Cultural Competency means much more than just serving Spanish Rice…
New York City is one of the most diverse cities in the world. This richness in our make up has not always been appreciated or understood. During the 1950’s the prevailing “Melting Pot” theory promulgating the need for assimilation discounted the strong cultural traditions and belief systems retained by all immigrant groups. The legacy of this limited view was the alienation of many diverse communities from services and programs developed to assist them.
Since the 1970’s Edwin Méndez-Santiago has served as an innovator and advocate in addressing the needs for cultural and linguistic competency. He developed the “Ethnic Ramp”[1] concept to promote outreach and increased utilization of services by low income older adults in Brooklyn and Queens. The Ethnic Ramp promotes the proactive use of “Culture as a Tool” to move beyond sensitivity and political correctness and address the changes in program design and staff training required to improve utilization of services.
This approach empowers the client and avoids any latent blaming the victim attitude for the barriers that keeps them from accessing services. The Ethnic Ramp concept has been successfully used to address the needs of diverse consumers from many ethnic, racial and immigrant backgrounds.
Consulting Support Available:
- Comprehensive evaluation of current services, practices and policies to diagnose barriers to diversity and cultural competency
- Custom designed process tailored to the needs of your organization to increase cultural competency
- Targeted outreach to identify, educate and serve communities under utilizing programs and services
- Training modules for staff and Boards of Directors on Diversity and Cultural Competency in the workplace
- Support in recruitment of Board Members to enhance diversity at the leadership level of the organization
- Support in recruitment of staff and volunteers to enhance diversity at all levels of the organization
[1] “Ethnic Ramp” and “Culture as a tool not a barrier” were developed during Mr. Méndez-Santiago’s tenure as Executive Director at the Spanish Speaking Elderly Council-RAICES.