Essential Services
Twenty years ago, Milbridge experienced a rapid influx of migrant farmworkers who decided to leave the migrant stream and settle in Downeast Maine. Today, Mano en Mano serves the communities of Milbridge and greater Washington County including this residential population of former migrant farmworkers and their families, most of whom still do seasonal work.
Akin to a community resource center, Mano en Mano functions as the connection between our clients and the services they need. Staff members help clients understand the processes they are a part of (from applying for public assistance to buying car insurance to visiting a health specialist) with the goal that, in the future, they will have the connections they need to access their resources on their own.
Mano en Mano clients often face difficulties when accessing essential services due to the rural geography of this region and the economic strain frequently associated with seasonal and subsistence work. For non-English speakers and recent migrants, language barriers, lack of social capital, and cultural differences also exist as barriers to meeting needs.
Requests for assistance often include needs for:
- Social services
- Interpretation and translation
- Health referrals
- Job training and financial help
- Legal referrals
- Education
- Housing
- Counseling
Mano en Mano is particularly successful because of the serious bonds of trust and connections staff members form with clients over time. One staff member’s story of an experience with a client illustrates the significance and necessity of Mano en Mano’s work:
“In March, we received a request for transportation and interpretation to a series of physical therapy appointments with a client, Sonia (name changed to maintain confidentiality), who had recently had a bad fall.
Sonia required transportation because she could not drive and her appointments were scheduled at a time when her family and friends were working.The physical therapist’s office did have its own interpreter. However, her first few appointments with this interpreter were not very positive experiences. She felt like she was unable to connect with the therapist and some of her needs were not met. Sonia preferred someone from Mano en Mano even though the clinic had an interpreter because she felt she would be better understood and respected with Mano en Mano’s support.
At one appointment, I realized that Sonia was feeling pain in several other areas of her body that hadn’t been communicated to the physical therapist in the previous visit. Sonia said that she had told the previous interpreter, but either the interpreter or the doctor had not understood the new problems. When I asked why Sonia didn’t say more or tell the doctor more about where the pain was focused, she responded, “I tried to say something but they didn’t understand me. Then I thought that if I kept asking questions or didn’t seem like I was improving, they would get mad at me. I’m actually feeling more pain and am only a little bit better, but don’t tell the doctor that.”
I assured Sonia that the doctor was there to help her improve and reduce the pain in her body, and that the doctor wanted to know if she was feeling pain elsewhere. I also explained that it was her right to keep asking questions and to make sure that the interpreter communicated her needs effectively to the physical therapist. I encouraged her to be more direct and to say what she wanted.
Sonia decided to take more time to ask questions and explain where she was feeling more pain. The doctor in turn gave her a different variety of exercises and stretches to work on that helped her to feel better. On the drive home after the appointment, Sonia told me that she felt her needs were met and that she was understood. At first, she hadn’t understood that the doctor wanted her to keep asking questions and explaining what was wrong. With trust and clear communication, Sonia knew exactly what was going on with her body and could keep improving accordingly.”