 to our show. We are the voice for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host Barbara DeLuca, founder and president and my co-host is Marisol Ruiz, our co-founder and vice president. Today's guest is Iris Mendoza or Iris. She is a language access coordinator for H-C-I-R. That's the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights. Welcome to our show, Iris. Thank you for having me here. I'm super excited. Thank you. Of course, you're welcome. Why don't you tell us about yourself, your family, bad friends, and how you ended up in this role? Of course, of course. So first of all, I want to say thank you for inviting me to your show. It's super exciting for me to connect with the Hispanic community here on a walk of a year last year and this year, just kind of finding the Hispanic community after moving here from California four years ago. So a little bit about myself is I'm originally from Orange County, California, Huntington Beach, but I've been coming back and forth to Oahu specifically and other islands in Hawaii for about 11 years just to visit family, visit friends, but I was born and raised over there. So eventually during one of my trips, I met my husband. So I ended up staying here. He is native Hawaiian, so it's really important for him to stay on the island as someone that was born and raised here, not being displaced from his, basically his homeland. So we both made the decision of staying here as long as we can. So I'm here now, but as I transitioned from California to Hawaii, I always lived close to the beach, so that was kind of like the common thing I had with Hawaii, but it was kind of culture shock for me, not seeing so many Latinos at first, not really experiencing that sense of having my family here, not knowing where to go for good Mexican food. So it was kind of a big shock for me when it came to my culture. At the same time, I was embracing the Hawaiian culture head on, kind of going to a lot of culture events with my husband, but I felt like something was missing. So during my time here, when I moved to Hawaii, I was still, I was actually working in a corporate setting for a big company in California. Kind of, I was the underwriter for insurance and kind of underwriting multi-million dollar homes, completely different than what I'm doing now. So going from that, kind of living here and then still working remotely in that corporation, I realized, hey, my heart wasn't all there anymore. I realized like I wanna do something a little bit more fulfilling where I'm actually helping people because my actual passion in life is to kind of advocate for people that are like my parents, their first, their immigrants that came from Mexico and my dad was one of those people that he actually got citizenship through the amnesty he worked in the fields in California all over North Cal and he kind of, he ran from ICE, basically everything. So I know that he faced a lot of struggles with language access, being able to find resources for himself. So, and then me growing up, being their interpreter, it's kind of like, I want other people that are like me that grew up, I want them to understand that, hey, you're not alone. There's like a big sister, I guess I would consider myself a big sister now that can help you help your parents. So, you're the auntie. Yeah, like the auntie, big sister, just you're trying to help our community kind of rise up and know that they're not alone, feel a sense of belonging in Hawaii, of course, remaining respectful to our native Hawaiian brothers and sisters. I think you and Marisol have a lot in common your pathway and... I know, I'm like listening, I'm listening to you and I'm like, everything you're saying is, we're like sisters, but you know, that's a common story with so many first generation Americans, right? Is our, I don't know if it's always our nature, but we evolve to become, I think these people where you want to help others and you want to advocate because that kind of becomes your role from being really, really young. And it just is what it is, right? And it's great because we're helping our families, but sometimes my sister and I sit down and we kind of look back at childhood and we have this conversation and it's like, wow, it was such a burden to carry without realizing that, right? Huge responsibility, knowing about things that sometimes children shouldn't know about or translating things that are just way more, beyond a scope that like, at least in my case, for a child, just too much responsibility, right? But it kind of forces you to step up when you don't know any better, right? And then you do, you find yourself in these roles where you go from insurance and you know that there's something that's more fulfilling because you see and you've lived with people that have needed that kind of help. And I mean, my experience is similar. My mother, I'm first generation American as well. My father immigrated from Mexico and my mother from El Salvador and then I was born in LA and the exact same thing, you know? And they did all of the, you know, working. Yeah. You know, anyways, but yeah. No, yeah, I can tell you would definitely relate. It's, you know, it's a very common story within our community. It is. And you know what's interesting too? I mean, one of the things we don't, I don't think I give ourselves credit enough also for our accomplishments and accolades and things that we do because it seems like it's expected and it's almost normal and it's what we should be doing. You know, I sat at this round table and they were saying, you know, talk about yourself, say some, you know, great things and this one wonderful lady, she was, you know, she's saying I'm first generation American. I'm the first to go to college. And I was like, me too, me too in my head, right? But I didn't even think to talk about these things because to me it seems like, I don't know, it's almost expected, right? But yeah, I can totally relate too. I think it's awesome. But how do you make that transition from doing something corporate and you know, an insurance underwriter to something that is more service oriented? I mean, that's a big jump, I think, right? So how does that transition even occur? How does that opportunity come