She stayed after to talk about her mom
On the second Wednesday of the last few months, neighbors pull up a chair at the Unidos Clubhouse. Some come straight from work. Some bring their kids. However they can show up, they show up.
Nurse Lawrence from Hoag leads our Diabetes and Nutrition Workshop, and what they bring is hard to find; health information delivered in a way that actually reaches our community.
Nurse Lawrence explains how to eat better, how to read a nutrition label, how to make small changes that protect the people we love.
Diabetes runs in many of our families. People carry that knowledge quietly, sometimes for years. These sessions give them a place to ask the questions they have been holding.
"My mom has diabetes. I never knew what to cook for her. Now I feel like I can actually help her." - A resident after the workshop
After one session, a resident stayed behind. She did not have a specific question.
She just wanted to talk about her mother, about what she had learned, about what she was going to try that week. That is the moment I think about when someone asks me why these partnerships matters.
Neighbors laugh in these sessions. They share what works in their kitchens. They ask follow-up questions and come back the next month with more.
This summer we are also adding a men's health workshop, because the men in our community deserve that same space to learn and ask questions without feeling out of place.
I’m grateful to Hoag and to Nurse Lawrence for showing up the way they do. And I’m are grateful to every neighbor who pulls up a chair and stays after.
With gratitude,
Miriam Zuñiga
Adult Program Director
