Conference for Farmworker Women to address and promote health, immigration and safety issues
VISALIA – Providing easy access to essential services to the women who are the backbone of the local agricultural economy is the mission of the 17th Annual Farmworker Women’s Conference being held at the Visalia Convention Center on Friday, Nov. 2 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Conference coordinator Lali Moheno asserts that the conference is a collaborative effort with the goal of “improving the health, mental health, and family status of the farmworker woman.” This year’s conference emphasizes maintaining health and safety for the whole family. Sessions this year encompass suicide prevention, chronic disease prevention and mental health resources, family services and parenting, work fraud, human trafficking, special needs education and reading programs, social security and immigration information.
Community partners including the Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency (HHSA), the Tulare County Office of Education, the State of California Department of Industrial Relations, Employment Development Department (EDD), the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department, Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, Proteus, Inc., Univision Canal 21, CalVans, AT&T, and many others.
“This conference is an opportunity for the women who tirelessly work to put food on our table, to learn about how to care for their health and the health of their families, said Jason T. Britt, HHSA agency director. “For some this may be the only opportunity they have all year to learn about available resources to improve the health and lives of their families.”
The conference will be conducted exclusively in Spanish, with translators available for monolingual English speakers. Music is being provided by Los Malandrines, with a special style show by “Campesinas del Valle de San Joaquin.” Child care will be provided by the Proteus Inc. Child Care Program and a licensed child care provider. Transportation will be available at participating schools. Registration is free to farmworker women; participants will be provided a continental breakfast and lunch, and have a chance to win door prizes, gift certificates, and food baskets.
