Yahoo Movies ‘We are still waiting.’ COVID has deepened disparities for Charlotte Latinx community
Wendy Mateo-Pascual, local Latinx advocate and leader, believes that God has always had a plan in her life.
“My passion is to work with the community to support people,” she said. “Sometimes, I think I was just born like that.”
Mateo-Pascual came to Charlotte from the Dominican Republic almost 20 years ago. In her home country, her advocacy started decades ago when she attended a hunger strike. She went on to advocate for Haitian immigrants, refugees, women, and domestic violence survivors.
In Charlotte, she co-founded one of the region’s only bicultural and bilingual community centers, the Camino Community Center.
Mateo-Pascual left the center a few years ago after serving as its leader for more than a decade but she continues health care advocacy for the Latinx community. As she’s watched the coronavirus pandemic ravage Charlotte’s most vulnerable populations, she’s been working for better communication about the virus and the vaccine for the Latinx community.
Mecklenburg’s Latinx population has been one of the county’s hardest hit during the pandemic — they are both more likely to contract the virus and lose loved ones from it, and also less likely to have health insurance and access to care.
A recent survey by Action NC shows that of 100 Black and Latinx participants, nearly half reported sickness during the pandemic, and three-fourths of those reported sick were told it was from COVID-19. More than half of all surveyed do not have health insurance, while 91% of undocumented participants do not have health insurance. And 17% had lost a family member from COVID-19.
“I care a lot about access to health services and building a healthy community,” Mateo-Pascual said. “People just don’t have the information. As always, it came late to the Latino community — and we are still waiting.”
The Observer interviewed Mateo-Pascual in January to find out more about her work.
Why was the creation of the Camino Community Center so important to the local Latinx community?
“It’s because it’s one of the populations with a lower level of insurance and less access to health care.”
Before the clinic was started back in 2004, many of their patients who were undocumented with chronic conditions didn’t have access to needed services. The Camino clinic provides physical and mental health services.
“Back in that time we didn’t have that many bilingual providers or interpreters on (the) hospital level. That’s why health care access was a big need. It’s still a big need. But today there are more resources.”
What are the increased mental health concerns associated with being an immigrant?
“Many times people think of health as physical only, but they don’t see the stress that being undocumented, for example, puts on health.
“We had many people who came to the clinic with a headache or stomach ache, and other physical symptoms. But when we started talking to them, their problems were more emotional and stress-related. They were in fear all the time, about having a job or the family they left behind in their home country. Many were alone here. In Latino countries, we’re very relational.
“There are a lot of elements that people don’t take into account that put pressure on Latinos here and creates health issues for the immigrant community.”
Why has the pandemic hit the local Latinx community so hard?
“It’s because of the inequity we lived in before the pandemic. Before, we didn’t have access to health care. Before, we didn’t have access to a lot of information. Before, we were low income and discrimination was in play. Before, Latino people were working in service jobs, in construction, hotels and restaurants. The pandemic visualized a situation that has been there for many years.
“When the pandemic started, it took 1 to 2 months before we started seeing information in Spanish. Everything was in English. It took time for our people to understand what was happening.”
Just last week, Mateo-Pascual worked with county leaders to put together an event to inform Latinx residents about the virus.
What else are some reasons for the spread in the Latinx community?
“There is still a lot of misinformation and lack of information in Spanish. And when you talk about homelessness, though you won’t see many Latinos on the street, it’s because we have a kind of informal homelessness. Sometimes there are 10 people living in an apartment for four. Those people cannot be isolated in a house.”
During your time as an activist in Charlotte, how have you seen it change?
“It hasn’t changed to the level we want, but I think it is moving little by little.
“Seventeen years ago, we didn’t have that many bilingual staffers, we didn’t have interpreters. Now, at different places, that is something that you can see. Some organizations are understanding, and they are investing resources to have bilingual staff. At the government level, now there is more interest to hear what the Latino community is thinking about. Now we have more people from our community participating.
“The community for many years has been asking to have a space at the table, but we have to move and take that space. We can’t continue waiting for someone to open the door. We have to make our way to be able to participate.”
What’s important for local Latinx people to know about COVID testing?
“Your immigrant status doesn’t matter, and you can be tested for free. And the information of the people will be protected. That information is not shared with any other agency. That is important — if people don’t go get tested or vaccinated, we don’t have that data and the government doesn’t have that data to make decisions. Then, that population isn’t getting the service they need.”
More information in Spanish
La respuesta al COVID-19 de Carolina del Norte
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