An Open-Door Policy : Anna Chavez’s commitment--and love of talking--have made Latinos feel welcome at a Koreatown teen health clinic visited mostly by Asians.

Anna Chavez, 17, is a senior at Los Angeles High School and a peer educator at Koryo Health Foundation’s two-year-old teen-age clinic in Koreatown. She is credited with significantly increasing the number of Latino clients at the primarily Asian clinic since she was hired in February. A native of El Salvador who came to the United States at age 10, Anna lives with her single mother and younger brother and sister in Watts and takes the bus to work at the Koreatown clinic two afternoons a week. She was interviewed by Iris Yokoi.

When I first came here, I thought, “Oh gosh, I’m the only Hispanic here.” But they treated me nice. And just me being Hispanic, if any African-American or Latino comes in, they can feel comfortable. They won’t feel, ‘Oh, only Asians.’ And if there are Koreans, I treat them like friends. I would make them feel comfortable too. Because that’s the basic idea - make them feel comfortable, not rejected, and that they’re here to get help.

The toughest part of being a teen-ager is dealing with self-esteem. We don’t feel we fit in. We don’t feel loved enough. We don’t feel wanted. Most of it starts up in the family. And what worsens all this is gangs and sex. You want to be in a gang because you want to feel protected, you want to fit in. Sometimes your parents are not there; you don’t have your family, so you look for this.

The issue of sex starts coming up, and drugs too. If you feel good, you won’t look for anything bad. If you feel good about yourself, you only think positive.

I had been looking for a job everywhere when I got the flyer for a bilingual peer counselor at Koryo. I said, “This is me.” Even though I didn’t have any experience, I let them know what I had to offer the clinic, how much I was going to be committed to it and how much I love to talk with teens.

When I had my first client as a peer counselor, I felt good helping someone. I made the person feel comfortable, and I let them know that I’m like them. That’s the good thing: Teens come here and see a teen counseling them. “You’re my own group; I feel like I fit in.” That’s what I try to make them feel.

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Now we’re doing more outreach. We’re peer educators now. We let people know that there’s a confidential clinic here and we offer services, like health fairs, for teens.

I’ve really learned how to communicate. I use it in my everyday life. Before, if my mom screamed at me, I used to scream back. Now what I do is I use the methods I’ve been taught here: Just remember that if you’re screaming and the other person’s screaming, there’s no communication.

I’ve also learned not to judge anybody and to respect others for their beliefs and their feelings--and to listen. I know there has been a big difference in my life.

I want to be a registered nurse. This man got shot in front of me once and I gave him first aid.

I plan to go to Cal State Long Beach. I’m going to pay for my education because I know my mom can’t afford it. So I have to work and study at the same time. If I don’t get financial aid, I’ll have to go the long way and go to a community college. But either way, I’m going to do it with all my heart.

Even if I go step by step like a little ant, I know I’m going to get where I want.