Collaboration Can Start Small
This connection started when Lauren Blanding received a promotional flier for a training on working with Latino community members. Blanding saw an opportunity for the state to reach out and connect with the Latino community, and she took it. She and Johnson attended the training and struck up a conversation with Hernandez; the relationship grew from there.
"A couple of weeks later, I went to my first Latino AIDS Coalition meeting as a representative of the Department of Mental Health," Blanding says. "I hear Latinos express their needs and concerns, and I can share with them information about our network of providers. I've heard from dentists, church leaders, and other community members who provide valuable insights."
Find Common Ground
Both groups quickly identified common ground that made participation in each other's activities mutually beneficial. In this case, the common ground was the health of Latinos struggling with substance use and misuse.
The state wanted to better understand barriers to service delivery for Latinos, and the Latino AIDS Coalition needed more information on prevention services available for Latinos with HIV who were at risk for depression and substance use. "Often, the most helpful linkages are found outside the scope of our traditional job descriptions," says Johnson. "So it’s important to find those places where needs intersect and then connect with the people involved."
Keep the Conversation Going
Blanding has literally gone the extra mile to keep this collaboration moving forward. Each month she drives 100 miles from her office in Montgomery to the coalition office in Birmingham to attend coalition meetings. She also attends trainings and workshops as often as her schedule allows.
In turn, Hernandez is committed to participating on the State Prevention Advisory Board and advocating for Alabama's Latino population. "It's important for us to have a voice at the table," she says. "Collaboration across our agencies is helping us talk honestly about health disparities in the Latino community."
Sometimes the conversation needs to go to uncomfortable places. This includes honest talk about attitudes toward Latinos and immigration in the South, some of which may "discourage Latinos (documented or undocumented) from seeking even general health care and treatment, regardless of eligibility."3
"This collaboration is helping us look at some identified barriers to Latinos accessing services, such as the fact that many Latinos are not accessing services because they’re concerned about immigration and citizenship issues," Johnson says. "That was a big AHA! moment for me. Now, we are working hand-in-hand with the Latino community to provide the necessary resources to one another—to continue to build."