Community Resources
We are committed to supporting immigrant and refugee youth find their path to success in education and career by providing one-on-one mentoring, family support, barrier removal, and community resource navigation.
Our team includes several bilingual Advisors, in schools, as well as our Community Resource Specialist (CRS). Lili Vargas, our CRS, is bilingual in Spanish. This position is supervised by our Whatever It Takes Program Manager, Brenda Aguilera, a Latina woman who is bilingual in Spanish.
Our PY+ Community Resource Specialist provides individualized support to youth participants and their families in Josephine, Jackson and southern Douglas counties. The CRS helps families:
stabilize their basic needs (housing, food, etc.),
access social services (medical, behavioral health, financial, legal, etc.),
receive information and education about culturally specific and status-specific issues,
and advocate for their needs in the broader community.
Lili not only provides community connection, but she also facilitates a variety of classes and workshops. Monthly, bilingual family workshops offered primarily in Spanish highlighting services available to families have been a very popular way for the community to connect.
Topics include, medical insurance and treatment access, translation and interpretation services, food support, education and employment support, housing and utility assistance, mental health options, emergency preparation, tax preparation, etc. These workshops consistently include up to 35 attendees and provide a platform for our community to gather with one another. Workshops are offered monthly in both Jackson and Josephine counties.
Collaborations with Josephine County Food Bank
In collaboration with the Josephine County Food Bank, Lili maintains the PY+ Community Food Pantry that consistently serves up to 200 people per week. Our Food Pantry also provides a platform for members of our community to engage in leadership positions assisting in organizing and facilitating the weekly food shop set up. It is an entry-point for families to build trust with our organization and build leadership within the community. Once engaged with PY+, Lili is able to provide ongoing intensive case management and serve as a liaison for these students and their needs in school and the larger community.
Key Priorities
This project addresses multiple priorities:
providing legal information/advice, services;
outreach and education about support, policies, programs, services and preparedness and;
community organizing, civic engagement and advocacy.
Lili attends the regular District 41 Community Relations US Citizenship and Immigrations meeting to remain updated on immigration law updates.
Lili facilitated two Neighborhood Works staff to assist 35 families in completing IDA financial stability applications, providing a $2,500 match for emergency savings with an additional up to $30,000 in housing assistance.
Lili is our OHP Assister and a Certified Community Health Worker.
This project will also include:
monthly bilingual informational workshops
monthly parent advisory and affinity groups to support leadership development and advocacy.
In addition, our CRS will provide resource navigation and referrals throughout the year.
Parent Advisory Board
This year, we have received a grant through the OCF Latino Partnership Program to support Lili in facilitating affinity groups and a parent advisory board for our Latino/a/e families. The Parent Advisory Board would include guest speakers, education, and discussions aimed at informing parents about their rights, answering questions, and generally empowering them to take a more proactive role in their children’s education. Guest speakers potentially include school administrators, law enforcement representatives, immigration attorneys, DHS workers, special education staff, and others. The meetings will be organized by Lili, assisted by volunteers who will earn a small stipend. The meetings would be open to the parents of PY+ participants.