The Association of Mexicans in North Carolina (AMEXCAN) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2001 to support the Mexican and Latino community in North Carolina. Through community forums, AMEXCAN has found that major health issues exist in Latino communities, and immigrants face barriers to healthcare access like lack of insurance or being treated poorly due to their immigration status. AMEXCAN advocates for improving health and cultural understanding in the immigrant community by establishing partnerships and programs like community gardens that respect their culture.

1. Community Partnerships
For
Creating Sustainable Gardens
November 9, 2013

2. The mission of the Association of Mexicans
in North Carolina, Inc., (AMEXCAN), is to
promote the active participation of Mexicans
and Latinos in their new communities and
encourage the appreciation, understanding,
and prosperity of the Mexican and Latino
community through cultural, educational,
health, law and leadership activities.

3. The Association of Mexicans in North Carolina,
Inc., (AMEXCAN), is a non-profit organization
founded in September 2001 . AMEXCAN was
formed to support people in North Carolina who
are from Mexico and/or Latin America. However,
the director of the organization invites all
residents of North Carolina to join or
become a volunteer with AMEXCAN to
enjoy the culture, values, and traditions of
the Mexican and Latino people.

5. Resource/image from Pew Research Hispanic Center, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey.
51.9 million Hispanics lived in the U.S. in 2011…

6. Resource/image from Pew Research Hispanic Center, based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2011 American Community Survey.
…and Hispanics today make up 17% of the U.S.
population, up from 13% in 2000.

7. AMEXCAN has held a series of community forums
to determine what the people living in Latino
communities:
 feel are major health issues
need information about
have access to
experience as barriers

8. The
people
need
to
be
heard!
in their own communities, by people who respect their culture and their
families.
Agencies often give statistics to talk about health disparities.
The statistics show some common health problems in the Latino
communities of Eastern North Carolina.

9. “I have a medical problem, I need to see a doctor every
3 months.
Of course, it is expensive.”
“They humiliate me because I do
not have an insurance.”
“My husband is in the hospital. He is not well treated because he is
an immigrant.”
“I have been really sick but I could not go to see
the doctor because I do not have an insurance. I
am not qualified for Medicaid.”

11. If:
Immigration authorities are
in the process of deporting you,
sending you back to your native
country.
Deporting you will break up your family because
your children are US citizens and go to school here.
You are working every day but have no
documents to allow you to work “legally”.
In a yearlong investigation, the Applied Research Center, which publishes Colorlines.com, found that at
least 5,100 children whose parents are detained or deported are currently in foster care around the
United States.

12. How likely would you be to attend meetings about
growing healthy food?
It’s a great idea, and it could work…
How can the families be included in the design of
planning and design of the garden?

13. •Opportunities for the immigrant community to come together are
not easy to arrange:
•Many people don’t
have transportation
•Work days are often
10 hours or more
•Programs established and funded for outreach only work for
those who can get to the agency’s office. THAT IS NOT
COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
•Small groups who speak the language and understand the
culture of the immigrant community rarely have funds to work
with.

14. •Community groups are often approached by universities who
would like to do research there; but bring nothing to the table to
benefit the community.
•AMEXCAN has been able to collaborate
with other organizations to train Lay
Health Advisors –
Promotoras/Promotores who can teach in
their own language and in communities
where they are trusted.
•The Promotores have been trained for different health conditions;
helping to prevent, recognize and treat breast cancer and diabetes.

15. There is much work to be done and we need people who can
operate in a culturally competent manner. Referring to
immigrants as “illegal” is offensive. The term
“undocumented” is preferred.
It has often been stated that
“we all came from somewhere”.
The Latino community needs
advocacy to improve the overall health of the community.
Advocacy means overcoming the language barrier to
communicate their assets as well as their needs.
It also means establishing true partnerships.

16. The health of many immigrants actually declines when they
change from their native diet to what is available and
affordable at the grocery stores in their new communities.
Often, health disparities are described statistically with no
accounting for variables such as the availability of healthier
options.
There are many benefits to different ethnicities and
cultures working together. Each brings tradition and
wisdom to exchange. Eastern North Carolina’s population
is changing. We’ve got to hold on to the things that we
need, and learn to maximize our resources.

17. Juvencio Rocha Peralta, Executive Director
252 757-3916
juvenciorp@amexcannc.org
Kathy Whitaker Knight,
Program & Grants Coordinator
kathy.w.knight@amexcannc.org