Latina Moms Connect offer post-testing guidance in Spanish

“How long do I have to wait for results?”

“Who can I call for help?”

“Why can’t I get tested right now?”

“What happens next?”

These are some of the questions asked every day at COVID-19 testing sites. When there’s a language barrier, it can be impossible to get answers.

Fortunately, a group of Long Island Latina moms was right around the corner, waiting to lend a helping hand — or voice.

On April 20, a COVID-19 testing site opened in Wyandanch, at The HRHCare Martin Luther King Jr. Health Center. Suffolk County Legis. Jason Richberg, (D-West Babylon) says there was a need for bilingual interpreters at the site for Long Islanders who arrive to be tested and need resources and information in Spanish.

Dorothy Santana is the founder of Latina Moms Connect (formerly called Latina Moms of Long Island). Santana, with volunteer Kelly Ureña, has harnessed the network to provide post-testing guidance at the Wyandanch testing site for Spanish speakers.

Santana of North Babylon felt strongly about creating a network of Latina-identifying mothers in 2014. The idea came out of conversations she had with other parents, where they brainstormed how they could bring their children closer to their roots while living on Long Island.

“We were wondering, are we doing enough to ensure our kids feel proud of who they are?” she said. “We want them to feel good about the fact that they might have a different skin tone than most of the kids in their classroom, or that the texture of their hair is different, or they may have an accent if they speak two languages.”

After having many of these discussions, Santana’s plan was to foster a space for mothers to come together and “explore different ideas and solutions and tools they've used to enhance their parenting experience and share their cultures with their kids,” she said. The group often gathered for local meetups, where they would cook traditional meals, have thoughtful discussions and celebrate the holidays.

When the pandemic began, Santana began reaching out to county officials and offering ways for her group to help communities on a larger scale, and now volunteers spend time talking to people getting tested at the Wyandanch site every day. Richberg added there are Haitian Creole interpreters as well.

“We really have the opportunity to verbally and visually connect with people who are getting tested, and you see in their eyes the fear, the anxiety and the uncertainty of what’s happening,” Santana said. 

“To be able to connect with someone who speaks your language, it’s invaluable,” she said. “In that moment, I think it offers the person being tested the chance to ease their anxiety.”

After nurses test Long Islanders from their car, the driver can pull up and talk to volunteers like Shirley Vargas, co-leader of Latina Moms Connect. She has volunteered at the testing site twice now, and plans to be there two afternoons a week going forward (Richberg says they try to make sure there are interpreters at the site every day). 

Vargas, an AP Spanish teacher at Westbury High School, said she never imagined herself working in the medical field. She sees this as an opportunity to use her skills for an important cause — Vargas provides people with helpful phone numbers, information about local food banks, and advice on what to do after they have been tested. She also gives out packets of resources, hand sanitizer, masks and gloves.

“I feel that [after] conversations I had with many people that came, they left OK,” Vargas said. “It’s also a sense of gratification, too, because so many of them give you blessings. I’m really just being a voice; I'm not doing anything else except being a voice and I feel that’s impactful.”

Vargas said Latina Moms Connect really sprung into action once data began to show how hard minority groups have been impacted by the coronavirus on Long Island, in terms of fatalities. She believes the Wyandanch testing site will become more populated as people start learning about its accessibility. Richberg agreed that word-of-mouth will increase numbers at the site.

The questions Vargas is asked most frequently are about the wait time for results — “It’s a four to five day wait, sometimes seven depending on the day they’re here,” she said. This is because testing is only done on weekdays.

Vargas added that she has also had to tell people who show up without an appointment that they must make one and return later.

“I feel it’s even more crucial to do it in the language they’re comfortable with, so they understand they’re not being turned away for any other reason except the fact that they need the actual appointment,” she said.

Santana said her network is also available to deliver food to people in need in emergency situations. She has been volunteering at the food distribution center at St. Hugh of Lincoln Roman Catholic Church in Huntington Station, where she makes announcements in Spanish (with a megaphone) about picking up food and how to complete the census.

Santana and Vargas both say they will continue to help for as long as it is needed. And currently, there is a great need.

“In the two hours I was [at the testing site] last time, out of let’s say 10 cars, eight of them had Latino families in them,” Vargas said. “It’s significant, but it’s also wonderful to know they're coming to get tested.” 

“I’m just hoping this doesn't have to go on for too long, but at the same time I'm very willing to continue to provide that — as we say in Spanish — la despedida as they’re exiting, saying, ‘It’s OK. You’re not the only one.’ ” 

By Rachel Weiss

rachel.weiss@newsday.com@RachMWeiss

Rachel Weiss joined Newsday in 2016. As a real estate/living multimedia reporter, Rachel writes feature stories and contributes to and appears in on-camera video packages. She was the lead reporter on Newsday’s LI Acts of Kindness series.