Mary’s Center is a Washington, DC clinic that was originally established to meet the Latino community’s growing demand for maternity and pediatric services. It has evolved into an entity that provides a variety of medical, educational and social services to a diverse population, including a large number of Latinos.

The Center’s two locations were established in 1988 with funds from the Mayor’s Office on Latino Affairs in partnership with the Public Health Commission. The Center assists residents from all zones of the city, concentrating its efforts on serving families that do not have health insurance coverage. From the friendliness and openness of the professionals that work at the Center to the availability of translation services for Spanish-speaking people, Mary’s Center is sensitive to cultural and linguistic differences among the population they serve. The consumers feel so comfortable that they often refer to Mary’s Center as “our center.”

Nutritionist Maya Flores
Maya Flores has worked at the Ontario Street location of Mary’s Center since June 2003. . As part of the Supplementary Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), a special initiative funded by the United States Department of Agriculture. Maya educates consumers about what a healthy diet consists of, and helps families secure nutritional foods to combat infant malnutrition. She evaluates the nutritional statuses of the nearly 2,000 women and children who visit her, and collaborates with colleagues at Mary’s Center to make dietary recommendations to improve their health. Her professional activity there has been very satisfactory for her as well as for the people she serves

Of Mexican descent, Maya came to the United States when she was 15 years old. In doing her day-to-day work Maya says her wheelchair has never been an impediment or cause for discrimination. The patients and colleagues treat her just like all the other employees and, according to her supervisor Anne Spaulding, Maya “responds reciprocally, acting with utmost responsibility and professionalism.”

Spaulding explains that Maya didn’t get her job due to an affirmative action initiative or employment promotion program for people with disabilities. “Ms. Flores was recruited, interviewed and hired according to regular procedure. She got the job and maintains it on account of her professional skills and abilities. The accommodations that Maya utilizes at work also are part of our regular human resources procedure.”

In general, Maya does not feel that her triple status as Latina, woman and person with a disability has hindered her professional achievements. On the contrary, she believes that being bilingual puts her a step ahead of monolingual job applicants. Also, because her parents taught her to consider her physical limitations as challenges, Maya feels she is better able to participate in social and cultural activities with her peers. Nevertheless, she acknowledges that not all Latinos with disabilities have had the same experiences as she has. “It might be difficult to study the causes of unemployment among Latinos with disabilities, but surely the low levels of good training, preparation and professional orientation contribute to the lack of employment opportunities for disabled youths in the Latino community,” said Maya.

Experiencing Discrimination
Equal opportunity and equitable treatment were not always the experience of this driven professional woman with a disability. As a student, Maya had to overcome multiple barriers and prejudices. “In particular I recall one situation during an internship I had with a dietician,” says Maya. “The mood at my place of work was good and I got along well with the members of the team, who were always willing to help me. In contrast, my supervisor was especially short and negative toward me. Her attitude was not the same toward me as toward the other students. It was evident that my disability ‘bothered her.’ Moreover, she made it clear that she did not want me in there,” says Maya. Experiencing discrimination was difficult, but Maya overcame it with dignity and integrity. “After all was said and done, I knew what my goals were and I was sure of my abilities. The professor ended up leaving her position for other reasons which was a relief for me…I never once considered leaving on account of this injustice, but her departure was extra incentive for me to press on.”

Unfortunately, the prejudices, judgments and misconceptions about the capabilities of people with disabilities at the professional level continue, perhaps as much among employers as among people with disabilities themselves. Statistics consistently show that there are far more working-age people with disabilities who are unemployed or under-employed than those without disabilities. Maya’s supervisor Ms. Spaulding believes that one of the reasons people with disabilities are passed up for jobs is “because of ignorance. We ignore the fact that people with disabilities are, after all, people, who have a diversity of abilities, skills and knowledge that they can contribute to improve the world we live in. Preventing them from being part of this dynamic hurts not only them but also society as a whole.”

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