Program's loss turns into opportunity.

Byline: RANDI BJORNSTAD The Register-Guard

Call it a cloud with a silver lining, turning lemons into lemonade or creating a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Whatever the adage, the Relief Nursery, which offers educational and social services to low-income families at risk for child abuse, recently managed to turn a sizable cut in state funding into a new program tailored especially to Hispanic children and parents.

"It's quite wonderful to go into our new classroom and hear everyone speaking Spanish and see all these people we haven't been able to serve before," Executive Director Jean Phelps said as she watched Julian, Osbaldo and their playmates pulling on boots and jackets for a trip into the nursery's yard to play.

"Their main teacher is from Chile, and we now also have several others who speak Spanish fluently," Phelps said. "This has been heartwarming - and also related to the moment in terms of our growing Hispanic population. Every time I go to our `new' classroom, it brings tears to my eyes."

Recent statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that nationwide, Hispanic people now rank as the largest minority group in the country, making up 13 percent of the U.S. population and edging out African-Americans, at 12.7 percent. In Oregon, however, the Latino population has been by far the largest minority group for decades. The state now has 275,000 people categorized by the census as Hispanic, followed by blacks at nearly 56,000.

Despite those sizable numbers, and the fact that many Latino families fall into lower income categories, few used to find their way to the Relief Nursery's 26-year-old preschool, parent-training programs and other programs, Phelps said.

Then came last year's cuts - the state budget reduced the amount for relief nurseries throughout Oregon by a total of $1 million - and the local facility, located at 1720 W. 25th Ave. in Eugene, had to shut down one of its classrooms to make ends meet.

"We had no choice, so we reduced our teaching staff by two, moved the children we had into other classrooms and then couldn't add any new families to our programs," Phelps said. "But there was still so much pressure on our waiting list and our outreach programs for help, so we turned to the private sector, which always has been very supportive of our programs."

Within months, more than 300 donations - "three or four very large, and the rest in the $5, $20, $100 range," she said - came pouring in. During that time the nursery came to realize that it needed to pay special attention to the area's Latino families.

When the classroom reopened earlier this month, teacher Joanna Byford-Allen said, "it really improved the way we do things."

"We feel more secure now, because we know what we do is culturally appropriate when we have Hispanic children in our classrooms," Byford-Allen said. "We wondered at first how the rest of our children would view kids who look different from them and speak another language, but we're finding that they tend to play together and follow each other around. It's been really eye-opening."

Where the sign in Room 5 simply used to read, "Daily Schedule," it now repeats the words underneath in Spanish: "Horario de Actividades." Another bulletin has the heading, "Frases de uso frecuente en el salon de clase," or "classroom phrases," then lists a variety of exhortations common to preschool classrooms, such as, "Cuelga tu chamarra por favor" - Hang up your coat, please - and "Caminamos adentro. Corremos afuera," reminding the children to walk inside and run outside.

Gabriela Fabian, who grew up in Mexico and immigrated to the United States a decade ago after completing her university degree, came to the Relief Nursery's new program after teaching at Head Start.

"I think this is great - I wanted to come here because I enjoy working with little children one-on-one," Fabian said. "I see a big need here - the Latino population has been growing fast, and many times because of the language barrier, families don't have access to the services they need."

The word about the Relief Nursery spread quickly through the Hispanic community, from family to family, via doctors and social service agencies, she said.

Paulina Morgali, a native of Chile who now lives in Eugene and has joined the Relief Nursery as head teacher in its Latino program, said she's impressed by the effort to provide services specifically tailored to the minority population.

"If you compare one country to another, I think there are more resources here devoted to helping children," said Morgali, whose mother runs an orphanage in Chile. "I think this is a very good approach."

RELIEF NURSERY

Purpose: Provides programs and services for low-income families at risk for child abuse; works with families whose children range in age from birth to 6 years old

Services: Parenting education and support; home visits; child development assessments; alcohol and drug recovery support services; crisis intervention; problem solving; counseling to children and families; food bank and family clothes closet

Location: 1720 W. 25th Ave., Eugene; nursery services also available to Lane County residents in Cottage Grove 

Contact: 343-9706

CAPTION(S):

Preschool teacher Gabriela Fabian helps a child get ready to go out to the Relief Nursery's outdoor play area. PAUL CARTER / The Register-Guard Osbaldo Tomas eats lunch during the Therapeutic Preschool Program he attends twice a week at the Relief Nursery in Eugene.