“Human Rights is an Everyday Thing”: Addressing Health Inequities Outside the Clinic
Master of Human Rights alum Andrea Daniela Martínez has developed a career around working with communities and advocating for their rights. In her years of serving in both governmental and non-profit organizations, and her current role working with communities and healthcare systems, Martínez continues to advocate for marginalized populations.
Before entering the health care system, Martínez worked at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where she developed an understanding of how to engage with individuals from many cultures and backgrounds. After her move to the United States, Martínez worked at The Advocates for Human Rights, and at CLUES (Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio).
Supporting Health Through Community Partnerships
Currently, Martínez serves as a community partnerships manager in the Community Advancement Department at Fairview Health Services. “80% of the factors that affect our health happen outside the walls of the clinics and hospitals,” Martínez explains. “So that's what we call the social determinants of health.” In her role, Martínez works with employees, healthcare providers, community partners, and patients to understand the challenges and assets of communities. She seeks to not only support patient access to services, but also to understand how social determinants of health affect access to care.
One initiative focuses on improving access to food and “food as medicine.” “We partner with organizations to distribute food, but also seek to understand the role of our hospitals to facilitate that access,” Martínez explains. Thanks to these partnerships, if a provider identifies a patient at risk of food insecurity, they already have a network of organizations to refer them to.
In addition to the “Fair Table, Food is Medicine by Fairview” initiative, Martínez’s team also has initiatives around housing and community connection, and are working on a birth justice initiative.
Martínez believes that it is important to listen to communities rather than solely using statistical data: “Not telling communities what’s best for them,” she explains, “but co-creating and co-learning with them.” Through community conversations, interviews, and workshops that bring together patients, providers, non-profits and local leaders, Community Health Needs Assessments (CHNA) conducted at Fairview incorporate qualitative, community-generated data alongside quantitative, statistical data. “The numbers paint a picture, but in order to see the big picture, we also have to listen and learn from the experts of their own experiences,” Martínez explains.
Being Bilingual and Bicultural in Advocacy Work
Martínez learned early on in her professional life about the importance of being able to speak multiple languages and understand different cultures when advocating for other people's human rights. At first, going from Mexico to the United States was intimidating. It was the first time Martínez worked solely in English. However, she eventually came to realize that her previous experiences were advantages, not obstacles. “I started seeing being bilingual and being bicultural as an asset instead of a challenge,” she explains.
It was this way of thinking that ultimately influenced her work at both The Advocates for Human Rights and CLUES. Using her ability to communicate across cultures allowed her to assist immigrant populations and victims of human trafficking as a Human Trafficking Legal Case Manager at The Advocates for Human Rights. While her work at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs focused on international cooperation and the development of policies and protocols, her role at The Advocates for Human Rights brought her into direct contact with survivors of human trafficking, giving her the opportunity to listen to and learn from their personal experiences. Her experience at The Advocates and at CLUES helped her understand the needs of diverse communities, which she applies at a systems level in her current role. “I think being bilingual and bicultural allowed me to keep approaching things with curiosity and humility,” she says.
For Martínez, human rights are not just theoretical concepts that exist in international documents or policy debates. They are very real and directly relate to the day-to-day experiences of individuals. "Human rights are an everyday thing," Martínez says.
Martínez emphasizes the importance of supporting existing community-based solutions while also providing support. From working one-on-one, to advancing change at a systems level, Martínez continues to focus on connecting, learning, and co-creating with people and communities.
