Meet Yolanda, A San Diego Latino Health Coalition Promotora

This is Yolanda, a member of the San Diego Latino Health Coalition’s promotora team.

This amazing group of volunteer healthcare advocates works tirelessly to make sure every one of their neighbors has everything they need to survive and thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why do they do all this hard and often thankless work? Here’s a quick discussion we had with Yolanda:

“What have I learned? I’ve learned that raising your voice is very important and that the old saying about unity, ‘In unity lies strength and sharing of the message’ is essential for getting everyone the help they need,” Yolanda shared.

Per their website, the SD Latino Health Coalition has deep ties to the Latino community. The coalition’s goal is to reduce COVID-19 infection rates, increase access to vital information, increase participation in testing and tracing—and they have made huge strides in accomplishing that goal!

Yolanda continued: “We offer help to any and all, I don't hold back from helping. I don’t let language or any difference get in the way of making sure the community has the access they deserve.

A lot of the promotora’s work involves trust-building. It can be a slow grind, and the team spends a lot of time working to help neighbors feel safe and confident about accessing things like the vaccine, medical checkups, and other social services.

For me, it means a lot seeing a happy face because I connected someone with a resource they need. It's such a gratifying feeling that I get to keep with me, and I thank God for allowing me to serve my community, especially when it has so much need.”

A HUGE thank you to Yolanda and the whole team for their efforts, and thanks to all of you who got vaccinated and are working to keep City Heights safe!