By: A Marie Sanchez, Executive Director, and Ruby J. Martinez, President of the Board National Latino Behavioral Health Association
Josie Torralba Romero, Co-founder and President of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) Board of Directors, succumbed to complications from leukemia on Thursday, November 4, 2004 in her Gilroy, California home. She leaves behind a daughter, Diane Martinez, a son, Arturo Romero Jr., four grandchildren, and a multitude of friends throughout the country.
Josie will always be remembered for her work as a champion on behalf of the Latino community, particularly families who suffered from mental illness and substance abuse. Her love and dedication to improving the life of Latino families, particularly migrant families, is well known. As a former migrant farm worker, Josie injured her back stooping to harvest crops in South Dakota and Washington State with her parents and five siblings. She suffered all her life with excruciating back pain and endured several back surgeries in attempt to alleviate the pain. In 1968, when she was 24, her first professional job put her right back with the nation's poorest laborers when she was assigned as a mental health community worker for Santa Clara County in a Gilroy migrant camp. "She had the lowest of the low jobs, and she didn't get paid much either,'' her brother, Raul Torralba, said. But something about that job, a chance to help others, set a fire inside his sister that kept burning all her life.
Josie earned her master's degree from San Jose State University , School of Social Work . She specialized as a psychiatric social worker and was a part time professor of Social Work Policy and Clinical Practice at San Jose State University . Josie inspired those around her with her passion, her genuineness, and her boundless energy in advocating for Latino communities. Sylvia Rodriguez Andrew, Dean of the College of Social Work at San Jose State University called Professor Romero, one of the early pioneers of social work education in San Jose , and a staunch supporter and advocate for preparing culturally competent social work students to work effectively with an increasingly diverse client population. Before the term ``cultural competence'' was created, Josie was consulting, training and speaking on equality for the mentally ill throughout the country - in both English and Spanish. She was candid in speaking out on the need for culturally competent services and was highly sought after as a conference speaker, consultant and trainer on that topic. She provided consultation and training through her consulting firm, JTR & Associates, which she established in 1989.
Josie was also one of the early innovators in the development of standards for administrative and clinical cultural competence in mental health and substance abuse services and cross cultural educational and social services curriculum. She is a co-author of " Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Mental Health Care Services: Four Underserved/Under-represented Racial/Ethnic Groups " developed by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education and published by the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in Washington, D.C. She was a contributor to the development of the cultural and linguistic competency regulations for the State of California Department of Mental Health and served as an advisor in the development of behavioral health guidelines for the Office of Minority Health's National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health Care.
Josie Romero chaired the First National Congress on Hispanic Mental Health in 2000 sponsored by SAMHSA and served on many national mental health boards and committees including a four year term on the National Advisory Council for the Center for Mental Health Services (SAMHSA). As a consultant to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Josie was called on to assist after many national disasters, including mental health training services after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack in New York City.
Despite all of these achievements, Josie's greatest effort was directed towards the creation of an association that would provide national leadership on the behavioral health needs and address the concerns of a rapidly increasing Latino population. This goal was realized in September 2000 with the establishment of the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA) largely due to the persistence and drive of Josie and a handful of other key individuals who shared a strong commitment to make it happen. Josie was a strong and committed leader, able to formulate a vision for better health care for Latinos across this nation. As President of the Board of Directors, Josie worked relentlessly on behalf of NLBHA, introducing numerous projects and activities that helped to financially launch the organization. Josie, with her insight and wisdom, passed her leadership role to Dr. Ruby Martinez, President-Elect of NLBHA when she knew she was facing long-term illness. NLBHA will continue as before with the support and leadership of Dr. Martinez and other members of the Board of Directors.
Josie was also the heart and guiding spirit behind the formation of NAMBHA, the National Alliance of Multi-Ethnic Behavioral Health Associations (an alliance of the four racial/ethnic Associations including NLBHA), which was founded in 2003. Josie was one of the first four Co-chairs of NAMBHA whose purpose was to bring organizations representing diverse people of color together to speak with a single unified voice. Dr. Mareasa Isaacs, NAMBHA's executive director, shared Josie's early vision about NAMBHA, saying, "As we [Josie and I] rode a shuttle bus back from Santa Fe to Albuquerque on a beautiful spring afternoon, Josie said, 'My friend, we have to do this. Our children and our people need this'. She [Josie] was poetic and visionary as she described what she thought NAMBHA could be. I am glad that she was able to see the beginning of her dream fulfilled."
Josie Romero was the recipient of numerous commendations for her community work and advocacy on behalf of underserved and underrepresented ethnic communities and consumers. She was a national recipient of the 1998 Public Health Service Primary Care Policy Fellowship Award and in May of 2004, when she was very ill, she received an award for her life work from the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission.
As one of her colleagues said, "Josie will always be remembered as someone who was never too busy to take the time to listen, to help out, to participate, to provide leadership and knowledge and to demonstrate through her actions what it means to be a human being of the highest order". Josie was a kind, compassionate person who had the capacity to appreciate the hardship in other's lives and the courage to work for positive change. Josie Torralba Romero used her knowledge and power to speak for those who had no voice. We admire her drive, share her values, and will honor her as we go forth to complete the work that must be done to fulfill her vision. Josie was our friend and she will never be forgotten.
