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Community Resource Center and School Partnering to Help Loleta Children
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September 9, 2009
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 A partnership between the St. Joseph Health System Loleta Community Resource Center (CRC) and Loleta Elementary School is helping local families better prepare their children for school.
Marina Cortez-Hash, coordinator of the Loleta resource center, and Sal Steinberg, superintendent of Loleta Elementary, are working together to help families in the Loleta area learn about and access basic resources like food, clothing, shelter and medical insurance – basic needs that, if not met, often prevent children from focusing on their schooling.
The resource center, which recently relocated to an unused classroom on the Loleta Elementary School premises, connects community residents with programs like Head Start, which is also located at the school, and the food pantry, which delivers food once a month to the Loleta Community Church. Cortez-Hash recently teamed with Food for People to provide lunches to children in the Loleta area during the summer months after the Boys & Girls Club lost funding for a similar program.
“Many times, families don’t know about programs that can ease some of their burden,” Cortez-Hash said. “I’m here to identify needs in the community and find resources to help.”
“Working with the community resource center enables us to offer services that ultimately benefit the entire family,” said Steinberg. “The healthier the family structure is, the better children will learn at school. We want to ensure that these children have a good future and must therefore make sure they have a healthy present.”
Cortez-Hash, who is fluent in Spanish, often helps Hispanic families living in the area understand and obtain the resources available to them. One of the services the resource center plans to offer is email and Internet for families without web access at home. Local families will be able to use this resource to connect with relatives living out of the area.
“A central part of offering resources in small towns like Loleta is to help people feel connected and part of the community,” Cortez-Hash said.
Together, Cortez-Hash and Steinberg hope to help improve the lives of families in Loleta and create a healthier, happier community.
To contact the Loleta Community Resource Center, call Marina Cortez-Hash at (707) 845-0464. To learn more about the programs and services available through the St. Joseph Health System – Humboldt County Community Resource Centers, visit www.stjosepheureka.org.
Caption: Loleta Community Resource Center coordinator Marina Cortez-Hash and Loleta Elementary School Superintendent Sal Steinberg are teaming up to help local families.
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