County talking about the salud. Talk about those efforts at the consulate when it comes to health week, health month. Thank you so much. Well, health is a huge thing. We cant do anything without health. Thats why its very important to we have a full program of different difficulties at the consulate. It must be the whole month with different activities focused on health issues. Covid19, its necessary to continue talking about this disease. Its very important to have our community inform about all the aid through county, through city, the things that they need to do and how they can keep safe. And, at the same time, we are going to focus on the different illness that we know affects our community as diabetes, high blood pressure, other significant issues. We will have different seminars, webinars through our facebook page. And, at the same time, we will have three days, october 9th, october 16th, and 19th, flu shots here at the conslate for the people that is coming to get they want to come just to gete the flu shot, they can come. Also if they dont have an appointment with us. Its very important in this period that we will start with the flu coming and people that will maybe be confused about flu just to be sure and try to get their flu shot. A specific program well send you soon and also be on our web page so people can be informed about the different events. We are doing all this with partnership with a county of santa clara, the Health Department that they have been doing an extraordinary job with covid19. Im going to thank them for all the efforts to Work Together and do this in this case we will have a National Exercise that we do each year since 20 years ago. But this year were doing it differently. And its the year that we need to do it in person because were in the worst health World Health Crisis that our generation has ever seen. So, it was crucial to do it in person, but we cant. So now you have to fight this pandemic virtually. And so this month has to be a little more difficult and stressful because of how you have to do things this year. Yes, of course. Its really going to be the importance of people trying to be connect through our websites to be informed. Its very helpful for our community to know the different organizations that work with us Like Community health partnership, health trust bay area Community Health and american associations. They always used to come here to the consulate and give inperson information. This is going to be a really new challenge to get the information through webinars, through internet. But we want to continue giving information that we know our community is needed. So, its going to be a challenge. Nevertheless, we are going to have also in place during the services that we have in our Community Using our documents they need. We will have the flu shot diabetes and also high pressure. We think that those are real important to do. And the persons that will have their appointments during those weeks will have the opportunity to have this short health visit. And also people that will not have to do any documenting and come to the consulate. And they also can get either a shot or have a test or the diabetes test. We will continue following up all the positions done by the county because of covid. So we will be very careful not to have more people inside the consulate. So we will manage that. And im sure that we can do it. Well, its great that youre still doing it even with all of these restrictions. Moving back after these messages and talk more with the consular general of mexico. Stay with us. All weekend long, we will be staying on top of breaking news. The president and first lady testing positive for coronavirus. And the development into monday that will start your work week. Plus, live reports from the north bay as wildfires continue to burn monday morning 4 30 to 7 00. Were back with the consulate general of mexico with a shorter segment. I was impressed because i saw a video of you in my old home, the fields el campo. You went out and visited the farm workers. Tell us how that went. The Mexican Government is very interested and we have specific instructions for mexico to be aware of the situation of our workers, our farm workers, they are really essential workers. Its extraordinary the job that they do every day in keeping us with food or around here and also in the world because they do essential work. So, we are concerned about their conditions, if they are working with all the measures that they need to keep to be saved. And also giving them information about the rights about the different activities that the consulate has and how we can help them to continue doing this extraordinary job. Its something that ill tell you i really love to be with our people, with our community. Its part of the main activity of the consular duties. And im really, really happy to do this job and to be with farmers and to share with them their experiences and their life. Because really all of them have extraordinary experience of life. They do an extraordinary job. Its something that i always have been admired. It was beautiful to see as a former farm worker, thank you for visiting the fields. We have about 30 seconds. Any final thoughts before we let you go . Just to keep safe our community and please come to the consulate we have here all the different services. We are already open. We can say 100 . Anything they need they can come here to the consulate. Consulate, thank you very much. Here on comunidad del valle, thank you for the work that youre doing. Thank you. Up next on comunidad del valle, well have information on cancer. Familia, its more than a word. [ speaking spanish ] celebrating the flavors of our culture passed down from generation to generation. [ speaking spanish ] honoring who we are and where were going. [ speaking spanish ] and now our guests are with the executive director of latinas contras cancer and the public county Health Department. Welcome to the show. Thank you, damien. Thank you for having us. And tell us again about this group