Galvanizing a Community To Increase Health Access for Women

By Lynda Baker

Small groups of immigrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa countries of Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan are among Orange County’s most vulnerable and underserved populations in need of health care. Displaced by civil war, drought, famine and persecution, they face cultural and language barriers and lifestyle and religious differences that can inhibit their integration into American society.

Red Sea is working to bridge the gap between the health care system and women in the community who have difficulty accessing services. This population benefits from case management from someone who knows their needs and cultural mores.

 

Helping this population overcome these obstacles, while maintaining the richness of their cultural and ethnic identities, is Red Sea Social Services (RSSS) in Anaheim—in the heart of “Little Arabia.” The agency provides East African and Middle Eastern women with health education and social services to help them become self-sufficient members of the community.

In December 2006, Red Sea Social Services received a three-year, $96,000 grant from TCWF to provide culturally specific health education and case management. Besides health care access and education, RSSS staff also provides translation and transportation to health appointments and serves as informal case managers.

“Red Sea is working to bridge the gap between the health care system and women in the community who have difficulty accessing services,” said Saba S. Brelvi, TCWF program director. “This population benefits from case management from someone who knows their needs and cultural mores.”

That “someone” is Bashir Idris, executive director of RSSS and a native of Eritrea, who established the agency in 2000, finding a critical need for services to this population. RSSS is one of the first agencies in the United States to target Eritreans and has become a model for others throughout the nation.

“Many [of these] women are single mothers who lack employment skills,” Idris said, adding that his agency also serves women who are married to self-employed individuals, 65 percent of whom work as drivers and have no medical insurance.

“It’s important to understand and respect the cultural needs of these women, who are mostly Muslim,” he said.

RSSS works to improve the health of East African women who have difficulty accessing the preventive health care services necessary to keep themselves and their families healthy. In addition to providing services from its Anaheim office, RSSS also hosts events in the community. From April to October, it holds monthly picnics that feature classes in nutrition, breast cancer detection, diabetes, prenatal care and parenting. Health care referrals are also offered.

Funds are increasingly scarce for the small agency, but Idris and his staff have developed collaborative relationships with other agencies to provide a broader spectrum of services. For example, a link with Maternal Outreach Management System (MOMS), an Orange County nonprofit agency that provides access to prenatal care, education and referral services to low-income pregnant women, benefits both agencies.

Through RSSS, the community has become recognized and accesses services through the Orange County Health Care Agency, the American Red Cross, the American Cancer Society and other local agencies.

Volunteers from the area share their expertise and time by keeping computers running and setting up and maintaining databases.

“Red Sea has galvanized support in the community,” TCWF’s Brelvi said. “They’ve built something that was needed that wasn’t there before.”

For more information, visit http://www.redseaca.org.