Immigrant Day Laborers in Fruitvale
This community-based organization helps newly arrived immigrant laborers in Fruitvale find consistent jobs, build a client network, and seek free medical consultations without insurance.
Street Level Health is a Fruitvale-based community organization whose mission is to improve the wellbeing of underinsured, uninsured, and recently arrived immigrants in Alameda County. Facing barriers in language, housing security, job security, medical attention and more, day laborers need all the help they can get.
“The organization was created to support the day laborer community and their families,” said Flavio Martinez, a SLH community organizer. “So we are here to be the source of information to be that supporter for them. So just reminding the newly arrived people that SLH was created for them, and it was created to support them is really important.”
Kathy Ahoy co-founded Street Level Health in 2000 to serve the day laborer communities in Fruitvale. As a community health nurse, she went into the community to find out what’s working and what wasn’t. “Many new immigrants find the system isn't working for them,” said Kathy, who still volunteers with SLH administering flu vaccines once a week.
SLH’s Health Access Program meets the needs of day laborers by meeting them where they are, literally. Every week, the Health Access team administers flu shots or COVID-19 vaccines and provides free medical consultations and medical referrals.
Damien Rosa Hernandez has been a day laborer for 15 years, mostly as a painter. He said Street Level Health helped him with medical consultations and the necessary referrals for his vision and dental operations.
Beyond equitable health access, Martinez helps inform day laborers with training workshops and training to stay vigilant of wage theft from shady employers.
“Every week, there are more wage theft cases and they’re constantly taken advantage of,” said Flavio. “More than anything, people come looking for cheap labor so we remind them about their rights and safety precautions. We tell them to take down the employer name, phone number, address, and license plate.”
Flavio’s father and uncle were immigrant day laborers and ever since high school, he’s known he’s wanted to become a community organizer. “I’m here to do my part now. I know what they went through with wage theft.”
Victor Reyes moved to Oakland from Jalisco, Mexico, in 1984 and has been a day laborer for the last 20 years. He was a victim of wage theft when he was contracted for a job but never supplied with tax forms to collect his wages. Now 60 years old, he says sometimes he can only work once a month.
To support Street Level Health and the day laborer community in Fruitvale, visit the Street Level Health website, donate to their ongoing organizing efforts, volunteer with the community, and hire a worker through the Oakland Workers Collective.
