WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.500 Hey y 'all, welcome to Questions You Didn't Ask. 00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:07.179 Did you know that this very spot could be showcasing 00:00:07.179 --> 00:00:10.320 your business or event? Whether it's an audio 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:14.460 ad on our podcast, or a visual ad on our new 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:18.100 YouTube station, or even both, we've got the 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:21.620 space for you. Nyesha Frey Consulting is reaching 00:00:21.620 --> 00:00:24.420 a growing audience of over a thousand leaders 00:00:24.420 --> 00:00:27.839 who are passionate about health equity, social 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:32.070 justice, and civil rights activism. These are 00:00:32.070 --> 00:00:35.329 professionals just like you working across higher 00:00:35.329 --> 00:00:40.409 education, research, healthcare, nonprofit, government, 00:00:40.590 --> 00:00:44.030 and even public health sectors. If you're ready 00:00:44.030 --> 00:00:46.630 to get your message in front of a dedicated and 00:00:46.630 --> 00:00:52.469 engaged audience, send me an email at naishafrayconsultingllc 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:57.149 at gmail .com. Let's talk about how we can help 00:00:57.149 --> 00:00:59.710 you connect with the people who need to hear 00:00:59.710 --> 00:01:02.829 about your services and products that advance 00:01:02.829 --> 00:01:06.969 health equity and wellness. Don't miss out. Get 00:01:06.969 --> 00:01:09.269 in the mix and let's make an impact together. 00:01:19.569 --> 00:01:22.609 Welcome back to Questions You Didn't Ask with 00:01:22.609 --> 00:01:25.890 me, Nyesha Frey, and my guest, Julissa Soto, 00:01:26.069 --> 00:01:30.140 as we continue the series. Ready or not, the 00:01:30.140 --> 00:01:32.959 real talk Black and Latino communities need. 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:35.579 Let's pick up where we left off. You mentioned 00:01:35.579 --> 00:01:38.299 your work in vaccine care. And one of the things 00:01:38.299 --> 00:01:41.900 that was an eye -opening experience to me was 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:46.340 how when COVID, you know, hit, especially here 00:01:46.340 --> 00:01:49.799 in North Carolina in the Triangle area, and we 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:53.180 saw the disproportionate impact among Black and 00:01:53.180 --> 00:01:56.329 Latino communities. and how it was literally 00:01:56.329 --> 00:01:58.790 killing us. And we started to receive funding. 00:01:59.230 --> 00:02:01.829 And a lot of that funding was meant for us to 00:02:01.829 --> 00:02:07.489 work together. But what I saw amongst my colleagues 00:02:07.489 --> 00:02:11.229 who were managing those funds, who were managing 00:02:11.229 --> 00:02:13.569 those programs, who were creating those collaborations, 00:02:13.830 --> 00:02:16.969 was that once we got the resources, everyone 00:02:16.969 --> 00:02:19.270 went to their respective corners and didn't really 00:02:19.270 --> 00:02:25.319 share. And it created some challenges where from 00:02:25.319 --> 00:02:28.939 my perspective and those of my colleagues, that 00:02:28.939 --> 00:02:32.960 Latinos were, at least in this community, in 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:35.580 these situations, were willing to come to our 00:02:35.580 --> 00:02:40.560 events to get resources. But when they had their 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:42.740 own, they didn't really invite us or make it 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:46.699 accessible to us in the same way that we made 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:49.120 it accessible to them. And so it put a really 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:54.319 negative taste in the mouth of researchers and 00:02:54.319 --> 00:02:57.580 healthcare practitioners that are Black and we're 00:02:57.580 --> 00:03:00.800 trying to work together. So let's talk a little 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.979 bit more about solutions. I really like to talk 00:03:03.979 --> 00:03:06.960 about solutions. We've identified a number of 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:09.759 the barriers. We've named racism. We've named 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:14.319 sexism. We've named propaganda. We've named political 00:03:14.319 --> 00:03:18.539 division. What do you think are things that we 00:03:18.539 --> 00:03:22.939 can do? We need to be more innovative. Right. 00:03:23.060 --> 00:03:27.259 And how we engage each other. You talked about 00:03:27.259 --> 00:03:30.500 the conferences and the conversations and the 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.780 honesty. Let's let's get a little bit more. What 00:03:32.780 --> 00:03:35.979 what inspires you? What motivates you? What are 00:03:35.979 --> 00:03:37.479 some of the things that you think that we can 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:41.879 do differently to try to meet our community's 00:03:41.879 --> 00:03:45.409 needs as it relates to health equity? You know, 00:03:45.490 --> 00:03:48.490 what really motivates me, continues to motivate 00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:52.189 me, is that discrimination and racism and classism 00:03:52.189 --> 00:03:54.810 and everything above and beyond it comes our 00:03:54.810 --> 00:03:59.810 way. And I don't know why that happened in North 00:03:59.810 --> 00:04:04.419 Carolina, but... in colorado when covet hit everyone 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:09.080 was vaccinated at a 90 rate but the latino community 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:12.080 the latino community was vaccinated under 50 00:04:12.080 --> 00:04:17.259 like around 47 and so in here it the opposite 00:04:17.259 --> 00:04:22.000 happened others run with all the resources and 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.100 they left us behind. So each state will have 00:04:25.100 --> 00:04:28.660 their own story, right? And that's before I work 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:32.779 with vaccines, my work was with behavioral health. 