More than four in 10 California’s farmworkers say they do not speak English — with nearly all reporting they do speak Spanish.
That reality helped inspire Farm Aid, in partnership with Migrant Clinicians Network, to hire a Spanish-speaking hotline operator to offer mental health services and other resources.
“I’m there to listen to them and how they say in Spanish ‘desahogarse’ [venting] and then afterwards we can try to find a route to what would best help them,” said Elizabeth Gonzalez Ibarra, who started in the role in November.
How it works
Elizabeth Gonzalez Ibarra getting the word out about the hotline at the Latino Farmer Conference in Escondido, California
(Courtesy Elizabeth Gonzalez Ibarra )
As the national hotline’s sole Mental Health First Aid Certified Spanish-language operator, Ibarra hears from farmworkers who are suffering not only from the pressures of poverty, but also from natural disasters.
Ibarra is based in Texas but she said she’s seen a lot of calls coming from California lately, especially Monterey County, where flooding has displaced thousands of residents.
What we know about the stressors
Devastating wildfires —and more recently, flooding— are major stressors for farmworkers who have their health and livelihoods affected by the onslaught of disasters, Ibarra said.
The pressures of farming are personal for her. Her…
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