Conversaciones de Salud
...serving the Hispanic/Latinx/Latine/Latino/Afrodescendientes/Indige nous-Latino and Asian-Latino communities.
FROM:
FelizNavidad E-Newsletter
ADIÓS 2024 PAGE 2
FIGHTING FOR EDUCATION: Adriana Cerrillo’s Vision for Minneapolis Students PAGE 4
Conversaciones de Salud
TO:
Nuestra
INTRODUCING GANAS PAGE 5
A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO ENDING GUN VIOLENCE PAGE 6
HENNEPIN COUNTY OPIOID RESPONSE PAGE 8 THE LITTLE HOUSE ON NORTH EMERSON AVE. PAGE 9
ESQUINA LATINA Tradiciones de Navidad PAGE 10
Adiós 2024
By Carmen Robles
On behalf of Convesaciones de Salud gracias por su apoyo! I’m proud to be a Latina Minnesotana. Nuestro midwestern pueblo stands proud. Roots firmly planted in our resilience, tenacity, and sheer grit as we stand at the new year’s threshold, ready to embrace 2025 una epoca nueva. GRACIAS TO YOU!
The scores of supporters, volunteers and story tellers sharing deepest emotions, experts in the field sharing resources and information bringing Esperanza
Para Nuestra Communidad since 2019. Too many associates to name in this small space, but you know who you are! You are the behind-the-scenes Warriors ready to help carry the load. GRACIAS! Together se puede!
A special shout out to our 2024 partners: Hue-Man Partnership, Strong Mind Strong Body FoundationYouth Community Journalists Institute, University of Minnesota Parters4Pain Researchers, SPNN, SPEAK MPLS public tv, The Partnership for Male Youth and Pepê Figueroa. A heart felt gracias to Dr. Marc Gorelick MD author ‘Saving our Kids: An ER Doc’s Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis’ the official launch of our Book Club and Dr. Dziwe Ntaba MD who hosted us at the Community Center Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.
Conversaciones de Salud was born during the global pandemic when person to person community engagement suddenly ceased to exist. Through the help of mentors reimagining outreach Conversaciones de Salud entered the world of technology. By default, what began as an organic tool has blossomed into a beautiful, colorful, bilingual on-line and in print health resource newsmagazine. Along with quarterly virtual town hall conversations with the ‘Mi Casa es Su Casa’ approach to creating trust, so our community can make informed decisions.
Here's a peek into our plans for 2025:
ESPERANZA PARA LA COMUNIDAD – LA JUVENTUD
Conversaciones de Salud in partnership with Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation Youth Community Journalists Institute is bringing the world of journalism into our schools, neighborhoods, and communities. Our mission and vision continues to embrace the award-winning model of non-traditional youth apprenticeships. Connecting academics to hands on experience through community service.
Creating original Public Service Announcements/Campaigns for youth by youth.
Jovenes de Salud: Latino Youth Taking Action for Health, Education, Social Justice, and Economic Wealth have taken the proverbial baton in continuing to be the voice of health.
2 2 5 Bienvenido
Join us as our Jovenes create a peer-to-peer podcast and social media public service campaigns on health. The new decade series is fully produced by youth ages 13+.
Con mucho cariño, Carmen Robles and Associates LLC
Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation is a 501©3 nonprofit organization. Donations and support is lovingly encouraged and welcomed!
Fighting for Education: Adriana Cerrillo’s Vision for Minneapolis Students
Adriana Cerrillo, a dedicated advocate for educational equity and community empowerment, expresses heartfelt gratitude to the residents of District 4 in Minneapolis for trusting her to continue representing them on the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education. Her message reflects her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of students and ensuring every child has access to the quality education they deserve.
"I am so grateful to Minneapolis D4 residents for again trusting me to represent you in Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education," Cerrillo shares. "We are an incredible, diverse community, and we must continue working together to fight for our students."
Adriana emphasizes the urgent need to demand full funding for education, rallying the community to join her call to action: It is time to demand full funding for education now! #YESforKIDS thanks to all the volunteers!