00:04:32.939 --> 00:04:36.420 The reason why is I am one of the suicide prevention 00:04:36.420 --> 00:04:38.959 commissioners for the state of Colorado and I 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:42.480 take the attempt seat survivor, right? So I used 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:44.800 to do a lot of work about being the voice of 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:46.819 the voiceless, speaking up and it can happen 00:04:46.819 --> 00:04:49.160 to you, doing all those campaigns in Spanish. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:53.279 And then COVID hit and I keep hearing that Latinos 00:04:53.279 --> 00:04:56.720 were vaccine hesitant. And that would upset me 00:04:56.720 --> 00:05:00.120 so much that I said, okay, let me organize one 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:03.699 clinic only so I can show the state and the health 00:05:03.699 --> 00:05:06.939 departments that is not hesitancy. Please stop 00:05:06.939 --> 00:05:10.339 putting labels on us. It's not hesitancy, it's 00:05:10.339 --> 00:05:12.839 the access. So they came to me, the state, and 00:05:12.839 --> 00:05:15.620 say, okay, you can organize one clinic and show 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:18.790 us, right? I was not going to be that successful 00:05:18.790 --> 00:05:22.370 because my expertise, my cup of tea was not vaccines 00:05:22.370 --> 00:05:25.009 and organizing clinics. It was behavioral health. 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:29.050 So when I started, I said, okay, well, I'm going 00:05:29.050 --> 00:05:31.629 to organize one clinic. I call my buddies. I 00:05:31.629 --> 00:05:35.750 call the MDs, the RNs, and I call all the healthcare 00:05:35.750 --> 00:05:38.550 professionals that could help me. And I said, 00:05:38.589 --> 00:05:41.069 okay, let's organize this. It's going to be only 00:05:41.069 --> 00:05:43.889 one clinic. And then after that, my plan was 00:05:43.889 --> 00:05:46.829 to back off. And, you know, and continue my work, 00:05:46.910 --> 00:05:49.410 right? I already show you how to do this. Well, 00:05:49.509 --> 00:05:54.689 my first clinic, I vaccinated 1 ,279 Latinos 00:05:54.689 --> 00:05:59.290 in one day. Get out of here. Yes. So I went back 00:05:59.290 --> 00:06:04.810 to the state and I said, I have here 1 ,279 Latinos. 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:08.829 Now, you know, it's not vaccine hesitancy. Please 00:06:08.829 --> 00:06:12.769 stop giving us labels. I would ask you to stop 00:06:12.769 --> 00:06:16.550 that. Now, you know, is access in meeting people 00:06:16.550 --> 00:06:19.009 where they're at and approaching them with respect 00:06:19.009 --> 00:06:22.610 and dignity. Until date, just by me thinking 00:06:22.610 --> 00:06:24.970 I was going to organize one clinic, I have organized 00:06:24.970 --> 00:06:29.810 430 clinics in the state of Colorado. I have 00:06:29.810 --> 00:06:33.939 vaccinated more than 40 ,000 Latinos. Have distributed 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:38.579 more than 230 ,000 home COVID -19 test boxes 00:06:38.579 --> 00:06:44.480 and 120 ,000 surgical masks. So I continue strong, 00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:48.639 getting better, fighting systems. So in Colorado, 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:52.500 it was being innovative. Like I said to you, 00:06:52.579 --> 00:06:55.740 I pivoted and I went to the nightclubs. I went 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:58.240 to the meat markets and I went to the places, 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.300 the state and the health departments they don't 00:07:00.300 --> 00:07:05.879 want to go to, like the hood. So, you know, I'm 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:08.100 telling you all this and I'm explaining all this 00:07:08.100 --> 00:07:10.439 because so you can see then some of the states, 00:07:10.540 --> 00:07:13.500 it was what happened in North Carolina. But in 00:07:13.500 --> 00:07:17.740 Colorado, that left us a very bad taste in our 00:07:17.740 --> 00:07:20.939 mouth by saying we were the last ones. Nobody 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:23.759 cared that we were dying here in this state. 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:26.519 It's a very difficult state, even though they 00:07:26.519 --> 00:07:29.220 say, quote unquote, it's a blue state. It's super 00:07:29.220 --> 00:07:34.089 conservative. And it was extremely hard to get 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:37.209 vaccines to the hood, to my community, but I 00:07:37.209 --> 00:07:40.810 have done it. And because of that work, the mayor 00:07:40.810 --> 00:07:44.889 of Denver declared Julissa Soto Day September 00:07:44.889 --> 00:07:50.290 15th for the city of Denver. But then the governor 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:54.269 of Colorado turned around and said, I want a 00:07:54.269 --> 00:07:57.310 Julissa Soto Day for Colorado. So I have two 00:07:57.310 --> 00:08:01.259 dates, September 15th for Denver. And September 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:07.319 20th for Colorado. I love it. Let's go, Julissa. 