California State Rep. Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), alongside fellow Reps. Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-Colton) and Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), held a rally with Visión y Compromiso at the capitol to promote the proposed Promotora Advisory and Oversight Workgroup legislation.
The bill in question, AB 3149, would create a workgroup to ensure “services provided by Promotores or Promotoras are available and accessible to all eligible populations.”
A promotores, or promotoras, are liaison figures from the Latino community who are either volunteers or paid helpers who help patients and individuals receive appropriate medical care and services despite any language or cultural barriers. Promotores are not licensed health care workers.
“Communities across California rely on Promotoras to connect hard-to-reach populations to vital services and resources,” Garcia said in a press release. “To truly ensure health equity, we must amplify the voices of our Promotoras and fully integrate them into our healthcare infrastructure. We know them, we trust them, and California has a lot to benefit by utilizing their effective outreach methods and leadership by creating this advisory and oversight workgroup.”
Visión y Compromiso is an advocacy organization that is "is committed to community well being by supporting promotores and community health workers," according to their website.