May 1, 2003 By: yunews
New York, NY, May 1, 2003 -- For their most recent academic study, Associate Professor David Strug and Professor Susan Mason of Wurzweiler School of Social Work chose a subject close to home: the Hispanic immigrant community of Washington Heights, the northern Manhattan neighborhood.
Since the School is situated in this community, and in a particularly Hispanic area within it, it is important to understand the issues our neighbors face in getting social services,隆篓 said Dr. Strug.
The results of the qualitative, pilot study were published in the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Social Work, Vol. 10(3) 2002.
The Hispanic immigrant population of Washington Heights has grown over the last decade at a faster rate than the non-Hispanic population, with Dominican immigrants exerting a significant economic, cultural, and religious influence on the community.
The authors collected data from face-to-face interviews with community experts and focus groups with 30 Hispanic residents over six months.
The study identified the following unmet social service needs:
鈥 Affordable health-care services;
鈥 Mental health;
鈥 More adequate and affordable housing, as well as better sanitation;
鈥 Other needs included: higher wages, help negotiating public assistance, better education and more public schools, expanded legal aid, and improved public transportation;
鈥 Barriers preventing Hispanic residents from accessing social services include an inefficient delivery system, poor English, family disunity, and feelings of cultural alienation.
Drs. Mason and Strug conclude that social workers have an important role to play in increasing Hispanic immigrants隆娄 access to social services. This means advocating for greater immigrant aid, and for health-care facilities and government offices to recruit culturally sensitive, Spanish-speaking staff.