00:08:07.379 --> 00:08:11.100 Let's go. I love it. One thing that I just want 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:13.300 to lift up because I'm very passionate about 00:08:13.300 --> 00:08:16.500 behavioral health as well. And that people think 00:08:16.500 --> 00:08:19.860 and sometimes us as practitioners and advocates 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.759 think that behavioral health is different than 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:25.759 health care. And the thing that you just proved 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:29.019 is that behavioral health is health care. Right. 00:08:29.019 --> 00:08:33.340 Yes, it is. Right. And so you just you know, 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:37.840 it seemed like a big pivot. But in reality, it 00:08:37.840 --> 00:08:40.580 was just a slight pivot. And it also showed just 00:08:40.580 --> 00:08:45.259 just the power of, like you said, meeting people 00:08:45.259 --> 00:08:50.639 where they are at. And I just have to repeat 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:56.299 the point of approaching people and working with 00:08:56.299 --> 00:09:02.370 people. with respect and dignity. I mean, you 00:09:02.370 --> 00:09:05.950 brought that up even in regard to how Latinos 00:09:05.950 --> 00:09:11.309 go to the meat market for healthcare. That is 00:09:11.309 --> 00:09:14.370 a place where they can be themselves. And Black 00:09:14.370 --> 00:09:18.889 people are familiar with that. I think in my 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:22.769 approach, it's never to say that we should be 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:25.909 unified to the point that we don't. respect our 00:09:25.909 --> 00:09:27.509 own culture and that we think that we should 00:09:27.509 --> 00:09:30.429 all have the same culture. Not at all. There's 00:09:30.429 --> 00:09:32.889 certain conversations that we have to have within 00:09:32.889 --> 00:09:35.370 our own communities. There's certain features 00:09:35.370 --> 00:09:38.269 of our own culture that we have to hold on to 00:09:38.269 --> 00:09:41.669 in order to maintain our authenticity and keep 00:09:41.669 --> 00:09:46.590 that sense of comfort for people. But you said 00:09:46.590 --> 00:09:48.809 it, you went there, you literally went there. 00:09:48.889 --> 00:09:53.370 And I think that that is both a effective health 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.289 advocacy, community outreach and engagement strategy, 00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.450 as well as a political strategy. Because you 00:09:59.450 --> 00:10:03.730 said it, that somehow people didn't listen to 00:10:03.730 --> 00:10:07.409 what Kamala was saying. But maybe it was where 00:10:07.409 --> 00:10:11.210 she was saying it that was troubling or problematic. 00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:14.769 I don't know. I think she did a great job. I'm 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:17.990 sure you do too. I think so too. I think she 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:22.240 represents us well. And, you know, I honestly 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:24.840 and truly admire that woman because, you know, 00:10:24.860 --> 00:10:27.299 it's like, oh, my goodness, lady, you're going 00:10:27.299 --> 00:10:31.960 against this dog who don't care about anything. 00:10:32.179 --> 00:10:36.899 So, you know, for me, I will always remember 00:10:36.899 --> 00:10:43.320 how she stood strong and how she lead with elegance, 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:48.539 you know? Yes, yes, I agree wholeheartedly. I 00:10:48.539 --> 00:10:51.379 also just want to draw attention to the fact 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:55.679 that you did what I oftentimes advocate for, 00:10:55.820 --> 00:11:00.759 which is do not continue to do the same thing 00:11:00.759 --> 00:11:05.019 over and over again, expecting a different outcome. 00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:12.539 You were awarded and earned the resources. You 00:11:12.539 --> 00:11:15.830 made the argument and earned the resources. to 00:11:15.830 --> 00:11:19.350 do what others were afraid to do or just refuse 00:11:19.350 --> 00:11:23.149 to do, right? And that is you stepped out of 00:11:23.149 --> 00:11:28.009 the traditional setting, the traditional approach. 