. She'll be okay today, I thought. Hopefully, Margarita would connect her to some resources that could help her and her baby. But what about other girls like Esperanza who didn't make that call, and who didn't connect with a Margarita?

I never did stop thinking about Esperanza and Margarita. A year later, with the help of my risk-taking boss and a grant writer, the National Hispanic Resource Helpline was born. Today, we have a full-time staff of trained, bilingual information and referral specialists who can take calls from anywhere in the country. Our toll-free phone number is broadcast regularly on Hispanic Radio Network and is publicized in HRN's syndicated newspaper column, La Columna Vertebral, which appears in over 90 Spanish-language newspapers. And we've developed a huge database of over 12,000 culturally competent service providers throughout the country - organizations offering healthcare services, social services, homeownership and credit counseling, immigration counseling, and much, much more.

"A year later, the National Hispanic
Resource Helpline was born."

I don't answer calls any more. I am now the National Outreach Director of the Self Reliance Foundation. My duties include overseeing the helpline, our student service learning programs, and other outreach projects. I believe I can do much more for the community at the administrative level, but once in a while I do like to get back on the phone and talk to the callers... people like the distraught abuela calling because her severe arthritis is keeping her from writing poetry, or the teacher who wants to help her students achieve better test scores in math but doesn't have the resources she needs to make it happen.

In my experience, there has never been a lack of desire from callers to live a better life, get a better job, and attain success. There has just been a lack of access to the vital resources that are needed make it happen. Latinos face many barriers when coming to this country. Some of those barriers include not being proficient in English, a lack of health insurance, not understanding the U.S. social service system, not being able to afford the cost of services, inability to state their case properly, inability to identify their problem clearly, or being afraid because they are undocumented. But there are also many people throughout the U.S. who, like Margarita, are willing to help. Now there's a place to call to find Margarita and others like her.

Celebra la Ciencia: Changing the Face of Science
By Bob Russell, Science Advisor, Self Reliance Foundation

In 2001, the Self Reliance Foundation (SRF) launched Celebra la Ciencia (Celebrate Science), a National Science Foundation-funded project designed to increase opportunities for Hispanic families to participate in informal science activities. The project strategy combines the power of media - Spanish-language radio capsules - with the personal engagement of hands-on science at community festivals. At Celebra events, visitors can excavate fossil shark's teeth, create slime, take part in water balloon experiments, or learn about everything from pendulums to electronic circuit boards.

The Celebra Strategy

Market research shows that, while a majority of Latinos in the U.S. can speak English, over two-thirds still prefer to get information from the media in Spanish. This may help explain the rapid growth of the Univision television network and Spanish-language radio stations in virtually every market in the U.S. Radio may be the most effective means to reach this community, since many Latinos listen to the radio as they work.

In contrast, museums are not generally an effective medium to reach Latinos or other minorities. There are probably a variety of explanatory factors, including cost and cultural barriers. Another important factor may simply be that museums are not among the recreational choices that many Latinos consider when making plans for family outings. With these issues in mind, SRF designed the strategy of using a medium that does work with Latinos, and a context that attracts thousands of Latino families - community festivals.

Celebra la Ciencia, then, targets Latino families with varied and constant exposure to science, creating a rich environment for informal learning. Daily radio programs and high profile community events are used, in effect, to market science. And science museums and other informal science learning organizations then provide ongoing opportunities for families to get more involved. SRF's National Hispanic Resource Helpline and website also help guide parents to enjoyable family science resources.

Forming Coalitions

Celebra la Ciencia is currently taking place in six cities across the country: Chicago; Tri-Cities and Yakima, Washington; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C.; and Albuquerque. At each of these cites, Celebra has brought together museums, science and health organizations, community-based organizations, schools, colleges and universities, businesses and local media to work together as a network, pooling resources and information and ultimately organizing their participation in local, Latino community festivals.

These cities were selected because each has a significant Latino population; Spanish-language media, and a substantial informal science infrastructure; SRF had existing relationships with media in each of the sites; and, additionally, through my own work with informal science institutions, I had existing relationships with many potential coalition partners.

