Vista Community Clinic (VCC) is working on ways to support the health and wellness of everyone during a global crisis. VCC’s mission has always been to work with the most vulnerable, and they are certainly being put to the test in the face of COVID-19. Keeping everyone around us safe and healthy means supporting all of the groups that make up our communities, including migrant farmworkers.
The relationship between farmworkers and VCC spans back far before COVID-19. Since 2002, VCC has been designated as Migrant Health Center by the federal government with a special mandate to serve this population. In addition, the clinic was a founding member of the Farmworker CARE Coalition alongside various partner agencies in North County. Over the last 30 years, the coalition has grown and continues to work together to address the broader economic, political, environmental and social disparities which impact migrant and farmworker communities.
On April 20th a grassroots effort organized by various community members launched to show their support for farmworkers in a big way. They set out to organize a caravan of appreciation, a donation drive, and a fundraiser. The fundraiser was designated to comeback to Farmworker CARE Coalition to set up relief funds for farmworking communities in North County. These efforts culminated on Saturday, April 25th in Carlsbad where groups of cars drove to farms in Vista, Bonsall, and Oceanside. Signs were painted on posters and cars were decorated so that while many workers were still in the fields, they could see how valued and appreciated they are. The group was able to gather a large amount of donations and funds to provide direct relief to our farmworkers and their families.
As the global pandemic continues on, farmworkers are concerned about the virus’ spread, as working conditions don’t allow for the social distancing and constant hand washing that is recommended. Many are already struggling to access the resources needed for health and wellness. Farmworker communities need to be supported during this pandemic and beyond.
VCC and Farmworker CARE Coalition would like to thank each and every community member that organized this event. The impacts of these efforts will go well beyond the one day event.
The Chicano Federation has set up a donation fund where anyone who is interested in supporting these efforts can still do so. Please visit: https://chicanofederation.salsalabs.org/sandiegofarmworkerappreciationcaravandonationdrive/index.htmlAbout VCC:
With eight state-of-the-art locations in North San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties, VCC provides affordable, high quality health care to more than 69,000 community residents. Services offered by VCC include primary care, pediatrics, prenatal and women’s health, optometry, chiropractic care, dental health, podiatry, acupuncture and behavioral health services. VCC also offers a wide array of community health education programs which are free and open to all community residents. VCC is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 (highest) Patient-Centered Medical Home, and is the recipient of the HRSA National Quality Leader Seal for exceeding national clinical quality benchmarks. For more information call 760.631.5000 or visit www.vcc.org.
