Reaching Out to an Isolated Population

West Stanislaus County is rich in its agricultural roots. It is also a traditional destination of migrant families from Mexico, who live, work and send their children to school here.

“We have an abundance of hard-working families living here,” said Maria Rosales, Community Service Coordinator for the Center for Human Services. “We also have a culture of poverty and limited access to health services on this side of the County. High rates of depression are a big problem here.”

With help from Kaiser Permanente, the Center for Human Services is implementing mental health education and
counseling programs in small Westside communities like Patterson, Grayson and Westley, in Stanislaus County. “We’re reaching out to nearly 2,000 isolated individuals in these communities. They are low-income, monolingual and nearly all of them are migrant farm workers and their families,” Rosales said.

Through a grant from Kaiser Permanente, two promotoras provide outreach and education door-to-door or through platicas or support groups, at community and school sites. “By discussing self-esteem issues, we can open dialogue about the stigma many Latinos have about seeking mental health treatment,” said Wendy Halcon, a promotora with Westside Mental Health for All. “Some think depression just goes away. Here, it’s okay to talk about it.”

For more information about our Community Benefit program here in the Central Valley please contact: 

Marie Sanchez
Community Benefit Manager
Phone: (209) 735-5337
Email: marie.sanchez@kp.org

Additional Community Benefit resources are available online at the KP Community Benefit website.