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BACK Seniors Bring Community to Immigrants By Amy Chen, Contra Costa Times (09-18-04) CONCORD -- Every Wednesday after school, 10-year-old Stephanie Hernandez brings her 9-year-old sister, Denise, and 4-year-old brother, Kevin, to story hour in the community room of the apartment complex where they live. They color pictures, listen to stories and tell "Miss Cathie" what they did in school that day. " Miss Cathie" is Concord resident Cathie Wright, 69, who visits the Camara Circle Apartments every week as part of an effort by some longtime residents to help new immigrants get acclimated. Armed with books, colored pencils and paper, Wright also brings lollipops, Popsicles and prizes for the 14 children who show up for her community-room story hour. " I'm sorry to say that I just don't think they get to the library much if someone doesn't bring it to them," said Wright, a retired elementary school teacher. Wright is one of 30 members of a group called the Senior Action Team, which is part of a netw! ork of six neighborhood groups working with the Monument Community Partnership to improve education, employment, health and housing in the 10-square-mile strip known as the Monument Corridor. " Anything I can do to help them adjust is going to make my life, their life and the community as a whole better," said Sally Smith, 66, a Concord resident since 1960. "It's a win-win for everybody." The Senior Action Team formed nearly five years ago with the idea that seniors are "young in heart, rich in experience," said coordinator Mary Lou Laubscher, 73, who has lived in Concord since 1954. The lack of a library branch in the Monument area spurred the group's creation of the Senior Story Readers, who go into two apartment complexes and other community sites, including the family literacy center at Cambridge Elementary School and Keller House on Clayton Road. Team volunteers also teach English and computer classes at Monument Futures, a center that ! aims to place day laborers in jobs. In addition, English-speaking team members can take classes in conversational Spanish taught by their Spanish-speaking colleagues. Lucy Keller, 60, immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 1969 and moved to Concord a year later. " When people say they don't want to learn (English), it's very seldom that's true," said Keller, a retired sales clerk. "The majority want to. They're here, and they love it. " Keller alternates between English and Spanish when she reads at the family literacy center. " We need to give them a hand to get assimilated. -- Maybe then there is a way for them to have a future, " Keller said. Such programs help bridge the language and generation gaps between non-Latino seniors and the Spanish-speaking community, said Judith Rosenberg, executive director of Transformation Through Education and Mutual Support, or TEAMS. Understanding cultural norms also helps explain differences, such as the habit of some Latino immigrants to congregate in front y! ards and the tendency of longtime residents to socialize in back yards, Rosenberg said. Rosenberg said the resident-driven approach is unique to Concord in Contra Costa County. Cities in other areas, including Mountain View, Stockton and San Francisco, have similar neighborhood groups. The Camara Circle program began about three years ago as a story hour for toddlers and preschoolers. In March, when Wright came aboard, it became an after-school program for children up to age 10. Fifth-grader Pedro Garcia, 10, said he is a regular at story hour "because there's nothing to do in the house. I come to get candy and to color. " During the summer, the programs attracted up to 18 kids a session. " We know the parents now, so the siblings just bring the little ones," said Judy Starks, director of resident services at Camara Circle. "To me, there's a trust that's been built. " By November, Senior Action Team members hope to unveil ! a children's library at another story-hour site, Lakeside Apartments on Oakmead Drive. " We want to get them loving books and reading to their brothers and sisters," Laubscher said.
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