up? Can you tell us a little bit about that? Of course, yes. So the way basically the transition happened after the Maui wildfires, so August 8th, which ironically is also the day I got married. So after that, I realized like that, you know, I noticed that there was a lot of pages on Instagram of Latinos in Maui asking for help. They were saying that they didn't understand the language, that a lot of the resources that were coming, like for example, FEMA, Red Cross, a lot of it was not in language. So I remember kind of going through a lot of Instagram pages and just kind of, I just compelled to me, like I needed to help in a way, but I just didn't know how. So I remember finding Pacific Gateway Centers Instagram and they had a job opening for a Spanish bilingual, Spanish Kukua Navigator for a hotline that they were opening for basically all immigrant communities. So the hotline serves Chupis, Marshallese, Ilocano, Tagalog, Tongan, Spanish. So I remember seeing the job opening and I'm like, you know what? I'm gonna jump on it. I don't know if it's something I could do right now, but I am gonna commit myself to it. So I spoke to Torina Wong, she's amazing. And she brought me on board and I started working on that hotline from home, just answering phone calls from fire victims that spoke Spanish. So that's how I transitioned kind of into this field, just working for non-profit, basically from corporate to nonprofit was through that hotline. And through that hotline, I actually was introduced to Liza, which she is the director of the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights. And then a few months later, you know, we collaborated, she interviewed me and she brought me on as a language access coordinator for them. It was definitely not an easy transition, let's just say that, because usually when it comes to working as an underwriter, you can just turn off your work after you're done, you can just clock out and it's done. You don't have to worry about it till the next day. With this type of work, I would stay up at night all the time trying to balance that transition, just kind of figuring out, hey, how can I help this person that called on the hotline, his whole family passed away? You know, what can I do for him? What kind of resources can I offer him? And he doesn't speak English. And a lot of this information is not in language, what can we do? So working on the hotline, the Immigration Resource Center, a multilingual hotline and working with the coalition, we were kind of able to collaborate ideas on ways to help things to do, but it was definitely not an easy transition, but it was very fulfilling. Just being able to help and just hearing the relief that people got once they called and they would say, hablas español. And I'm like, sí, claro, hablas español. And after their whole life, you know, got taken from them, they either lost their homes or they lost kids. And then for them to hear, like, sí, hablas español, sí, yo soy de México. How can I help you? They would be in tears. They're like, oh my gosh, yo soy de México. I'm Mexican, I don't, you know, I'm scared. We, I don't have, you know, documents. I don't know what to do. So this is the amazing thing about the hotline is it's a safe space. So, you know, we were able to offer resources, kind of refer them to those resources without fear. And then we were able to serve as the people that, you know, would kind of first contact those resources to see if they were in danger of, you know, any type of legal repercussion because of their legal status. So really fulfilling is just a hard transition. I feel a lot better now getting used to it. Do you feel that, I mean, I, and I'm only speaking from like real personal experience, like just with my family and my mother. Like, I mean, we wouldn't even go to the doctor. Like, I remember I was literally like, my appendix was going to like blow out. And it was like, I took every remedy, T7 up, spray, like everything except going to the hospital because we're under the radar. Well, they were under the radar, right? Oh yeah. So there was this inherent fear of just keeping a low profile, don't ruffle any feathers, don't expose yourself, you know. So in a situation like this, how do you, those that are bold enough to call or even know that this, you know, this resource is available and this information, you know, they're bold enough to take that action. How do you find, and how do you know where there's so many others I can imagine that weren't bold and that are still maybe laying low for that fear of potential deportation? So how do you, how do you communicate that? That like you said, you know it's a safe space, right? But how do you really, truly convey that? And how do you reach those other people? Like I can't imagine. Can you talk a little bit about that? Of course, yes. So it takes a lot of courage for people to call. Like you said, it's taking that first step. But the main, the way that we were able to gain people to call was word of mouth. It first starts with establishing trust with the people that called. So whether it was like a CEO that called, you know, or an anti-calling, just kind of letting her know right, right off the bat, hey, I know you're scared to call. We're really thankful that you called. We wanna let you know that we will not disclose your information, we're here to help you. And all the information that you give us today, it's not recorded, it's the safe space. And kind of laying that out for them. And then the main way is word of mouth. They would spread the word to other people because of course, you know, in our community and our Hispanic community, a lot of times people that come straight from Mexico, other Latin American countries, they don't know how to use technology that well. So we couldn't rely solely on technology. So it was mostly letting them know, hey, can you please? Yeah, coconut wireless, yes. Just letting them know to refer us. And then another way that we were able to get the word out for the hotline and for them to call us. And not just the Hispanic community, it was basically going to the Lahaina ourselves and going to these communities, identifying grassroots organizations, such as Roots Reborn, they're amazing. Veronica