Although for UROC at CSUMB my current research is on-campus crisis communications amid the current COVID-19 pandemic, I have the opportunity to assist the Watsonville Law Center (WLC) in a similar research project.
For Spring 2020, I interned at WLC through a legal-aid internship, unfortunately, due to the shelter-in-place orders, my internship was cut short. This was a missed opportunity to learn, network, and make a stronger impact on the community. Thankfully, I remained optimistic and believe that when one door closes, another one opens. Marina X. Garcia, my mentor from WLC, contacted me regarding a remote research opportunity that would help the Executive Director, Henry Martin, in researching the language access and COVID-19 resources made available throughout all of California’s 58 Counties. Although it is challenging to take on two research projects at once, I could not turn down an opportunity to help make an impact.
Since mid-May, I have been collecting and organizing data on a spreadsheet with the help of two UC Santa Cruz students. By looking through each county website and collecting demographic information via the US Census, we can determine the effectiveness of the information provided to each community. It is interesting to find discrepancies and compare each county’s data. Something that stood out to me, after reviewing the data collected, is how although there is an equal percentage of English and Spanish speakers within some communities critical information is only provided through the English language.
The information collected brings up conversations about equity. Collectly we hope to use the data to reach out to WLC partners and make a difference to the communities by addressing these inequalities.
Jesus Orozco 