Jaime Flores
Jaime is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. He moved to the United States in 1996, in search of job opportunities and the hope of a better quality of life. He lived in California, Florida, and Alabama before moving to Oregon with his family in 2007.
Jaime has worked in landscape, construction, and maintenance. He has also become a volunteer for several non-profits and is presently a Community Health Worker. Recently, he joined Familias en Acción’s Nutrition and Food Equity network of Food promotores. Further evidence of his integrity is that 21 years ago, Jaime saved his brother’s life by donating him a kidney. They are both healthy today.
As a Community Health Worker and a Food Promotor, Jaime seeks resources for Latino/x/e families in order to provide his community with guidance and support. Some of the services he helps people access are dental clinics and tele-health clinics, along with other resources for low-income families that do not have medical insurance.
Jaime also has facilitated health education classes such as Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), Managing Diabetes and Chronic Diseases and Mental Health Talks.
He lives and is very involved in Yamhill County, where Latino/x/e families are from different countries such as Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Puerto Rico. Most work in construction, landscaping, the fields, wineries, and nurseries.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, he has noticed a significant increase in people’s stress level, as they are very concerned about how to pay the rent and are worried that their electricity will be turned off, despite knowing that they cannot be evicted right now. As Jaime explained during an interview: “Debt increases, and our communities are very stressed about this. There are a lot of families that have lost their income or are working less hours; there is less work, and this creates fear in our communities.”
Jaime also told us that many families are afraid to go to the doctor and get tested for COVID-19, as they are uncertain about the cost of medical services and are afraid of repercussions relating to public services or deportation. Families are also afraid they won’t be seen by a doctor or they will be otherwise discriminated against.
Jaime has learned how to navigate the medical system and therefore has the tools to offer accurate information to Latino/x/e families, whom he helps get medical attention and financial aid.
He joined the Food Promotores Network in May 2020 and has been delivering food boxes every week to families in need, especially those with limited access to food and no means of transportation. He has also been providing vital information about services like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), such as how to enroll and gain access to food.
Jaime does this work because he finds it rewarding to fulfill his community’s needs, and he has become a major advocate in sharing resources. “There is a lot of help and services out there for our community, but our people are afraid, they are ashamed or embarrassed or they don’t know about these resources. It brings me joy to be able to support my people,” Jaime told us during an interview.