00:11:28.110 --> 00:11:30.490 And when I say traditional, I mean Eurocentric, 00:11:30.730 --> 00:11:34.669 right? Traditional American systems that are 00:11:34.669 --> 00:11:39.529 built around the comfort and privilege of white 00:11:39.529 --> 00:11:42.519 people. And I speak about this even in regard 00:11:42.519 --> 00:11:45.679 to an experience that I had as a breast cancer 00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.759 and health advocate in the faith community. And 00:11:48.759 --> 00:11:53.519 I will share this story about my church, Christian 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:57.159 Faith Baptist Church, had a longstanding partnership 00:11:57.159 --> 00:12:03.299 with a local health care provider that provided 00:12:03.299 --> 00:12:08.320 free mobile mammograms to our church members 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:11.259 annually. If people had insurance, they were 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:13.039 able to file their insurance. But if they did 00:12:13.039 --> 00:12:15.320 not have insurance, they were still able to get 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:18.779 their mammograms. And what I learned was that 00:12:18.779 --> 00:12:22.000 many of these women that attended my church and 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.700 in the surrounding community. relied on those 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:26.720 events, those annual events and partnerships 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:29.320 to get their mammograms. They weren't going to 00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:32.159 their PCP. They weren't going to, you know, they 00:12:32.159 --> 00:12:35.899 were waiting to go with the church and waiting 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:38.419 for the mobile van to come and show up and be 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:41.519 a part of our day. And it was usually very convenient. 00:12:41.720 --> 00:12:44.899 It was at our church. People could make their 00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:47.620 appointments months in advance. We facilitated 00:12:47.620 --> 00:12:50.879 the paperwork and they were able to either go 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:54.200 after church. or before church. And some people 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:56.480 even had their appointments during church. So 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.039 they were already there. We were meeting them 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:02.899 where they were at. And this one year, the same 00:13:02.899 --> 00:13:08.159 partner, who is a white -led healthcare agency, 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:13.399 told us weeks, just weeks, like one or two weeks. 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:17.519 Before our scheduled event that we would always 00:13:17.519 --> 00:13:19.639 end the event and schedule it for the next year. 00:13:19.720 --> 00:13:21.759 So we had been on the schedule for a whole year 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.879 that they weren't going to come. And they told 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.360 us that instead we could tell the women to come 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:32.620 to them at their specified location on their 00:13:32.620 --> 00:13:37.159 terms. Oh, no, no, no, no. The status quo got 00:13:37.159 --> 00:13:41.679 to go. Why do we need to come to you when we 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:43.580 don't know who you are? You're the one building 00:13:43.580 --> 00:13:47.580 the relationship with us, not us with you. On 00:13:47.580 --> 00:13:50.000 top of the fact that we already know what works. 00:13:50.480 --> 00:13:52.620 Right? We already know what works. So why are 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:56.179 you changing up now? Pure disrespect. You know, 00:13:56.200 --> 00:13:58.039 you know what it is. You know what it is, is 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:00.779 that they will never admit that a black woman 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:04.340 or the Latino woman can be successful, can pivot, 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:08.019 can multitask, can do all these things and still 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.179 go above, above and beyond for their own communities. 00:14:11.220 --> 00:14:14.120 You know, it's just almost impossible. It's a 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:16.679 lot of jealousy in there, too, my friend. Oh, 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:18.700 yeah. Well, I mean, and it's crazy because this 00:14:18.700 --> 00:14:21.580 was a longstanding relationship. So it wasn't 00:14:21.580 --> 00:14:24.200 even like, you don't know us, like you have the 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.700 data, we have the data. And so I did my best 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:31.840 to advocate, to call and speak to as many higher 00:14:31.840 --> 00:14:33.940 ups as I could to say, look, these women have 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:35.679 already submitted their paperwork. They have 00:14:35.679 --> 00:14:38.200 already been anticipating that they would get 00:14:38.200 --> 00:14:41.240 this breast cancer exam. And this was going to 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:45.179 be my first mammogram, right? And I was so disappointed. 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:48.080 And would you believe that the very next year 00:14:48.080 --> 00:14:51.419 I was diagnosed with breast cancer? Oh, my goodness. 