The process of coalition building has taken a lot more work than originally anticipated. Initially, SRF planned to develop a partnership with two or three major informal science institutions and perhaps one radio station in each community. We thought that one or two organizational meetings would be required before the first community festival was launched at each site. But, it rapidly became clear that for a substantial community involvement, a broader coalition - including community and youth organizations, schools, and institutions of higher learning - was needed.

Coalition building has entailed a series of three to four meetings in each of the sites, typically over a period of months. Relationships have developed in fits and starts, as partners have evaluated how they stand to benefit and how the project fits in with their current schedules and budgets. One factor critical to the success of the coalitions has been the provision of a modest amount of funding in the grant budget to cover some basic operational expenses (e.g., consumable supplies, T-shirts, part-time staff, etc.). Again and again, though, we have witnessed the genuine interest and dedication of the coalition partners to meeting the educational needs of Latino families.

Coalition leadership and organizational style varies from site to site. SRF has taken the lead role in Washington, D.C., but at other sites, one or more organizations has taken the lead. In Chicago, for example the Shedd Aquarium and Chicago Children's Museum head the coalition. In Albuquerque, the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and the University of New Mexico have taken the lead. In three of the coalitions, one of the lead organizations also serves as fiscal agent to handle Celebra funds for local activities.

Organizing Community Science Festivals

The first step for the newly-formed coalitions was to identify community festivals and other family science events to take part in under the Celebra la Ciencia banner. The coalitions then went about the specifics of organizing activities. Coalition members contribute to the project in many ways - by announcing Celebra-related programs and events in newsletters, bulletins and listservs, writing and disseminating press releases, sponsoring programs and community events, offering formal statements of endorsement, and by recognizing outstanding youth.

Targeted community festivals have included Cinco de Mayo, Mexican Independence Day, and El Día de los Niños. These usually draw Spanish-speaking Latinos who, traditionally, do not visit science centers or participate in science programs and events. At these festivals, coalitions organize a Celebra la Ciencia tent that: features bilingual, hands-on family science activities; provides information about local science, health, and social service resources; and provides details about career opportunities in science, technology, and biomedical research.

In addition, festival-goers often receive coupons to attend museums, family science/math events and summer programs at no charge or at a considerable discount.

Community coalitions also work closely with their local Hispanic Radio Network station affiliates to create Celebra la Ciencia science capsules. These 60-second radio spots focus on Hispanic family and student involvement in science. The spots feature: science facts, interviews with role models in the science and technology fields; information about science and technology opportunities in the community; and information about Celebra coalition members.

Coalitions at the various sites have mounted some very ambitious events. The Albuquerque coalition, for example, organized a large area at the New Mexico State Fair. In Washington, D.C., the coalition has mounted major exhibits at several community festivals and is experimenting with regular activities at the Capital Children's Museum and local farmers' markets. The Los Angeles coalition has sponsored a Parent's Night and Parent's Summit at the California Science Center. Most recently, the L.A. coalition organized an extensive exhibit in a park in association with the Cesar Chavez march. And the Chicago coalition has provided large science areas at successive El Dia de los Niños events and is currently planning an upcoming Latino Health Fair.

Spin-Offs

The most thrilling part of the Celebra project has been the spin-offs it has encouraged. We had hoped that our coalitions would come to work together on new, independent projects, but we would never have predicted how successful this project goal would be. In Washington State alone, several exciting spin-offs are in the works:

Boys and Girls Club and Washington State MESA are developing a joint youth technology education program. Washington State MESA is further seeking funding for an expansion of statewide Celebra activities to increase Latino parent involvement in science and math education. And the Yakima Valley Museum is hosting free summer field trips for area summer education programs serving Latino students.

Exciting spin-offs are underway in other coalitions as well: The Washington, D.C. coalition has secured funding for microbiology and asthma education activities and displays for use at community festivals and family science events, while the Chicago coalition is planning a family science activities page in a local Spanish-language newspaper, featuring activities provided by coalition members.

Evaluation

SRF has hired external evaluators to examine the coalition formation process, the festivals, and radio capsules. Evaluation results thus far are encouraging: A majority of festival attendees surveyed visit science museums, or like organizations, rarely or not at all; but they find the festivals engaging and enjoyable and plan to attend future events. Also, callers responding to radio programs have found the capsules informative and useful.

