More Than Housing: How CHIP Resident Services foster community and improve mental health BY RAUL CLEMENT
I
f you live in the North Valley, you may have heard of apartment communities in recent years is Promotores. Run by North CHIP. You may even know what it stands for: Community Valley Catholic Social Services, Promotores Housing Improvement Program. But while the name may aims to improve mental health in the Hmong and give you a clue about what CHIP does, it hardly paints the Latino communities through weekly educational support full picture. groups for adults and children. It’s true that CHIP provides housing for The word “educational” is important here. low-income and disadvantaged resiAs Norma Servin-Lacy, Program Manager dents. In fact, over its 50-year hisof Promotores, points out, “Mental tory, CHIP has built a staggering health is a big stigma in our com“They love it. 2,000 single family homes. They munity. People don’t want to seek I love it. It gets currently manage 18 rental help because they don’t want units across seven counties. them out of the house, to be seen as ‘crazy.’ There are But to say all CHIP does is also the language barriers and away from screens, and provide “housing” would be lack of access to service.” missing the bigger picture. interacting with other Promotores attempts to As Theresa Nantor, Director break down theses stigmas kids. During the pandemic, of Resident Services, puts it, through links to services, they became very isolated. CHIP believes in “treating the information, community whole person.” It affected their mental bonding and fun activities. One key to this is Resident The Kids Group meetings, held health.” Services. CHIP partners with twice weekly in the afternoons, over a dozen local nonprofits Guadalupe McNeil last between one and two hours, and service providers to offer Resident offer bilingual and mindfulness healthy eating, activities for chilactivities, and involve anything from dren, craft education, workforce mental health support to arts and development, college prep and summer crafts to help with homework. Resident programs. Most of these programs take place Guadalupe McNeil has seen firsthand the benat the apartment complexes themselves. This spares efits of these sessions for her two children, Marisela (17) and Marianna (13). residents the difficulties of travel and allows them to “They love it,” she says. “I love it. It gets them out of remain on familiar ground. the house, away from screens, and interacting with other A program that’s made a particular impact in CHIP
Resident Guadalupe McNeil (center) has seen firsthand the benefits of CHIP’s Promotores program for her two children, Marisela (17) and Marianna (13). PHOTO BY RAY LAAGER
kids. During the pandemic, they became very isolated. It affected their mental health.” It was the impact of the pandemic that Promotores wanted to address with one of their latest activities, Picture This: A Photovoice Project. Adults and children in CHIP residences were given cameras, instruction in photography, and told to shoot photos of their pandemic experience. The result was a series of posters combining text and image, a document of their experiences as Latinos in the U.S. during an uncertain time. These posters expressed their fears, anxieties, and the damage COVID-19 inflicted on their community—but also their hopes for the future and even the small moments of joy found during quarantine. McNeil feels it was an invaluable experience for her daughters, particularly Marisela. “She was able to express herself in a new way. It really brought her out of her shell.” So the next time you drive past CHIP housing, remember that you’re looking at more than an apartment complex. You’re looking at a source of connection. “You can get someone in housing,” Theresa Nantor says, “but if they don’t have the knowledge or tools to access resources in the community, and also be a part of the community, there’s a disconnect there.”
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CN&R
FEBRUARY 2, 2023