AGENTES DE CAMBIO

AGENTES DE CAMBIO

By Diana Garcia

Yazmin Espinoza arrived in San José in 2009 from her native Ensenada, Baja California. As a new immigrant, Yazmin encountered barriers to navigate a society that felt distant and strange. This motivated her to pursue a path that would allow her to help others; like a bridge, that’s how she started to create connections to bring people in a similar situation closer to the resources available in the community.
For 12 years, Yazmin has donated her time to ensure members of the community in East San José have tools to improve their health and quality of life. Yazmin teaches a variety of topics with the purpose of filling the gap between the community and resources available. Some of the classes that Yazmin teaches are resilience, parenting, and chronic diseases prevention. During the time she has facilitated these classes, many community members have come to see Yazmin as a reliable source of information.

“For 12 years, Yazmin has donated her time to ensure members of the community in East San José have tools to improve their health and quality of life”

During the pandemic, members of Yazmin’s community would call her to get more information about the virus. She shares, “In times of uncertainty, I feel like our people look for a cultural connection and familiarity that makes them feel understood and safe.” For Yazmin it is common to receive calls with questions that may well be addressed to health care professionals; but she is very clear to let people know that her role in the community is to educate, raise awareness, and empower them to look for the resources they need and deserve. She acknowledges her sense of responsibility in that dynamic: “I’m very aware of the fact that my contribution to the community comes with great responsibility, that’s why I’m very careful with what type of information I disseminate”.

“In times of uncertainty, I feel like our people look for a cultural connection and familiarity that makes them feel understood and safe.”

Yazmin currently teaches classes through the San José Public Library, Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Catholic Charities, and Sacred Heart Community Services. Thanks to her dedication as a volunteer, Yazmin has managed to get the organizations she is involved with to sponsor some of her certifications to serve the community in a responsible manner. Yazmin is a certified Zumba instructor and is certified in Holistic Nutrition by the American Fitness Professionals Association.

“Thanks to her dedication as a volunteer, Yazmin has managed to get the organizations she is involved with to sponsor some of her certification...”