and where you all have been for all these years. Weve been around 17 years now going on 18. And were still here existing to eliminate the Health Inequities facing the Latino Community and to create more just and equitable access to health and the Health Care System for the Latino Community around issues of cancer. Were still here providing health education, Patient Advocacy, and of course survivor support in addition to all the extra work that were doing to be here for our community at this time as we all navigate the disproportionate impacts of covid in the Latino Community. It sounds like youve gone a little beyond the fight for cancer. Its all encompassing, its latino health. If you are doing work, whether it be cancer or on any chronic condition or any health issue in the Latino Community, you cant do that work in isolation of the social inequities that we face as a community. So for us, working with the Latino Community or doing what we can to help meet the needs of our cli and healthwise during this time is definitely within our mission of eliminating the obstacles they face to prioritizing their health. You really cant separate cancer from social inequities and the social determinants of our health. And in this time when we know that Latino Community is struggling to pay rent, to pay bills, to stay healthy, and is experiencing all of this injustice, its really part of our role to step up and help our clients and show up for them in the way that they need us to. Ricardo, talk about how crucial it is for you to be involved with Community Organizations like latin latinas contra cancer to be able to do your job as a Public Health agency. Yes. So the partnership we have with this group and other organizations that serve our latino population are highly important to us, mainly b gover entity, sometimes our community are not comfortable reaching out to us. But this is when we collaborate with organizations such as this group to reach out to them and establish that trust that we need to continue to build with the community. Especially during this time with the pandemic, with covid19 going on in our communities. There is fear about getting a covid test, getting accessing resources, even if they dont have services regarding isolation or quarantine, we do have programs that serve this population. The partnership that we have with latinas contra cancer definitely helps educate our community. Because our cant do it alone, you need these community ties, you and i talked about this on a telemundo side last week on this show is that we have the four zip codes in san jose. We have the Mission District in san francisco. We have the fruit vail district in oakland. All of those have the highest statistics of covid positive patients. And all of those are predominantly latino communities. Thats correct. One of the efforts we are doing is we are trying to reach out to latino communities. By providing testing and now also providing flu shots to our Latino Community. And also we have grassroot strategy to go and educate businesses as well as residents about the importance of continuing to practice social distancing, wearing Face Coverings and answering any questions they might have regarding covid19. And the same with you, i guess. What better way to go into a community event, a Community Group and say, hi, were latinas contra, cancer, were a powerful organization. By the way, were being backed by the public Health Department of the county of santa clara. This partnership is exciting and meaningful to us. We want to be involved in these conversations and these efforts to educate and support the Latino Community. And its very easy to be able to weave these messages into the prevention messages were already giving. Latino communit about the importance of taking care of your health, about up, going to get your screenings. Weve been integrating the messages from the county of santa clara about getting tested, resources that you have available to you if you find out that you are positive for covid, the importance of wearing your mask, all of those messagings were integrating into our client interactions every day. You mentioned 17 years. Have you seen a difference, are we Getting Better when it comes to providing those resources for our Latino Community . Or is it still punching and jabbing and trying to work our way through the systems . To be very blunt, the Health Care System remains inequitable. Access remains inequitable. Treatment remains inequitable. Prevention remains inequitable. It remains inequitable for the Latino Community. We know that weve made great strides. We know that theres been amazing efforts at the county and state levels to make the Health Care System more inclusive. But we could see at least in the cancer space which communities are more likely to be disproportionately affected by a cancer diagnosis, maybe not gets but more likely to die from a d economically ruined by cancer diagnosis to have their social settings completely upset by a cancer diagnosis. And thats the lowincome Latino Community. So when we look at who, as you just mentioned, damien, who has been impacted disproportionately by covid, its also the lowincome Latino Community in the zip codes you mentioned and over in south county. We see that in cancer as well. So, there has been strides, but we have so much more to do in order to make our Health Care System just and accessible and equitable for the Latino Community. Were speaking with latinas contra cancer. Well be back with more. So stay with us. Were back with latinas contra cancer and the public Health Department. This is for both of you, given that we are now, were doing this interview virtually. Does that make getting your message out a little more difficult . Because you cant do the grip and the grin. You cant go out and set up a Community Table at church, at the mall, at the flea market. You have to do things virtually. Has that made your work a little bit more difficult . Go ahead, darcie. You know, it has and i have to really say im so proud of the team at