00:14:51.840 --> 00:14:55.259 Bless your heart. So, I mean, people don't really 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:58.559 know. They do understand. They understand when 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:01.080 they're taking resources away from the community 00:15:01.080 --> 00:15:04.120 and away from these community centered environments 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:07.620 and these community rooted events and organizations, 00:15:07.919 --> 00:15:11.720 what the health impacts are. You know, as a public 00:15:11.720 --> 00:15:14.340 health professional, I went to them with the 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:17.159 statistics, with the epidemiology for our state, 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:20.700 for our county and said, you have to see. that 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:24.120 these Black women are at higher risk of dying 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:27.500 from breast cancer. We don't get breast cancer 00:15:27.500 --> 00:15:29.840 more often than any other group. We just die 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:32.559 from it more often than any other group. And 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:34.200 the fact that you're telling us that we're going 00:15:34.200 --> 00:15:36.379 to have to come to you at some time that doesn't 00:15:36.379 --> 00:15:39.179 work for us is letting us know exactly how you 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:43.149 feel about our health. Exactly. And pure disrespect, 00:15:43.309 --> 00:15:46.409 again. Where is the respect and the dignity here, 00:15:46.549 --> 00:15:50.250 you know? And what is sad is that the first programs 00:15:50.250 --> 00:15:53.990 that they say no to is BIPOC communities, you 00:15:53.990 --> 00:15:56.409 know? Those are the ones that struggle the most. 00:15:56.669 --> 00:15:59.429 The poor keeps getting poorer. And poor health. 00:15:59.529 --> 00:16:03.029 When I say poorer, it's like poor health. Yeah. 00:16:03.450 --> 00:16:06.070 If you're enjoying the show as much as we love 00:16:06.070 --> 00:16:09.769 creating it, consider showing your support. By 00:16:09.769 --> 00:16:13.590 buying us a cup of coffee, visit buymeacoffee 00:16:13.590 --> 00:16:20.070 .com slash Nyesha Frey O. That's buymeacoffee 00:16:20.070 --> 00:16:26.950 .com forward slash Nyesha Frey O. All one word. 00:16:27.049 --> 00:16:31.750 Each cup is just $5 and every single one helps 00:16:31.750 --> 00:16:34.889 us continue to produce, develop, and sustain 00:16:34.889 --> 00:16:38.100 the high quality content. You've come to expect 00:16:38.100 --> 00:16:41.360 from questions you didn't ask. Thank you for 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.980 your continued support. And let's keep the conversation 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:49.200 going. And it's also the hidden truth of our 00:16:49.200 --> 00:16:52.820 communities where people see those statistics. 00:16:52.980 --> 00:16:55.240 They speak those statistics, health statistics 00:16:55.240 --> 00:16:59.519 about who's dying, who's sick, who's obese, who's 00:16:59.519 --> 00:17:03.820 unwell, who's dealing with substance use, who's 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:07.539 dealing with depression and anxiety. Who's dealing 00:17:07.539 --> 00:17:09.700 with schizophrenia? Who's dealing with all of 00:17:09.700 --> 00:17:13.160 these other health issues? And it's constantly 00:17:13.160 --> 00:17:18.299 people of color, especially Black people, Indigenous 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:23.039 Native people, Latino people. And the idea is 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:28.440 you somehow did it to yourself. There is no accountability 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:33.640 on the part of the system to actually do anything 00:17:33.640 --> 00:17:37.990 different. And what used to blow my mind was 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:40.470 especially when I was in graduate school studying 00:17:40.470 --> 00:17:42.789 health behavior and public health. There's so 00:17:42.789 --> 00:17:47.150 much data that they teach you outright about 00:17:47.150 --> 00:17:49.730 what works and what doesn't work and what the 00:17:49.730 --> 00:17:52.349 effect of it is. And then those same people go 00:17:52.349 --> 00:17:54.730 and take jobs in health care administration, 00:17:55.170 --> 00:17:58.170 health policy, and they run programs and they're 00:17:58.170 --> 00:18:00.650 at the state level and they continue to do the 00:18:00.650 --> 00:18:04.309 opposite. And then they continue to produce the 00:18:04.309 --> 00:18:08.369 same outcomes. And then you have churches and 00:18:08.369 --> 00:18:11.150 you have people like Julissa and you have all 00:18:11.150 --> 00:18:13.069 these other folks that have joined my podcast 00:18:13.069 --> 00:18:15.670 over the years that have said there's another 00:18:15.670 --> 00:18:20.349 way to go about it. And when it comes time to 00:18:20.349 --> 00:18:23.069 allocate the resources, when it comes time to 00:18:23.069 --> 00:18:27.210 vote, when it comes time to do all the other 00:18:27.210 --> 00:18:30.430 things that are necessary, all of a sudden there's 00:18:30.430 --> 00:18:35.420 crickets. But the idea, like you just said, about 00:18:35.420 --> 00:18:37.779 the vaccines is that, oh, well, there's vaccine 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:40.940 hesitancy. Oh, well, it's because they don't 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:45.119 trust us. We don't know why. Yes. Yes. And that 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:48.940 was the idea. And I also feel that it's easier 00:18:48.940 --> 00:18:52.200 to say that it's vaccine hesitancy that is one 00:18:52.200 --> 00:18:54.619 way or the other in order for them not to come 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:56.799 out and meet people where they're at. Because 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.880 it really is like a pain in the butt, you know, 00:19:00.900 --> 00:19:03.839 like. for them to come out and serve the community 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.420 where they're at. I just don't understand how 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:11.240 is it that you're a public health servant, but 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.339 under your own conditions. Right. Public health 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:16.720 servant is that you're serving everyone out there, 00:19:16.759 --> 00:19:20.400 right? So I kind of... Don't understand that. 