craigdailypress.com

Craig — A desire to help the immigrant community was Maria Martin's motivation for volunteering with Integrated Community two years ago.

That same desire now is prompting her to leave the organization for a job in the health care field.

On June 30, Martin plans to leave her position as Integrated Community's information program coordinator. She is scheduled to become one of four community health educators at the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association.

In a column written for the Craig Daily Press on Tuesday, Summer Laws, Integrated Community executive director, said Martin was one of the "founding mothers" of the organization.

Martin's duties at the VNA won't be finalized until July 1, said Ilanit Kateb, VNA community-based program manager, adding that the next grant cycle begins on that date.

Still, "she will be working for the VNA," Kateb said.

Taking the position will allow her to meet health care needs she sees in the local immigrant community, Martin said.

Regardless of where she works, Martin has one goal.

"My interest is to help the community," she said.

Integrated Community, also known as Comunidad Integrada in Spanish, seeks to promote dialogue and cultural understanding between English- and Spanish-speakers.

Martin began volunteering at the organization in 2006. Last year, her status changed from volunteer to employee.

As part of her job, Martin helps members of the immigrant community steer their way through America's legal and medical systems.

"People that come to : Steamboat Springs or Craig from another country, sometimes they don't understand how things work here," she said.

Martin also manages Integrated Community's pool of interpreters used in Moffat and Routt counties and organizes workshops that help the newly immigrated adjust to life in America.

Martin knows first-hand the challenges immigrants face when entering the United States. In 2003, she came to America from Peru as part of a student exchange program for college students.

Three years later, she moved to the U.S. permanently.

Martin said she admires Integrated Community's mission to join members of different cultural groups.

"As an immigrant myself, it's really important for me that people understand my culture and I understand their culture so we can live together in a better place," she said.

To some degree, her focal point may not change when she joins the VNA.

Martin said she expects to help members of the immigrant community who are unfamiliar with the American health care system.

VNA programs are "really important, because a lot of these people don't have health insurance or are underinsured," she said. "So, because they don't want to see a doctor or go to the hospital, they're not taking care of themselves."

Preventative measures and health screenings offered through the VNA can help alleviate that problem, she said.

Martin is looking forward to the change.

"I'm very excited," she said. "I think I'm going to be helping more people in my new position."