This article originally appeared in the January-February 2001 issue of the Children's Advocate newsmagazine, published by Action Alliance for Children. Grassroots Snapshots profiles efforts of small, local organizations around the state to make a difference for children and families.

Grassroots Snapshot

East Salinas parents say "No más" to alcohol outlets

By Melia Franklin

Candelaria Garcia was nervous when she stood up at a city hearing to speak against the latest liquor license proposed for her East Salinas neighborhood. "It was the first time I really spoke up," she says. But she was determined "to do something for the community and for the children."

East Salinas, a low-income neighborhood that is home to most of the city's Latino population, had the highest concentration of bars and liquor stores in the city. So Garcia and many of her neighbors joined Padres Creando Soluciones, Parents Creating Solutions (PCS), a grassroots group formed in 1997 to raise community awareness about the links between alcohol and violence and to stem the flow of alcohol outlets into the neighborhood. "We have realized that alcohol involves violence in the community," says Garcia.

Speaking "from the heart"

Like many PCS members, Garcia spoke from experience; her 10-year old daughter was at school when gang members exchanged gunfire nearby. "She heard every shot," recalls Garcia, and for months afterwards woke up crying from the memories.

Testimony from parents like Garcia has been key to winning the support of public officials, says Salinas city council member Jan Collins. "People come and speak from the heart. It takes folks who live there to really make a difference."

A few years ago, Salinas routinely approved all requests for alcohol permits. Now it turns down 80 percent. "That's pretty huge," says Linda Padilla Sanchez, director of Preventing Alcohol Related Trauma in Salinas (PARTS), a coalition of Salinas community agencies that helped organize PCS, which now involves 50 to 75 parents.

Two years ago, the group won its first big victory. A powerful developer wanted to anchor a proposed mall with a warehouse grocery store selling alcohol. A year-long PCS campaign defeated the plan. Today East Salinas has the mall, but in place of the alcohol outlet stands a child care center.

Supporting parent advocacy

The growing confidence of Garcia and other East Salinas parent advocates was nurtured by PARTS' ongoing training and support. "The talent was always there," says Sanchez. What PARTS provided was:

• Training through parent "coffee klatches" at elementary schools, where they encourage participants to form PCS chapters. Parents learn about how alcohol affects families and engage in role-playing to build their advocacy skills.

• Child care during public meetings, provided by Healthy Start volunteers and staff.

• Transportation to and from meetings, donated by a local company.

• Translation of flyers and other materials. PARTS also convinced the city to provide bilingual headsets at meetings so Spanish-speaking parents could participate.

• Ongoing support for outreach efforts. "Taking the time to meet before the meetings and answer questions" is key, says Sanchez. So is accompanying parents as they begin to go door-to-door. "You can't do it from your desk."

"A voice in the community"

Garcia is optimistic that Padres Creando Soluciones will create long-term, positive change in East Salinas. "With a lot of dedication, we can do it," she says.

Observers say that change has already begun. Terry Espinoza Baumgart, director of Alisal Commnity Healthy Start in East Salinas, says residents have moved from "a hopeless, helpless kind of feeling to a feeling that they can make a difference." In addition to continuing the struggle against alcohol outlets, PCS members got funding for walkie-talkies and safety vests and started walking children to school.

Now, when other issues come up, parents "are no longer afraid to speak up," says Baumgart. "There's a voice in the community. Before, there wasn't that voice."