Cal Ortiz and Adriana Cerrillo
Adriana Cerrillo
Dr. Dziwe Ntaba, Adriana Cerrillo, Dr. Marc Gorelick and Araceli Martinez
Introducing GANAS:
A New Column to Inspire and Empower Our Community
In this month’s issue of Conversaciones de Salud, we are thrilled to introduce our newest section, GANAS, a platform dedicated to sharing stories of ambition, perseverance, and success within the Latino community
Leading this section are two incredible leaders and alumni of Jóvenes de Salud: Michelle Amparan and Kassandra De La Cruz-Galbraith.
Michelle Amparan, a former President of Harding High School’s Jovenes de Salud Latino H.E.A.T. Class of 2008, continues to inspire as an Active Duty Captain in the U.S. Army with 14 years of service. Now stationed in Hawaii, Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and MBA ,while working as a realtor and contributing to her community through philanthropy. Michelle’s mission with GANAS is to encourage youth to dream big and achieve their goals, reminding us that with determination and a clear vision, no dream is too ambitious.
Kassandra De La Cruz-Galbraith, located in Charlotte, NC, is the founder of Jovenes de Salud ALMAS at Henry Sibley High School (now Two Rivers High School). As a New Homes Sales Partner, Kassandra continues to empower others through grassroots leadership and her work as a mentor, exemplifying the spirit of GANAS
The GANAS column will not only serve as a source of inspiration but also highlight the incredible accomplishments of Jóvenes de Salud alumni, a peer-to-peer youth-led mentor program focused on health, education, and social justice. With its roots dating back to 2005, Jóvenes de Salud has evolved into a movement that empowers students to make meaningful change in their communities.
We invite you to join us in celebrating the power of GANAS and the remarkable individuals who embody its values. Stay tuned for stories that inspire, uplift, and motivate us all to dream big and act boldly!
Kassandra De La Cruz-Galbraith
CPT Michelle Amparan
Love wins. It's easy to forget this with so much hate circulating.
But love never fails. We're not talking about a sentimental kind of love. We're talking about "love with its sleeves rolled up."
One of the most important lessons we can teach youth is the value of empathy and respect. Understanding and respecting others' perspectives, cultures, and experiences fosters emotional intelligence, resilience, and a sense of community.
The Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation not only helps them build strong relationships and navigate social situations but also encourages them to contribute positively to society. Teaching empathy prepares youth to approach challenges with an open mind and a compassionate heart, qualities that can help them grow into responsible, thoughtful, resilient, and impactful individuals. Recently, a 13-year-old eighth grader joined our youth community journalism team for the opioids virtual townhall five-year anniversary web show. Traumatized by her father’s recent death due to domestic gun violence, she acted out. Eventually, she was arrested and had to do community service. She was introduced to the Youth Community Journalism Institute Jovenes de Salud team.
This student has since grown in so many ways. Taking an active role as a photojournalist during a community journalism event we co-hosted in September, the Harvest Moon Block Party, at Cedar Field Park with the Indigenous community in Minneapolis. Participating in almost all of our community journalism events, creating community newspapers, learning media production skills for video and audio, and co-hosting “Youth Community Journalism” programs, including our November conversation with Dr. Marc Gorelick, the author of “Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc’s Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis.”
Guns kill more
children in the United States than anything else.
It's a shocking statistic. But it's true.
In 2023, firearms killed 4,456 children and teens ages 1 to 19 (out of 46,728 gun violence deaths overall in the U.S.), according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since 2013, gun death rates in children ages 1 to 17 have increased by 106 percent, the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions reports, and guns have been the leading cause of death among this group since 2020.
It's why United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthym declared gun violence a public health crisis this year.
So how do we solve it?
Where can we find common ground on one of the most divisive issues in America?
The solution, according to Dr. Marc Gorelick, the president and CEO of Children's Minnesota, is in public health.
Dr. Gorelick wrote "Saving Our Kids: An ER Doc's Common-Sense Solution to the Gun Crisis" to
More about the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation:
Youth Present Their Visions for Wedge Point Park With Haikus, Artwork, and Action Plan. (Click here to see more)
Wedge Point Park Youth Engagement Workshops Provide Innovative Path to New Minneapolis Park: Click here to see more & here to see more
Dr. Marc Gorelick and Jim Mitchel, WHY I AM Foundation Reaching Youth Where They're At
Dr. Dziwe Ntaba and Dr. Marc Gorelick
provide a roadmap that everyone can follow.
