By Maria E. Garcia
Andrea Skorepa
Andrea Skorepa has been CEO of Casa Familiar (Casa) since 1980. As we spoke I could not distinguish if Andrea was Casa Familiar or if Casa Familiar is Andrea. Both are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them.
Andrea was born at Paradise Valley Hospital. The first fourteen years of her life were spent growing up in San Ysidro, then her parents moved to Chula Vista where she attended Castle Park High School. While attending Junior College, now known as Community College, Andrea decided that she would become a Peace Corps volunteer.
After giving it some thought, she decided that joining Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) would be much better for her. VISTA was a program that was geared to end poverty in disenfranchised communities in the United States through volunteerism.
Andrea remembers a conversation with a group of workers who were working in deplorable conditions. Their two main concerns were the lack of bathrooms and the lack of water. When asked “why don’t you go out on strike?” the response was “we can’t do that—the cucumbers would rot.”
VISTA sent Andrea to Oklahoma for training. She refers to the training she received as a Saul Alinsky approach. The focus was community organizing. Her assignments were in El Paso and Brownsville with a final assignment in San Benito, Texas. San Benito was a segregated community with African Americans, Anglo Americans and Mexican Americans all having their own section of town.
She found herself working with the African and Mexican American communities. The working conditions were very poor for the majority of people who were employed in the agricultural industry. VISTA volunteers began by organizing people who worked harvesting crops.
Andrea remembers a conversation with a group of workers who were working in deplorable conditions. Their two main concerns were the lack of bathrooms and the lack of water. When asked “why don’t you go out on strike?” the response was “we can’t do that—the cucumbers would rot.”
She and her coworkers were able to convince the workers that the owners also did not want the cucumbers to rot. The results were an outhouse and water for the workers. For Andrea this victory contributed to her love for organizing and her passion to work to help others.
When Andrea returned to San Diego she finished her education and went to work as a kindergarten teacher in San Ysidro. Andrea says she loved teaching, she loved the kids and the parents. What she was not particularly fond of was the administration.
The judge ruled that the school district had to reinstate the teachers. The district reluctantly issued an apology. The apology was issued in the middle of summer when many teachers were not around to hear it.
In the 1970s Andrea was very active in the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) and became President of the chapter in San Ysidro. The school district brought in a negotiator at one point to discuss some of their concerns. While meeting with this group the negotiator handed the teachers a packet and suggested that they return to their rooms and read it.
Andrea remembered that the comment was something like “read this, go back to your room and read it. I know you are slow readers.” With that insult the teachers refused to leave the room. The superintendent came in and instructed them to return to their classroom. The teachers did not return to their rooms and within days were given a letter informing them they were fired.
The parents in the community were very supportive. A coalition between parents and teachers was formed. A hearing was held. The judge requested that both sides bring any notes from the now infamous meeting. The school district brought binders with typed notes, making it very difficult for the judge to believe that these were original notes. The teachers had pages of actual hand written notes.
The judge ruled that the school district had to reinstate the teachers. The district reluctantly issued an apology. The apology was issued in the middle of summer when many teachers were not around to hear it.
The union under Andrea’s leadership obtained bilingual pay for teachers in the San Ysidro School District, the first to do so in the state. This was a huge victory and had an impact throughout California. In the 1970s the San Diego Unified School District had offered a bilingual stipend for teachers and the union representing teachers in that district turned it down.
The difference between the two districts was probably because the majority of the teachers in San Ysidro were Spanish speaking and were able to understand the extra work required to teach in a bilingual class. In San Diego the majority of those teachers negotiating were not bilingual and failed to understand the work involved when teaching in two languages.
Once again Andrea’s organizing skills had paid off. She soon stepped down as President, telling me that she also leaned another lesson. Once you give up a position such as the AFT presidency you should move on.
The little house was purchased when a group of social workers mortgaged their own homes in order to obtain the necessary funds.
Around this time the CEO position at Casa Familiar opened up. This was 1980 and Casa had been started by Trabajadores de la Raza. Their original focus had been mental health. The state as a whole was focusing on providing mental health services to the Spanish speaking community. Some of the mental health strategies, such as role playing, were completely foreign to the population they served which lead to misunderstandings.
Little House courtesy of Andrea Skorepa
When Andrea went to Casa it was housed in a small house and had seven employees. The little house was purchased when a group of social workers mortgaged their own homes in order to obtain the necessary funds. This may sound shocking to some, but I know of at least six people that have signed bank notes to support Mexican American organizations.
Andrea started her employment on December 1st and by December 31st half of her budget had disappeared. She says this taught her you cannot be dependent on government programs to sustain your budget.
Casa employees assist families with problems related to housing, education, translation and lack of accessibility to programs and services. Clients were coming to Casa with every concern possible. There was even an incident where a woman who did not trust banks used her oven as her safe deposit box. Unfortunately, she accidentally burned the money and over two thousand dollars literally went up in smoke.
The difference in beliefs, expectations and trust were all part of the problems that greeted Andrea in her new employment. Today many of the same services are still available through Casa.