is someone that's a powerhouse out there helping our community. So identifying organizations and working with them as a coalition and trying to give them those resources, give them in language flyers for them to be able to hand out to the communities that they built trust with. So that's the main way. We had to do it ourselves because it wasn't being advertised on television. We asked a lot of government agencies for help. And unfortunately, the lag was way too big. So we had to do it ourselves. And we flew out to Lahaina countless times to go to the hotels and identify LEP communities and just give them flyers in every language. Can you say LEP? What does that mean? Limited English proficiency. So basically they don't speak English. So we identified them in the hotels. We actually went to hotels, four hotels, and we passed out flyers. And we actually generated some calls for the hotline that way as well. Sounds like trust, understandably, is a huge issue. Would you say are there any other concerning things that you saw happening in the LEP community in Lahaina after the wildfire? Yes, so I think the need for language access is imperative, especially to have a blueprint in Hawaii. It's already the law. It's just the thing is it's not being implemented correctly. So just the coalition we're advocating for language access. Again, even though we shouldn't have to because it's already the law, we noticed a huge lag for the LEP community. Basically when it came to resources from FEMA, any resources basically that were given to wildfire survivors in Maui, a lot of it was not in the languages that people could understand. So a lot of the people didn't, they weren't able to apply for these resources by the deadline. So then it was up to us to kind of try to get extensions for them, try to help them having resource fairs for them to basically come in and have interpreters there. So I think the biggest problem was the lack of language access within our community, especially in disasters. We did one of the days where we went to canvas hotels, myself and the coalition. And we did, the biggest thing that we found was super alarming was, so what triggered me going over there was, I noticed that I was getting a lot of calls from Latinos saying that, hey, where can we get free food? We're staying at the hotels that are paid for by FEMA and the Red Cross. And then I said, hey, you guys should be getting free food at the hotels. What's going on? And then they were saying that they didn't have food, they didn't have money for food. So what we did is we organized the trip out there and we actually went into the cafeterias where the food is supposed to be served and the food was being served. That wasn't the issue. There was plenty of food, but the information was not in language. So, and the check-in process was not in language, meaning it was not in Spanish. It was not in other languages that people could understand. So when people were checking in, there was no kind of written material that said, hey, la comida empieza a las tres de la tarde. It didn't give a schedule of free food when the food started, nothing. Or it was free. They see people. Or it was free. You know, do we have to pay for it? There's so many questions that are not answered. Exactly, so that was not in language. So that was really hard to see because I know for a fact that there was people in that hotel that were hungry. And we spoke to multiple people. Us, the coalition, were very, very persistent pushing people to get answers. So we actually went over to Red Cross and we said, hey, what's going on with the check-in process? What's going on? These people need to have in-language materials to tell them when the food is being served because we're getting calls on Oahu saying that they're hungry. So we try to coordinate with them several times. It's just, again, it's a lot of advocacy that we have to do because they are not, basically they, we're still, just sadly, we're still working on communicating with them so we can get them those pamphlets in-language. So they still haven't been responsive, yeah. It's creating those strategic partnerships with the other organizations, the Red Cross and FEMA. So you're all on the same page, right? Sounds like when the FBI comes in and takes over a police investigation like, okay, move over, we're here. But you need to be on the same page, especially, like you said, it's the law. So it's not a privilege, it's a right. Yeah. No, and that's, it's true. Language access is definitely not a privilege. It's a right. So we were advocating for that because if there's no language access, especially during emergency situations, people can lose their lives. They can lose their entire livelihood and it can ruin their lives. And a lot of people were kind of pushing back, saying, oh, well, this is, you know, there's always that argument. This is America. They have to speak, you know, whether it's Spanish or they have to speak English. They're not just talking about the Latino community. People are talking about like Filipino, other, you know, other communities. So we understand. There's no language. So it's, you know, it's a beautiful thing to be able to speak two languages. Exactly. So I think, you know, right now our biggest priority is to push for language access just because we saw how devastating it was to our communities, you know, whether it was Marshall East communities, Filipino community, Hispanic community, a lot of our people fell through the crack. And it was really hard to see that just because the, you know, just because the resources were not in Spanish, translated in Spanish, that they missed out on opportunities to apply for, you know, for things that they qualified for. I have a question. So when you say two questions, when you say language access, do you mean primarily like we're trying to translate documents, like make whatever information's there in the respective languages, right? Is that what you mean by language access or just before the, okay, so like translating, because, you know, when I'm sitting here, I'm listening and it's a little heartbreaking because everything is information, right? In any field, he who has the information has the power and the resources