The key is taking a fresh look at the issue of guns through the lens of public health, leading the debate away from partisanship and toward practical steps and reasonable policies that will save children's lives.
Dr. Gorelick is a father, pediatrician, and leader of one of the largest independent pediatric health systems in the U.S. He has viewed the issue of gun violence up close, from many angles, for many years.
A COMMON SENSE APPROACH TO ENDING
By Eric Ortiz Published in Southwest Connector
All that experience has brought him to one conclusion: We can solve this crisis if we prioritize our children's health.
The Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation's Youth Community Journalism Institute, in partnership with Conversaciones de Salud and Jovenes de Salud at Carmen Robles and Associates LLC, hosted a community conversation with Dr. Gorelick on Nov. 19 at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain in Minneapolis to discuss gun violence and what we can do.
Dr. Dziwe Ntaba, far left, an emergency room doctor in Minneapolis and director of the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, looks at Dr. Marc Gorelick, center, with youth community journalists, left to right, Yareli Peña Howard, Cal Ortiz, Jesús Rojas, and Christian Flores after their community conversation on solutions for the gun violence crisis. (Carmen Robles)
DONATE
Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation is a 501©3 nonprofit organization. Donations and support is lovingly encouraged and welcomed!
Opioid addiction: What you need to know
Opioid addiction, also known as opioid use disorder, is an ongoing public health epidemic that affects millions of people and has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in recent decades. From 1999-2021, nearly 645,000 people in the U.S. died from prescription and illicit opioids, according to the CDC.
Given the magnitude of the crisis, addiction to opioids also impacts people in families and communities in the North Star State. In 2022 alone, 377 Hennepin County residents died from opioid-related deaths. That same year, 1,002 Minnesota residents died statewide, according to Minnesota Department of Health data.
These alarming numbers offer stark evidence opioid misuse is lethal. This guide from Hennepin County aims to raise awareness and understanding of the deadly issue and answer questions like: What are opioids? What is opioid addiction? What are opioid addiction signs?
Click here to see more
HELP IS HERE
710 West Broadway Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411 Exchange hours:
The HUE-MAN Partnership, led by Clarence Jones, and the Hawthorne Huddle at the forefront of the fight against opioid misuse in Hennepin County, Minneapolis. Alongside Carmen Robles, director of Conversaciones de Salud, these dedicated leaders are working to combat the opioid crisis within the community. Through collaborative efforts, education, and community outreach, they aim to raise awareness, provide resources, and support those affected by opioid misuse. We thank them for their commitment and tireless efforts to create a healthier, safer community for all.
Little House on North Emerson Ave.
By Carmen Robles
Originally from Pittsburgh, PA, Diana C. Hawkins now calls North Minneapolis home. She is a widow, a mother of two adult children, and a grandmother. She is also the proud granddaughter of a Native American Cherokee.
Hawkins holds dual Master of Science degrees in Project and Business Management. As the Cofounder and Executive Director of the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council, she completed the 20192020 Humphrey Policy Fellows program and now serves as a City of Minneapolis Charter Commissioner.
Diana describes herself as someone with “a passion for working in the community as a mentor and advocate.” Over the past 30 years, she has served on numerous boards and implemented projects, such as the Time-to-Read Literacy/ Mentoring program. Hawkins successfully lobbied for Nellie Stone Johnson School to be located in the Hawthorne Neighborhood and takes pride in her work with the City of Minneapolis CODE 4 program, which helped close eight crack houses in the area.
Diana Hawkins is the first Minnesotan to be recognized by the USA Network National “Erase the Hate” Honor Roll for her community efforts. Among her many accolades, she is most proud of receiving the Andrew Heiskell Award for her extraordinary contributions to public service, equal opportunity, and human rights.
It has been said that you can eat an elephant if you take it one bite at a time. One little step forward, a few steps back until you find your rhythm. There is no greater force than the gathering of neighbors, nothing more powerful than the swelling of a grassroots effort. That, in a nutshell, is the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council—a little house on the corner of Emerson and 30th Avenue North creating social change.