Conclusions

Celebra la Ciencia's long-term impact is a series of open questions: Will the coalitions live on after the project? Will the project help create a richer environment for Latino families to learn science? Will families participate in more science activities? Will Celebra events make a long-term contribution participants' interest in science? These are the same fundamental questions that other informal science projects also ask and also have difficulty answering. There will be some tentative answers as the project evaluation proceeds, but some of the answers will not be available for years.

Meanwhile, SRF is working to continue the project through the strengthening of the coalitions, continuation of coalition activities, and creation of additional project components - such as a new, colorful, bilingual family science page. Latino communities in the six sites across the country have responded enthusiastically to Celebra. Listeners enjoy the radio spots. Children and families at the festivals love the hands-on science activities - making model lungs, building bridges, manipulating magnets. Organizations continue to join our community coalitions, and Celebra la Ciencia remains a work in progress.

Break the Language Barrier with Universal Translations
By German Velasco, Director of Translations, Hispanic Radio Network

The terms "Latino" and "Hispanic" are largely North American constructs. Once immigrants from Latin America settle in the United States, they may come to think of themselves as Latinos or Hispanics, but before their transition to this new country, they were Nicaraguans or El Salvadorans or Mexicans. Indeed, the U.S. Hispanic community is actually a diverse group representing over twenty different countries - each with its own history, cultural heritage, and regional dialects.

As private corporations and governmental agencies alike increasingly recognize the need to reach out to the U.S. Hispanic community, effective strategies must be found for communicating with this linguistically and culturally diverse group. Over the past 20 years, Hispanic Radio Network (HRN) has learned to craft informational and educational radio programs and newspaper columns in a "universal Spanish" which speaks to the broad spectrum of U.S. Latinos. Demographic studies of our audiences, in fact, show that listeners and readers of every major Latin American ethnicity tune in to our programs or review our columns.

Building upon this mass media experience, HRN has recently launched universal Spanish translation services. Our professional, pan-Latino staff is able to translate all types of traditional and Internet publications including website content, press releases, fact sheets, brochures and other documents. We can also translate and continuously update the Spanish-language version of our clients' websites, and we offer targeted distribution of translated materials to major Hispanic media outlets and community organizations. Depending upon the complexity of the project, costs and turn-around time vary, with projects costing as little as $50 and turn-around times of one business day. For further information on HRN translation services, click here, or contact me directly at German@hrn.org.

Are You Doing Good Work? Contributors' Guidelines

Acceso Hispano is looking for articles about exemplary programs in the field of Latino outreach. Your 600-2,700 word (1-4 page) article can discuss your organization or project's mission, size and scope, deliverables, target audiences, and lessons learned. We are also happy to run short notices about upcoming events. Submit articles, photos and notices to Ellen Alderton, Ellen@hrn.org.

Announcement: Latino Behavioral Health Conference

The Latino Behavioral Health Institute will be conducting their 9th annual conference September 23-25 in Los Angeles, California. The theme of the conference is "Promoting Effective Behavioral Health Care for Latinos." The conference will have 56 workshops and will be attended by some 1,000 participants including providers, family members and consumers of services. For detailed information on the conference please visit http://www.lbhi.org/.

To post an announcement in Acceso Hispano, contact Ellen@hrn.org.

A Simple Exam Could Save Thousands of Latinas' Lives Every Year
By Beverly Lyles, Project Officer, Self Reliance Foundation

Did you know that Latinas are at higher risk for cervical cancer than other American women? That's right. Latinas are diagnosed with cervical cancer and die of cervical cancer more often than any other group of American women except the Vietnamese. While these facts are alarming, the reasons behind these numbers are even more startling.

Latinas are dying of cervical cancer because they fail to get a simple, widely-available, Pap test each year that can detect the disease in its earliest stages when it is most curable.

Cervical Cancer is cancer that begins in the cervix, the part of the uterus or womb that opens to the vagina. Invasive cervical cancer has spread beyond the surface of the cervix, making it more difficult to treat and cure. Hispanic women have almost twice the rate of invasive cervical cancer compared to other American women. According to researchers from the CDC, about 30% of all new cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in Hispanic women had spread beyond the cervix. For women 50 and older with cervical cancer, 52% of Latinas were diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease.