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:22.960 Don't understand why is it that they don't want 00:19:22.960 --> 00:19:26.279 to work on Friday, Saturdays and Sundays because 00:19:26.279 --> 00:19:30.319 immigrants, refugees have crazy working hours. 00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:32.019 You're not going to meet them Monday through 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:35.140 Friday, eight to two. You know, you need to be 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:38.299 out there hassling, you know, vaccines, clinics, 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:41.960 Friday nights, Saturdays, Sundays. That's where 00:19:41.960 --> 00:19:44.670 you need to be out there. meeting the community 00:19:44.670 --> 00:19:47.329 where they're at. But many of us say that we 00:19:47.329 --> 00:19:49.210 meet them where they're at, but that's not necessarily 00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:52.589 true. Health departments want to be spoiled. 00:19:52.890 --> 00:19:56.109 Health departments feel that they work so hard. 00:19:56.190 --> 00:19:59.369 I don't know how, but they feel that way. And 00:19:59.369 --> 00:20:01.849 they feel that way. And then they think that 00:20:01.849 --> 00:20:05.029 I'm the rude person that wants these clinics 00:20:05.029 --> 00:20:07.609 on the weekends. How am I being rude because 00:20:07.609 --> 00:20:10.680 I want to organize clinics on the weekends? You 00:20:10.680 --> 00:20:14.039 know, how is it? Or aggressive. I get labeled 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:17.390 too. I get lots of labels. So they say I'm very 00:20:17.390 --> 00:20:20.549 aggressive, that I get upset if they don't serve 00:20:20.549 --> 00:20:23.150 my community. That's not necessarily true. I 00:20:23.150 --> 00:20:25.650 get upset when I see you, that you're discriminating 00:20:25.650 --> 00:20:28.069 when you're providing the vaccine. Number two, 00:20:28.150 --> 00:20:32.950 I get very upset when I see that you have the 00:20:32.950 --> 00:20:35.369 staff to work on the weekends, but you're always 00:20:35.369 --> 00:20:37.470 telling me that you're a capacity, that you're 00:20:37.470 --> 00:20:40.009 short staff. You're coming up with all these 00:20:40.009 --> 00:20:43.609 lies because you don't want to be out there serving. 00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.980 the marginalized communities. You said it. I 00:20:48.980 --> 00:20:52.680 mean, what else can be said, right? Yeah, and 00:20:52.680 --> 00:20:56.539 I know that when some of the health care providers 00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:59.299 hear this podcast, I'm not assuming everyone, 00:20:59.539 --> 00:21:02.039 but I'm saying the things the way that they had 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:04.579 happened to me here in the state of Colorado. 00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:08.579 You know, my community can't get a chance, especially 00:21:08.579 --> 00:21:10.539 with the health departments. The health departments 00:21:10.539 --> 00:21:14.119 have a lot of work to do, and it's sad that they 00:21:14.119 --> 00:21:17.190 don't see it. They just want to go back to the 00:21:17.190 --> 00:21:19.710 status quo. They're like, okay, the pandemic 00:21:19.710 --> 00:21:23.789 is over. Now let's move on. And I say, no, I 00:21:23.789 --> 00:21:26.430 am not moving on. How about let's moving forward 00:21:26.430 --> 00:21:29.670 together? Don't move on. When you say I'm moving 00:21:29.670 --> 00:21:31.970 on, it's like, okay, this didn't happen. Let's 00:21:31.970 --> 00:21:34.990 go. We have to move on. How about moving forward? 00:21:35.230 --> 00:21:37.950 That's a better word for all of us to keep working 00:21:37.950 --> 00:21:41.490 together. And believe it or not, even though 00:21:41.490 --> 00:21:44.819 they say the pandemic is over. Guess what? I'm 00:21:44.819 --> 00:21:47.119 still struggling. I'm still struggling getting 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.599 the vaccines out there on the weekends. As we 00:21:49.599 --> 00:21:52.799 speak right now, I have one clinic going and 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.990 one of them. Food trucks, they have like a, it's 00:21:56.990 --> 00:21:58.990 a big space where they sell all kind of food. 00:21:59.089 --> 00:22:01.730 So that's where I'm having my vaccine clinic. 00:22:02.309 --> 00:22:05.410 And I don't ask the community to register because 00:22:05.410 --> 00:22:07.609 I know that they have a lot of traumas with the 00:22:07.609 --> 00:22:10.130 law, with immigration. I don't want them to think 00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:12.849 it's a setup. So it's first come, first serve. 