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1 Reflection Paper #1 William A. Wallace NSG 431: Health Promotion for Families and Communities DePaul University Professor Vincent DePaul January 21, 2023

2 Reflection Paper #1 Early in our lives, we learn that the beginning of any relationship is important to its longevity, influence, and outcome. From grade-school friendships to lifelong connections, how we initially interact with others directly impacts the outcomes of our lives. Within the field of nursing, it is well established that the initial interaction with a patient has a lasting impact on the establishment of rapport, patient compliance, and health outcomes. Therefore, as I enter a seven- quarter relationship with my community-based service learning (CbSL) site, Erie Neighborhood House, it is important to reflect upon what I expect, attempt to understand the community I will be serving, and plan for any challenges I foresee. Through my reflection, I hope to foster a relationship with my CbSL site that will make a difference in the community. Expectations Since learning about Erie Neighborhood House, I have been enthusiastic about working alongside them to serve the Latinx community in Chicago. Established as a settlement house in 1870, Erie Neighborhood house has managed a difficult feat to evolve over its 150-year history to continuously serve changing populations amidst changing times. For example, despite initial establishment as a Presbyterian Church in service of Dutch immigrants, the influx of Italian, Polish, and Mexican immigrants to Chicago in the 20 th century changed the organization’s service population to predominately Catholic immigrants (Hellwig, 2020). The organization’s mission, and therefore my mission while working with them, is rooted in serving as a welcoming place to all attempting to make a new home in the United States. Perception of the Work Knowing the organization’s history as well as discussion with my site organizer, Susana Ortiz, has given me some insight as to the organization and community’s needs. My work with

3 Erie House will involve teaching English to immigrants so that they can thrive and find success in the United States. Erie Neighborhood House has a dire need for English tutors, with Ms. Ortiz reporting over 200 students awaiting a tutor. Therefore, I expect a great deal of work ahead and for progress to be quite slow. Learning a new language is a challenge requiring a great deal of effort, time, and dedication. The importance of learning English as a resident in the United States cannot be overstated. As Edelman and Kudzma (2022) point out in their examination of vulnerable populations, English proficiency directly impacts health outcomes within in the US medical system, and as immigrants already face greater health inequity, learning English can be a major step in reducing barriers to care. As I enter my work with Erie House, I must adapt my expectations to the reality of the important work I will be performing with my students. Teaching a language takes a lot of time, but every small lesson will improve my students’ abilities to adapt to life in a new country. While I hope that once my time with Erie House concludes I will have made an impact, I expect that there will still be a great deal of work to be done and many individuals still in need of English tutoring. Future Influence on Nursing Practice The chance to engage with Chicago’s Latinx community was a major factor as to why I wanted to complete my community-based service learning with Erie Neighborhood House. My future nursing goals include licensure as a nurse practitioner and working to provide primary care to immigrants and migrant workers. As a new arrival to the Chicagoland area, I expect for my time with my CbSL site to serve as an introduction to Chicago’s Latinx community. I hope that by working with Erie House and serving the community I am better able to understand Chicago’s Hispanic culture, the community’s needs, and barriers to care that community

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4 members face. Once I begin practice, I hope to implement this knowledge into better serving the vulnerable populations that I want to impact with my work. Initial Perceptions of the Community Erie Neighborhood House serves a largely low-income, immigrant Latinx community. Amongst this community are individuals of all ages, different citizenship statuses, and varying lengths of time as residents of the United States. The array of community members poses a unique challenge as well as a great deal of learning opportunities. Hispanic Culture as a Mix of Cultures Hispanics are usually thought of as one large cultural group, and while there are certain shared characteristics, immigrants from each country have a culture all their own. According to the 2020 census, 74% of Chicago’s Hispanic population identify as having Mexican origin (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020). My experience of Hispanic culture as a second-generation Cuban- American from Florida is vastly different to that of the predominately Mexican population served by Erie Neighborhood House. As a white Hispanic woman born in the United States who spoke mostly English at home growing up, my experience has been largely different to that of the community I will be serving. These differences will be important to consider as I approach my interactions with students and remaining mindful of them will allow me to better serve the community members of Erie House. While there will surely be some areas of difference, I do, however, understand the immigrant experience through my grandparents who shared many of the same struggles regarding language, citizenship, and job opportunities. Another shared characteristic amongst Hispanics is language. My fluency in Spanish will allow me to help those most in need of English tutoring by being able to work with students who have the least understanding of the English language to start with.

5 Potential Challenges One of the largest challenges I foresee upon beginning my work with Erie Neighborhood house is that of time. As a graduate student, my time is quite limited, and teaching an individual a second language requires a lot of time. I, unfortunately, am limited in my weekly availability based on my school schedule, and that will surely affect the progress of my students. However, I plan to combat this by working with the site organizers to create substitute sessions with another tutor, recorded audios, or a list of online YouTube videos for my students. Research has shown that even brief, 10-minute exposure to a second language task improves fluency (Shintel, 2018). Therefore, if I can provide a short daily exposure to English, their fluency can improve even during weeks I am limited on time and unable to meet for a tutoring session. The organizers at the site have been accommodating and understanding of my time restraints and I look forward to working with them to provide my students a beneficial learning experience. Conclusion Working with Erie Neighborhood House over the next seven quarters will be an enriching learning experience that will serve me well in my future career as a healthcare provider. After coordinating with my site, I have been assigned my first student for English tutoring. I am eager to begin teaching her English so that she can pass her citizenship exam. We have our first tutoring session scheduled for February 3, and I am awaiting curriculum materials provided by Erie House. The opportunity to serve individuals with experiences of immigration so akin to my own family’s means a great deal to me, and I hope to make a positive impact on the establishment of these community members in their new home country.

6 References Edelman, C. L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2022). Health promotion throughout the life span (10th ed.). Elsevier. Hellwig, M. (2020). A neighbor among neighbors: Erie neighborhood house: 150 years as a home with no borders . MIPJ. Shintel, H., & Faust, M. (2018). Warming up the language engines: Short-term second language use increases subsequent fluency. Frontiers in Communication, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00032 U.S. Census Bureau (2020). Hispanic or Latino origin by specific origin . https://data.census.gov/table?q=hispanics+chicago+2020&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B03001

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