Visión y Compromiso has built a comprehensive network of health and social service resources
by Jason Cassidy
In California, underrepresented communities are often left out of the loop of mainstream health and safety efforts. So, when severe storms are forecast for a place like Santa Barbara County, the area’s Latino population often relies on advocacy groups to translate and deliver information on how to prepare for the potential dangers posed by falling limbs, downed power lines and flooding when heavy rains and occasional gale-force winds hit the Central Coast.
That kind of outreach and connection is at the heart of the “promotores” model of community health.
Promotores are health and social workers and advocates who come from the communities they serve.
“Promotores build and maintain relationships of trust and respect within their communities, and understand the reality of how people live and the obstacles that keep them from success,” says Laura Jaramillo, an environmental health manager with Visión y Compromiso, a California-based nonprofit that has established the Promotores Network of more than 4,000 community health and social workers throughout the state and into Mexico.
“Promotores work to improve conditions so that their children, and all children, will be healthy, better educated and productive citizens,” Jaramillo adds.
Visión y Compromiso is a California-based nonprofit that has established the Promotores Network of more than 4,000 community health and social workers throughout the state and into Mexico.
According the group’s website, the network provides leadership, training and advocacy for promotores, creating links between community members service providers:
“Because they share the same language, culture, ethnicity, status and experiences of their communities, promotores are able to reduce the barriers to health education and services that are common for native-born and immigrant communities. The result is better health for more individuals, families and communities.”
Jaramillo says the work requires flexibility. Due to the nature of varied community needs, promotores often work irregular hours, staying available at all times to help clients in achieving the organization’s guiding vision: Towards a healthy and dignified life.
“We’re on the frontline,” she says, “Our promotores are from the community for the community.”
Help comes in the form of connecting Latino communities to available physical and emotional health resources as well as various advocacy and education initiatives—like improving access to healthcare for individuals enrolled in Medi-Cal in Ventura County, and teen-pregnancy prevention education through the Families Talking Together.
As a well-connected community-based organization, Visión y Compromiso is one of the many groups that work with the California Office of Emergency Services via the Listos California statewide network that aims to “provide accessible in-language information and advance a new culture of disaster preparedness.”
In 2023, Listos California granted $250,000 to Visión y Compromiso to, among other things, engage underserved communities in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, and increase emergency preparedness in the Santa Maria region, ensuring that all residents are signed up for storm alerts, have an emergency plan in place and are prepared for potential hazards and to evacuate if necessary.
From her vantage point, Jaramillo has seen the impact the outreach has on those served by her organization. At a community forum an attendee told her that during a recent major storm event, “I knew what to do, where to go and what to take with me” thanks to a previous Visión y Compromiso event.
For more information on Visión y Compromiso’s work, visit the website at www.visionycompromiso.org.
Severe Storm Safety
- Understand alerts: Watch means be prepared, Warning means take action
- Secure outdoor objects and remove debris that could cause damage in high winds
- Stay away from downed power lines and report them immediately
- Prepare for power outages with batteries and generators (operated outside at least 20 feet from doors and windows)
For more information on how to prepare for and stay safe during severe storms and other emergencies, visit www.listoscalifornia.org.