latinas contra cancer. Because right in march we obviously knew that the way that we do our work would have to radically change, given that the population we serve also tends to be immunocompromised. What that has meant for us is weve done a lot more organizing, a lot of one on one phone calls, a lot of Relationship Building, a lot of traditional style of getting information out into the community. So we havent been able to do our tabling and Community Education the way we have in the past. But our patient navigation and our Patient Advocacy work was by and large over the phone and one on one interactions. Thats really the work that is needed right now in our community is that one on one navigation of Health Care Systems and of community resources. So weve just really deepened our work around the oneonone Relationship Building and organizing. And it sounds like ricardo, the county has gotten it for a long time. Its very progressive. Youre a spanishspeaking spokesperson for the public Health Department. Youre doing this in multiple languages in your department. So talk about that side of it as n relying on your her 12yearold daughter to translate. To answer your first question, it has been challenging. But it has not been impossible. I think its highly important to highlight all the efforts that we have been building with our community partners. And, yes, we have to reimagine the way that we deliver the message to our communities. Because it is also important to remember that not everybody has access to the internet. Not everybody has access to a computer. So how else can we get through to these populations . One of the ways that were doing it is we have set up call centers where people can actually call and talk to a live person and ask any questions they have regarding covid19 or resources or the new order. And we have staff who speak multiple languages not only spanish but also vietnamese, chinese, tagalog and translating all of our documents in a way that is not just only the literal translation but also that is culturally competent, making sure that we are using words that our community is familiar with, using graphics that our community is familiar with, as well as we have done a lot of billboards around our county here in santa clara reminding people to get tested, reminding people to wear is their Face Covering and reminding people that they are not alone. We are here for them and we are all in this together. And lets talk about your title, latinas contra cancer. Ricardo mentioned not feeling alone. We have a lot of Patient Advocates who have been there, been through it. Talk about those resources that people can get through your agency so that they dont feel like theyre in this battle. Whatever that battle might be alone. As ricardo mentioned weve transitioned all of these just like the county all of our resources over to virtual spaces and telehealth type of situations. So people can call in. Were still offering our support group. It meets twice a month. We have month in english and we isve one in span nobody has to battle any of this alone. You. You can give us a call in our office at 4082800811. You can email us. And we will return your phone call right away. We also are still doing some health education. Were doing it in an online forum like facebook and zoom and youtube. So we want people to remember that even during this time you also still have to think about your Cancer Health. And we know that there have been many in our community that put off a Cancer Screening that maybe experienced delayed cance revisit a hospital site or a clinic site because of whats happening. And those are very valid concerns. But we also want to be aware of the disparity our Community Already faces around Cancer Health and make sure that were supporting our community as an access Prevention Health care in general or a can Virtual Events fairs. How much is the Digital Divide impeding the work that you want to do . I did a story a while back where senora went to her school to pick up laptops and hot spots and ipods. She did not know how to even turn on those electronics. So how much has the Digital Divide impacted your efforts to get that message across virtually . Especially for our Latino Community and older generations, its been a challenge. One of them being the Relationship Building components to the outreach and trust that we build with them. Back in the day in our old normal, we will go out to a health fair. We will build that connection and we will give them our card, our phone number and just let them know, hey, do you have any questions . Feel free to reach out to us. This is how we can continue to provide you support. And now with being virtual, its more about the interaction that were having with a camera where its limited amount of information that we receive back from the community. That engagement is through the comments or emails or phone calls that they might be giving but the numbers have definitely increased in that aspect. Its very unfortunate, something that needs to be addressed. Any final thoughts, darcie, before we let you go . I just wanted to add to the point around the point that ricardo mentioned about technology. Weve seen it impact our community in Public Education and were definitely seeing it impact our community in telehealth. So its really important maybe coming out of this pandemic that we think about the systems that we could evolve to be better, certainly in the Latino Community in the future. And one of them is definitely the Health Care System. And the other would be access to broadband. Telehealth, well be hearing that a lot more. Thank you all so much for the work that you do in the community to make us stronger. Thank you. And thank you for watching comunidad del valle. Well see you once again here in a couple of weeks, another hiatus because of nbc sports. But comunidad del valle continues. Thank you so much and have a good day. Unexpected, unrestriimply p talladega and its the playoffs. Championship hopes can all but end here today its a wild card. Its a hail