Increasing Cafe de Padres Impact On Facebook Live
Cafe de Padres, a series of weekly information sessions conducted in Spanish for Redwood City families, was held on-site at the Siena Youth Center in February. But with shelter in place orders in effect, Cafe de Padres moved to Facebook Live and wrapped up its last session on Friday, June 19th. Katalina Tameilau, PCRC Family Engagement Associate and Evelia Chairez, PCRC Engaging Communities Associate, re-focused the topics to not only address issues all parents face but also the challenges of living through a pandemic.
Moving to an online format enabled Cafe de Padres to have a greater impact by providing essential information and support to the community during a time of heightened uncertainty. “Parents can revisit the information if needed, and it allows other parents who didn't have the opportunity to tune in live, to go back and watch so they can have access to the information as well,” says Tameilau. The live conversation addressing family mental health issues during the pandemic had an initial 17 viewers, but over the course of a few weeks, the archived video has reached over 1,000 views - one of the most engaged videos.
Katalina and Evelia monitored the questions parents asked during the conversation in Facebook chat to gauge what topics should be addressed in upcoming sessions. Cafe de Padres fielded questions on drugs and alcohol, and youth summer programs but also pivoted to talk about resilience, financial support for immigrants and mental health. Experts from local organizations like CARON, Starvista, Catholic Charities and Friends for Youth participated in the conversation to help answer questions.
Parents showed their appreciation for the detailed discussions in Facebook chat, thanking the panelists on the excellent information and confirmed they were able to connect with the resources they needed. Chairez says the conversations were, “a way for people to connect and find community support during this time.”
The Cafe de Padres conversations, along with their valuable information and resources are available to watch on our Facebook page.