Spiritt Family Services Interview

Interview with Norma Yoguez, MS. LMFT

Program Manager

8000 Painter Ave

Whittier, CA. 90602

562–903–7000 ext 112

HOW DOES YOUR AGENCY PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH FAMILY LITERACY SUPPORT?

Norma: SPIRITT family services work very closely with the library, with Whittier College and also have the responsibility to work with community resources to provide services like tutoring because it is a requirement.

WHAT KIND OF FAMILY LITERACY SUPPORT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN YOUR AGENCY’S COMMUNITY?

Norma: We would like to see a lot more of Whittier College, not just one month service because we also have a lot of people that don’t know how to read or write. They want to participate but can’t. Reading makes a difference. Parents also want to get their GED and we want to support them, don’t know how but we are planning still.

HOW DOES YOUR COMMUNITY SUPPORT YOUR CLIENTS HEALTH?

Norma: We work with a lot of agencies in the community centers. They support them with not only literacy but also low-income families; sometimes they need basic needs like food and water. Every agency works differently and local libraries work with literacy, we want tutoring here as one of our services and we want a computer mobile lab so parents can use computers at any time. We want to work with Whittier College on this, on an ongoing basis.

WHAT KIND OF FAMILY HEALTH SUPPORT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THIS COMMUNITY?

Norma: The families need a lot of help with their children, because in this community families are very poor and don’t have the money for Nanny’s or boy and girls club, we need after school programs, some schools have it but they have a cap on them. We need more one on one, a lot of the time that can prevent dropouts.

WHAT COMMUNITY RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE AND WHAT COMMUNITY EVENTS ARE PUT ON TO SUPPORT SOCIAL CONNECTIONS?

We have a lot of events, like this Monday our thanksgiving event, we are expecting 200 people, we have one event a month, the parents are organizing them, they don’t ask for much but space, they even cook and prepare the activities they just ask for a safe space. During Halloween we had Dia de los Muertos, the families came and did their rituals, they talk about personal things that might create depression because they want to see their family and country during the holidays. But here they have a space to share and connect to others that are going through those troubles.