With regular screening, cervical cancer is preventable. A Pap test is the standard way to see if there are any cell changes that cause concern. The Pap test looks at a sample of cells from the cervix under a microscope to see if there are any cells that are abnormal.
The Pap test is simple and relatively painless. The best time for a woman to have a Pap test is 10 to 20 days after her period. A Pap test can be done in a doctor's office or a health clinic.

Risk Factors

There are several key risk factors for cervical cancer that all women should be aware of:

HPV: If you have had a human papilomavirus or HPV, then you are at risk. Before you breathe a sigh of relief, realize that three out of four people who have had sexual intercourse, have contracted an HPV infection. Although most HPV viruses clear up on their own, those that do not may lead to cervical cancer.

High Level of Sexual Activity: Did you start having sex at an early age? Women who start having sex at a young age are likely to have more partners over a lifetime and are therefore at greater risk of contracting an HPV virus that may develop into cervical cancer.

Multiple Sexual Partners: Have you had a high number of sexual partners? Because HPV is spread mainly through sex, the chances of getting the infection increases with the number of sexual partners you have had.

Smoking: Do you smoke? Well, in addition to lung cancer, and a host of other illnesses, you are also at greater risk of developing cervical cancer.

HIV Infection: Women who suffer from HIV also have weakened immune systems that make them more vulnerable to an HPV infection, and less able to fight it off once infected. An overall weakened immune system places women at greater risk of developing cervical cancer.

Immunosuppressants: If you use a steroid medication to control asthma or Lupus, recent research links the use of immunosuppressants medications such as cortiscosteroid to an increased risk of developing cervical cancer.

Warning Signs of Cervical Cancer

Early signs of cervical cancer include a heavy vaginal discharge with a foul odor; unusual bleeding between periods, or after sexual intercourse; heavier bleeding during periods, and longer-lasting periods; a persistent vaginal odor; sudden pain in the pelvic area or unusual pain during sexual intercourse.In more advanced cancers, a woman may experience persistent pain in the pelvic area, heavy bleeding, and one swollen leg.

Well, Not Me

Perhaps you are thinking, I'm not worried, cervical cancer won't happen to me.
Well, how can you know, unless you get an exam?

Maybe you think that you are not at risk - after all you only have sex with your boyfriend or husband? Well, are you sure that your boyfriend or husband only has sex with you?

Maybe you have not gone in for an exam because you do not have health insurance. Well, there are places in your neighborhood that provide pap exams at little or no costs to women without health insurance.

Some of you may think a Pap exam is just, uh, too personal. True, a pap exam is not a handshake, but it only lasts a few minutes and it could save your life.

The routine use of the Pap test has helped lower cervical cancer deaths by 70 percent since 1940 for most American women. Latinas, become a part of this revolution. Females who are sexually active, or at least 21 years of age, should have a pap exam every year. Women experiencing signs and symptoms of cervical cancer, should contact a gynecological service provider immediately.

So ladies, no more excuses. Call this number, 800-473-3003, the National Hispanic Resource Helpline. We will help you find a place in your neighborhood that provides Pap exams at low or no costs to you.

Save some pain. Save your lives. Get your Pap exam this year and every year.

Upcoming Hispanic Radio Network Programming

HRN radio programming includes six, daily short-form programs and a live, weekly call-in talk-show on immigrant affairs, Bienvenidos a America.

Hi-Tech

Celebra la Ciencia capsules explore community programs at zoos.

Fuente de Salud (Fountain of Health)

Programs discuss women's health: reproductive health, pap smears, and cervical cancer.

Camino al Éxito (Road to Success)

Capsules focus on credit history and consumers' rights to access and contest their credit records.

Saber Es Poder (Knowledge is Power)

Programs explore the DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education Relief for Alien Minors).

Planeta Azul (Blue Planet)

Series explains how the Energy Star label can help consumers to identify electrical appliances which save energy.

Tradiciones (Traditions)

Programs showcase the Brazilian martial art form, Capoeira, which combines dance, music, and acrobatics.