The captain steering that house, also known as the agency, is Diana C. Hawkins. Hawkins is the Co-founder and Executive Director, who, with a multitude of community neighbors, providers, stakeholders, and the grace of God, continues the never-ending journey of community engagement and empowerment.
“We all face challenges and changes as we get older, but we also gain wisdom. I want to follow my heart and embrace the greatest opportunities, as well as my boldest dreams, and turn them into realities,” said Hawkins. “I aim to reach beyond what society expects of me and focus on my studies, job, community, and family.”
As we enter the second quarter of the 21st century, Diana Hawkins continues to uphold her commitment to the mission of the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council: “To improve the quality of life in the Hawthorne neighborhood by empowering residents to address the physical, cultural, social, and economic needs of the community.”
The Hawthorne Neighborhood Council is a partner of Conversaciones de Salud
Diana Hawkins
En esta edición especial de Esquina Latina, celebramos la diversidad y la riqueza cultural de nuestra comunidad destacando las tradiciones de las fiestas que más nos unen. Nuestros colaboradores están compartiendo sus tradiciones favoritas de las fiestas, recetas deliciosas, música que alegra el corazón y mensajes llenos de esperanza para nuestra comunidad.
La ti na Esquina
¡Gracias por compartir!
Un favorito de los mexicanos: NAVIDADES de Luis Miguel
Click aquí para escuchar el albúm en YouTube
La parranda de Puerto Rico, una curiosa tradición navideña
En la Navidad latina sobresale la fiesta (la parranda de Puerto Rico), la música, la comida, la buena voluntad, la paz momentánea, la bebida, y todo ello se sintetiza de forma exponencial en Puerto Rico. Son los puertorriqueños quienes, además, tienen una fecunda tradición musical específica en la que se utilizan varios instrumentos propios de la Navidad de Puerto Rico. Las calles del país se llenan de música con el aguinaldo, la plena y el seis. Se trata de géneros musicales autóctonos junto a los villancicos, de tradición española. Hoy veremos, más específicamente, la parranda de Puerto Rico, una curiosa tradición boricua.
Click aquí para saber MÁS
Pasteles Puertoriqueños
Compartido por: Maria Ana Espinozade Nueva York
Click aquí para ver receta
La piñata, un símbolo icónico de la cultura mexicana, tiene sus orígenes en el siglo XVI cuando los frailes agustinos introdujeron esta tradición en las “misas de aguinaldo” que precedían la Navidad. Originalmente hechas de barro y decoradas con papel de colores, las piñatas representan una enseñanza espiritual: sus siete picos simbolizan los pecados capitales, que deben ser destruidos con fe y virtud. Rellenas de frutas, dulces y cacahuates, las piñatas no solo son un elemento central de las posadas, sino también un recordatorio de que la fe y la perseverancia conducen a recompensas divinas.
Click aquí para saber MÁS
Pernil en Slow Cooker por Kiki Stevens
Necesitas:
• Alrededor de 5 libras de "Butt Roast" o "Pork Shoulder", ambos cortes funcionan
• cucharadita de sal por cada libra de pernil
• 1 cucharadita de sal por cada libra de pernil
• 1 diente de ajo por cada libra de pernil
• 1 sobre de sazón regular con achiote
• 1/2 cucharada de adobo por cada libra de pernil
• Vinagre
Instrucciones
1. En un mortero o pilón muele el ajo.
2. Mezcla todo el ajo molido, sal y adobo, y añade vinagre hasta que se forme una pasta.
3. Con un cuchillo fino haz huecos por toda la carne.
4. Unta toda la mezcla al pernil y entrando con los dedos a los huecos.
5. Utiliza aceite en aerosol "PAM" en la olla de cocción lenta (Slow Cooker) para evitar que la carne se pegue.
6. Pon el pernil adentro de la olla y cocina de acuerdo a las siguientes especificaciones:
7. Fuego lento: cocine a fuego lento durante 8 a 12 horas
8. Fuego alto: cocine a fuego alto durante 5 a 6 horas
9. Una vez listo, puedes cortar o desmenuzar. Deja que se mezcle con su misma grasa para que sepa más jugoso.
