By Arielle Windham, Empowered by Ladyboss Lifestyle
Dickinson Woman Helps New Americans Navigate Challenges
Monica Soto is a familiar face among Dickinson’s new American community and the area’s health providers. As part of the Lay Health Ambassadors, Soto provides translation services and other assistance to help new Hispanic residents navigate the challenging healthcare system.
It’s a challenge that Soto knows all too well. When she moved to the area nearly 20 years ago with her young family, there was no Hispanic community to welcome them. Her daughters were the first Spanish speakers enrolled in the local school. Her husband found ready work in the booming oil fields, but the language barrier made it difficult for Soto to find employment. Additionally, the lack of Spanish-language resources for important things like health care, education, housing, and other government services left Soto feeling alone in this new environment.
Determined to create a safe space for her children and other Hispanic families moving to the area, Soto began building the supportive community she would have wanted two decades before.
Home On The Range
Soto grew up in Mexico before immigrating to Watford City via California. To say she suffered culture shock is putting it mildly. Everything was different—from the weather to social situations.
She didn’t have a driver’s license, so something as simple as getting her children to school in the winter became an overwhelming experience. “I didn’t have a coat for that type of cold,” Soto said.
The loss of cultural support compounded the daily challenges. Even in California, she had been surrounded by Hispanic families and culture. Now, she was trying to raise her children to appreciate a heritage they no longer saw in their daily lives.
“Today it is much different,” Soto said. But when she first arrived in the area, finding the foods and decorations needed to celebrate her eldest daughter’s quinceañera was difficult, not to mention inviting guests. “I invited the whole community,” she said.
It would have been easy to retreat to her family. Like many new Americans, Soto struggled with mental health issues. She could focus inwardly and work to bring as much of Mexico as possible into her home. But what about others? There were jobs in North Dakota. Other new Americans would come. So instead, Soto looked outward.
Building Bridges
She began building the local Hispanic community one family at a time. From translation services to helping new families find housing and jobs, Soto worked tirelessly to help new Americans find their footing. She worked with school and community groups to highlight Hispanic culture. She operated La Cocina d’ Monica, a food truck that later turned into a brick-and-mortar restaurant that helped her share her culture through its delicious flavors.
She would often host families in her own home while they sorted out living and transportation arrangements. As entrepreneurs, she and her husband learned the ins and outs of starting and maintaining successful construction businesses—A.R.M. Construction LLC in Dickinson, and A&R Construction, which specializes in pipeline construction—a challenging process they’ve been happy to help new Americans navigate. And, family by family, the community grew.
Access to health care was one of Soto’s primary challenges when she moved to the area. It was almost impossible to schedule an appointment or understand a diagnosis without being able to speak English. Soto started out simply sitting in on friends’ clinic visits and translating.
However, with more demand than one person could handle, she worked with the Women Empowering Women organization to secure funding for the Lay Health Ambassadors program, allowing her to provide much more than simple translation services. From health and hygiene education to assistance in navigating the health care and health insurance system, the program hosts health fairs to serve Hispanic, Russian, Ukrainian, and African communities in the region.
A Bright Future
For Soto, the years of hard work building a Hispanic community in Dickinson weren’t just an investment in herself.
“I had a duty to take care of my children’s identity. To make them feel at home in both worlds,” Soto said.
From sitting on her lap during city council meetings to helping new Spanish-speaking students adapt to life in the Dakotas, Soto has instilled the importance of service in her children. Today, her eldest daughters are heavily involved in Lay Health Ambassadors, with her eldest pursuing a career in medicine to return to the area as a Spanish-speaking doctor hopefully. The work of building a community will never be done, but Soto is proud of how far things have come in almost 20 years.
Lay Health Ambassadors
Facebook | Search ‘Lay Health Ambassadors’
PO Box #2092, Dickinson, ND 58601