History of the Partnership

In Summer 1995, Dr. Noel Chrisman began to establish this long-lasting project in a community setting. Development of the project began with the aid of Mary Bartolo, Associate Director of Sea Mar Community Health Centers.

Cynthia Finney was a cross-cultural nursing graduate student who chose South Park as her course assignment. Through her, Noel was able to create a relationship with Guillermo Carvajal (who initiated a neighborhood association called Vecinos Latinos, Latino Neighbors).

The first class of undergraduate nursing students working in South Park was in Winter 1996. We made the decision to focus on the entire neighborhood rather than just Sea Mar. Our two projects were to begin the process of asset mapping and to assist with El Dia del Niño (Day of the Child). At the celebration, maternal-child health pamphlets were distributed in Spanish, a UW Latino fraternity participated (because of the assistance of graduate student Sergio Olivares), and we advertised UW educational opportunities.

In subsequent years, we have expanded the partnership, first at Concord International Elementary School. Claudia Allan (former principal) and Diane Weibling (family support worker) gave us a great start. Our major projects at Concord were Kindergarten Dental Screening and the Nutrition Dinners. We have partnered with the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the UW and with Sea Mar’s Dental Clinic for the screening activities.

The Director of Social and Health Services at Sea Mar was our next partner. Through projects with her, we were able to identify and develop more information about major organizational players in the neighborhood. Significant Sea Mar projects have been in maternal and child health, including development of a tracking system for Maternal Support Services. Denise Pitman, the former director of the South Park Recreation and Community Center, has worked with us on education projects with young teenagers to help them understand sexuality, substance abuse and healthy relationships. We have also carried out oral health projects with preschoolers at the Community Center.

Funding for grassroots Latino household research was received from the School of Nursing and the University of Washington in the Summer and Fall of 1997. We gained significant insights into the household health patterns within these households as well as supported emerging personal relationships within the neighborhood.