Alzheimer patient’s artwork
Knowing she needed some advice for her new position, she called Irma Castro who was the director of the Chicano Federation. Andrea did not know that Irma had only been in that position for a year. A mentoring group composed of Roger Cazares at MAAC, Rachael Ortiz at the Barrio Station, Irma at Chicano Federation and Andrea at Casa Familiar developed. Over a period of many years this group would rely upon and call each other for advice and support. It is an interesting side note that Irma Castro now works at Casa two days a week as a program manager.
Developing programs that meet community needs became the focus for Casa’s effort. An example of how programs had to be adjusted to meet the cultural differences is the Alzheimer support group. Casa has the only Alzheimer support group conducted in Spanish in the whole county.
When you consider the population of San Diego this is indeed shocking. Respite for Alzheimer caregivers is always needed; Latinos however are not always prepared to have a stranger come in and care for their loved one. Casa provides an art class for the Alzheimer patient. While the care giver is in a support meeting the patient is taking an art class.
Computer classes are offered with the goal of getting the family involved in using the computer by tailoring classes to individual interests. Those who are interested in cooking are taught how to download recipes. Students who are interested in crafts and are shown how to download craft projects.
It is a well known fact that diabetes is rampant in the Latino community and San Ysidro is no exception. Andrea is aware of children as young as six who have type 2 diabetes. Knowing that exercise and diet are crucial factors in controlling diabetes, a fitness center is now part of their program. This program enables children and parents to exercise together.
Andrea says the worst moment at Casa was the day of the July 1984 shooting at McDonalds. At first rumors began flying around Casa saying that terrorists had crossed the border and were shooting inside the McDonalds. There was a helicopter overhead making it obvious that something terrible had happened. A short while later the real facts were revealed to this small community.
At that time, it was the worst mass shooting in the United States. The shooter was James Huberty. He killed 21 people ranging in age from eight months to seventy-four years old. The victims were from various ethnic groups but the majority were Mexican American. The shock and emotions of that day lived for many years after the massacre.
Huberty was killed by a SWAT team sniper. McDonalds donated one million dollars to be disbursed to the victims and their families. The responsibility for overseeing the funds became Casa’s. Andrea says it was a very emotional and sad time for the little San Ysidro community. Everyone knew someone that had been affected by this massacre.
Casa Familiar’s Villa Nueva apartments and Social Services Center today
If that was worst moment for Casa, the best moments have come in many different ways. Andrea says acquiring Villa Nueva is her proudest achievement. The housing development with 398 apartments is where her office is located and it is the reason that Casa is not as dependent on federal or state monies as before the acquisition. Villa Nueva has enabled Casa to plan ahead and develop programs they would like to see as part of their services.
Another change that came to San Ysidro and therefore to Casa was the change in the demographics. Several years ago, the African American population in San Ysidro increased. The two groups looked at each other with trepidation, fear and apprehension.
Knowing that they shared more similarities than differences, Casa took the leadership role in bringing the two communities together to discuss their concerns. As both communities saw how much they had in common the tension was eased.
When Andrea came to Casa it was located in a small house and had seven employees. Today it has six satellite offices and thirty-five employees. Andrea is very proud of the fact that they support an art gallery. The gallery is called The Front and has regular exhibits. While discussing this project she says she believes that beauty should be part of everyone’s life and that the gallery brings beauty to people that cannot always afford to enjoy an art gallery.
Casa Familiar The Front Gallery
Andrea will leave Casa in September of this year. She will remain on the Board of Directors but will no longer be the CEO. In my effort to understand the distinction between what is Casa and what is Andrea, I asked her about her personal life. She has been married to Darryl for 45 ½ years. He has been not only her support system but a support system for Casa. She sees herself as a shy, giving and caring person. Yes, readers, Andrea said SHY!
In addition to working at Casa she has been involved in various community boards and commissions. Her work on the City of San Diego Citizens Advisory Board on Police-Community Relations, as a founder and chairperson, is well known through-out the city. Her efforts to make sure that the community of San Ysidro will not be overlooked is often the reason she is on a particular board.
After a three hour interview I still don’t know what is Casa and who is Andrea. I figured by the end of the interview I would be able to share exactly what the differences are. Not so! I see both so intertwined that it almost impossible to figure out which line leads to which part. It is obvious that for the last 35 years Andrea has shaped Casa and that for the last 35 years Casa has shaped Andrea. Thank you for the time, tears, sweat and dedication to Casa.
The complete Latinos in San Diego series here.
Maria E. Garcia
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I have known Andrea Skorepa since she started working for Trabajadores de La Raza at Casa Familiar and she has done excellent work for thousands of people over the last several years. She has been exceedingly successful because as some would say, “she is a pushy, outspoken,angry and proud Chicana”. Keep screaming the truth out loud my very good friend….love you…roger cazares
Roger thank you for sharing your thoughts about our friend. The four of you you, Rachael, Irma and Andrea touched so many lives.
Maria, thank you for highlighting the work of Andrea. She has brought about increased sense of dignity to many in the community.
Rosalia, thank you for your comment. I agree with you Andrea has brought dignity. She breathed life in to CASA