00:22:13.009 --> 00:22:16.470 And I'm still getting a huge line. I'm still 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:21.250 providing two to 300 vaccines. So I am like, 00:22:21.369 --> 00:22:24.450 don't tell me that we were ever hesitant. We're 00:22:24.450 --> 00:22:29.190 still struggling with access. So when we think 00:22:29.190 --> 00:22:34.670 about, again, getting back to solutions, I think 00:22:34.670 --> 00:22:37.890 one of the solutions that we have is the thing 00:22:37.890 --> 00:22:40.049 that we have been saying lately in the Black 00:22:40.049 --> 00:22:45.490 community is listen to Black women. Right. Listen 00:22:45.490 --> 00:22:47.450 to Black women. Yeah, that's a good solution. 00:22:47.690 --> 00:22:50.390 Right. And I would say the same thing for you, 00:22:50.430 --> 00:22:53.029 Lisa. You know, the point is, is listen to the 00:22:53.029 --> 00:22:56.349 people who are closest to the problem. Listen 00:22:56.349 --> 00:23:00.289 to the people who can identify with the experience, 00:23:00.589 --> 00:23:05.329 right? So that you have solutions that fit the 00:23:05.329 --> 00:23:08.569 problem. And as we talked about before, not every 00:23:08.569 --> 00:23:12.450 Latino and not every Black person is suited to 00:23:12.450 --> 00:23:14.849 be able to engage with the community and meet 00:23:14.849 --> 00:23:17.869 the community where they are at. So we have to 00:23:17.869 --> 00:23:21.269 be very clear about having a community mind, 00:23:21.490 --> 00:23:26.190 but also having funders and supporters that will 00:23:26.190 --> 00:23:31.269 allow us to move forward or what some of my previous 00:23:31.269 --> 00:23:34.789 colleagues have shared, fail forward. I've talked 00:23:34.789 --> 00:23:39.109 with recently a native tribe here locally in 00:23:39.109 --> 00:23:41.029 North Carolina, and they talked about some of 00:23:41.029 --> 00:23:43.269 the challenges that they were having regarding 00:23:43.269 --> 00:23:46.119 getting vaccines out. flu shots and different 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:50.480 things like that out. And I know that I have 00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:53.539 a big imagination. And with a big imagination, 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:57.720 you oftentimes need a big purse, right? And so 00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:59.859 one of the things that I shared with them was 00:23:59.859 --> 00:24:02.400 like, what are some different ways that we can 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.839 go about giving people a little bit of what they 00:24:04.839 --> 00:24:06.960 want so that we can give them what they need, 00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:11.240 right? And we also talked about How can we have 00:24:11.240 --> 00:24:13.660 funders that would allow us to fail forward? 00:24:13.940 --> 00:24:17.519 So if you have an event and you're not Julissa 00:24:17.519 --> 00:24:21.819 Soto, right, with the magic touch, and people 00:24:21.819 --> 00:24:24.960 don't show up, can you still get some new funding 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:29.299 to work out how to make that successful because 00:24:29.299 --> 00:24:33.000 you know the need is still there? When you have 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:35.299 talked with community partners and consultants, 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:38.839 I mean, you have gone all over the world. What 00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:42.039 are some of the solutions and strategies that 00:24:42.039 --> 00:24:45.160 you have either been inspired by or share with 00:24:45.160 --> 00:24:49.279 others that make you feel like we can conquer 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:53.240 these challenges that we're facing? New laws, 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:57.140 new policies, new strategies, new funding models. 00:24:57.259 --> 00:25:00.079 Are there anything that really stand out or even 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:01.799 something that you're working on or starting 00:25:01.799 --> 00:25:05.319 to innovate now? You know, being like you say, 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:09.359 my work is global. I was doing some vaccine clinics 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:13.119 in Germany and also Italy, Switzerland, Paris, 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:18.740 Mexico. And I have visited 32 states here in 00:25:18.740 --> 00:25:22.299 the United States with my training on the power 00:25:22.299 --> 00:25:26.559 of cultural validation. That training is awesome. 00:25:26.839 --> 00:25:28.980 And later down the road, we can talk about that 00:25:28.980 --> 00:25:31.799 training. But what I have seen, what I have seen. 00:25:32.400 --> 00:25:36.880 about the partnership is that what I saw in Paris, 00:25:37.140 --> 00:25:40.579 the people are very straightforward and the co 00:25:40.579 --> 00:25:44.119 -presenters were being straight up honest, talking 00:25:44.119 --> 00:25:46.720 about the discrimination against the Black French 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:50.700 and the Muslims. And I saw how the partnership 00:25:50.700 --> 00:25:53.019 came together and they went together to one of 00:25:53.019 --> 00:25:55.579 the pharmaceutical companies and talk about their 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:59.710 ideas. the French, Black, and the Muslims. So 00:25:59.710 --> 00:26:02.509 I was like, ooh, that would be so nice if in 00:26:02.509 --> 00:26:05.690 the United States, the Black