can be sitting there for your taking. And if you don't know they're there, it doesn't even matter, right? Exactly. You kind of provide that information because the stuff's there, basically. Am I correct? Exactly, everything. Yeah, you're completely right. All the resources were there. It was just, there was a lot, you know, FEMA did have interpreters, thankful for that, but there wasn't enough of them. There was interpreters available, but there wasn't enough. The lag to get a document pushed out and translated took way too long. Just kind of put our communities behind. And as you know, with our communities, it's very, it's a lot of hand holding, not because they don't know or they're not smart. It's because it's a whole different culture. A lot of fear goes into it, a lot of trust building. And so, you know, I think moving forward for if we, I think with the coalition, we're working on a blueprint for something to avoid anything like this happening again, because it's, again, I saw everything kind of unfolding and oh my goodness, this wouldn't happen anywhere else. It was insane. I have another part of my question, you know, you had said about you could turn off your job when you're an insurance underwriter and you're done. So there's something awesome about that, I get it. But when you come from a space of wanting to advocate and help people, how are you, have you been handling? I can't, I'm an extraordinarily emotional person. And I mean, you can't tell me a story, I'll start like bawling, anybody that knows me knows that. So how do you handle a situation like that where, I mean, you went from one end of the spectrum to the other where, I mean, you're dealing with disasters and loss of life and homes and how have you been able to navigate and deal with that because you can't turn it off, right? Your brain is going, how have you managed that? I think just separating sympathy from empathy, just making the, you know, just learning the difference. And then also using that empathy as fuel not so much as like feeling hopeless, using it as fuel to say, hey, no, esto no va a pasar para la otra vez. We're gonna keep pushing forward, we're gonna push bills, we're gonna do everything we can to avoid the situation. Kind of having like a five minute pity party and moving forward has been like my biggest thing. Just, you know, it's okay to feel sad. It's okay. It's terrible to see, you know, I had people sending me, like sadly, I had people sending me from our community, like people, you know, just like they, you know how our community, they record everything and there was people that sent me videos of people that were deceased and they were burned. And that was a lot. So kind of learning to set boundaries of what people, you know, what I'm willing to see and just kind of, yeah, again, using my empathy as fuel, just moving forward and balancing my life, going to the beach a lot has helped. And then again, you can never really turn it off, which is kind of, I guess it's the beauty because it fuels the passion, but kind of just using everything I'm seeing as fuel to advocate, I guess that's how I'm balancing. That's a great question. Still working on it, yeah. It's hard, I'm still working on it. It's a huge jump, but I think I'm doing a lot better. But yes. Can you tell us what resources are available or for the LA? Of course, why? Of course, so we, so a lot of people don't know, but Pacific Gateway Center has a center here on Oahu. They're actually in Honolulu on Umi Street. They offer a lot of resources for immigrants. So they offer shelter, housing assistance, clothing, food, healthcare. They offer employment or in entrepreneur services. The big thing that they offer is immigration legal services at low cost, which is really, really helpful. They also have a language, a Hawaii language bank. So if you ever need interpreters, they actually have a language bank that you can use. Organizations or businesses can actually use and hire interpreters through there. They also have resources. They can refer you to religious or spiritual, basically any needs that you have, whether it's religious or spiritual, they can kind of connect you with those spaces. They do a lot of outreach events and interpretation and translation services. So that's a huge one that I wanted to highlight. And they actually have a Pacific Gateway Center actually has a brand new office. It's a satellite office on Maui. So I recommend anyone on Maui going there, especially if they were affected by the wildfires. Are there any events coming up that you guys can share? So right now we're working on a COFA outreach event. So basically Micronesian community event. We're still working on it, but I will definitely keep you updated about any events we have. But for now, yeah. How can people find you and what's going on in the community? Of course. So the best way to keep up with us would be our Instagram. I know that I sent you the link. So it can possibly be found in the description, but it's h-i-c-i-r-c-i-r. And then that's our Instagram. And then you can go on our website, which is h-hawaii-colition-for-immigrant-rights.org. Is there anything you want to add before we end this wonderful conversation? Of course. I mean, listen, we could keep going. We have like 25 more questions to ask. I know. We don't have enough time, which is awesome. So we're definitely going to have to have you back. But yeah, is there anything you'd like to end with? We leave the floor to you, Iris. Yes. So if anyone watching ever needs any assistance, whether if you're Latino, Hispanic, from a different background, you can contact us, contact the coalition. We can refer you to the many organizations that we work with and we can get you the help you need. Even if we don't know the answer, we're going to find the answer for you. You're not alone and we're here to help you. Navigate, living in Hawaii. Thank you. Thank you. That was so much great information. Thank you. Perfect. Yep. This is... Thank you guys. With Iris Mendoza, with HCIR, the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights. And we'll be back in two weeks. Thank you for joining us today on Ola y Eloha and thank you to Think Tech Hawaii, Eloha. Gracias. Gracias. Thank you.