and Latino community 00:26:05.690 --> 00:26:09.329 could start a coalition where we can all talk 00:26:09.329 --> 00:26:12.549 about our challenges, not only with the community, 00:26:12.789 --> 00:26:16.450 but amongst each other and being honest and truthful 00:26:16.450 --> 00:26:21.099 so we can then, once we... talk about each other 00:26:21.099 --> 00:26:23.180 and say, what are our challenges about working 00:26:23.180 --> 00:26:25.339 with each other? Go to a pharmaceutical company 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:28.579 and say, this is the project we have. For example, 00:26:28.660 --> 00:26:31.119 you guys work extremely well with churches. We 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:33.839 do too. I have a program that is called Vaccine 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:36.990 Sunday, where I combine. Theology, science, and 00:26:36.990 --> 00:26:40.329 community. So I will speak at the pulpit and 00:26:40.329 --> 00:26:43.630 talk to the community about vaccines, but with 00:26:43.630 --> 00:26:46.789 the homily of the day, right? And I think that 00:26:46.789 --> 00:26:50.910 church movement among Black and Latinos should 00:26:50.910 --> 00:26:53.549 happen at a national level, but it hasn't happened 00:26:53.549 --> 00:26:58.410 yet where we're both united. So that's one of 00:26:58.410 --> 00:27:01.849 the ideas I thought that, oh, my God, what about 00:27:01.849 --> 00:27:04.450 if that would happen, especially for funding? 00:27:04.509 --> 00:27:07.349 Now the funding is going to be limited to a lot 00:27:07.349 --> 00:27:12.089 of us. And so we need to be very creative and 00:27:12.089 --> 00:27:15.730 pivot. Right, right. And, you know, one of the 00:27:15.730 --> 00:27:18.390 things that we've been talking about is how to 00:27:18.390 --> 00:27:24.140 not rely so heavily. on government funding, because 00:27:24.140 --> 00:27:27.660 in different states, different counties, and 00:27:27.660 --> 00:27:30.460 just overall in the United States, those funding 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:33.259 priorities are going to shift with this new administration. 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:37.140 And that's the case all the time. We're constantly 00:27:37.140 --> 00:27:40.359 shifting with new administrations, whether we 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:45.599 continue to be led by Democrats or shift to being 00:27:45.599 --> 00:27:49.599 led by Republicans. Government funding is oftentimes 00:27:50.599 --> 00:27:54.599 Not sustainable because, you know, most elected 00:27:54.599 --> 00:27:57.740 officials have four -year terms. If they're lucky, 00:27:57.839 --> 00:28:00.519 they have an eight -year term. They also have, 00:28:00.579 --> 00:28:03.880 some of them have two -year terms. And to affect 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:07.559 community change and public health impact, it's 00:28:07.559 --> 00:28:09.319 going to take much longer than that because, 00:28:09.440 --> 00:28:11.680 Julissa, the things that we talk about today, 00:28:11.819 --> 00:28:15.380 they didn't just start four years ago. They didn't 00:28:15.380 --> 00:28:17.539 just start two years ago. We're talking about 00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:23.309 deeply embedded systems. Belief, behaviors, attitudes, 00:28:23.769 --> 00:28:27.349 perceptions that are going to take a much more 00:28:27.349 --> 00:28:31.190 long -term type of commitment, financial commitment, 00:28:31.309 --> 00:28:36.630 and time commitment for us to see real change. 00:28:36.950 --> 00:28:41.569 And so as we're thinking about whether it's laws, 00:28:41.710 --> 00:28:44.690 policies, and programs, we also have to get creative 00:28:44.690 --> 00:28:49.220 about who we can approach outside of the government 00:28:49.220 --> 00:28:52.819 system, and who's going to stand up to make themselves 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:58.420 available to us, right? As funders, as philanthropists, 00:28:58.420 --> 00:29:02.720 as major donors, their money where their mouth 00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:05.700 is. Do you have any thoughts about the financing 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:10.119 side of that and how to get more creative with? 00:29:10.519 --> 00:29:12.839 funding these different innovations that we need 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:15.660 to make sure our communities are more healthy 00:29:15.660 --> 00:29:19.619 and equitable? You know, when it comes to funding, 00:29:19.920 --> 00:29:22.839 it's something that I need to think about also 00:29:22.839 --> 00:29:27.980 in pivot too. So I don't have 100 % the ideas, 00:29:28.160 --> 00:29:30.640 but, you know, I know everyone knows how to go 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:33.599 after funding for the pharmaceutical companies, 00:29:33.740 --> 00:29:36.410 writing grants and all of that. But now with 00:29:36.410 --> 00:29:38.529 federal dollars, I just don't know what's going 00:29:38.529 --> 00:29:43.369 to happen after January 1st. And I am just waiting 00:29:43.369 --> 00:29:50.250 to see in order for me to act and react, you 00:29:50.250 --> 00:29:53.609 know. Thank you for joining us on Questions You 00:29:53.609 --> 00:29:57.109 Didn't Ask with me, Nyesha Frey, and my guest, 00:29:57.230 --> 00:30:01.009 Julissa Soto. Tune in next week as we continue 00:30:01.009 --> 00:30:04.839 our series, Ready or Not. the real talk Black 00:30:04.839 --> 00:30:06.380 and Latino communities need.