Photo credit: Terry J. Allen; Image from a Soccer Tournament Vaccine Clinic

There are 1,000-1,200 workers on Vermont dairy farms who have immigrated from Latin America. They do essential work that keeps farms operating year-round, producing milk for the milk, cream, cheese, ice cream and other products that Vermont is known for.  Each individual worker has their own story, but as a group, this population faces many physical and mental health challenges due to the nature of the work, difficult migration journeys, social and cultural isolation, access to health care and language barriers. An estimated 90% of these workers are undocumented, 3% speak English and 5% speak an indigenous language as their first language (not Spanish), 3% have health insurance and 4% have driver’s licenses. To say the least, these individuals face monumental barriers to accessing needed resources.

In this exhibit, we highlight the new graphic medicine novel, The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont as well as the initiatives that help connect migrant workers with resources.

Bridges to Health is a health outreach program for migrant farmworkers in Vermont. Utilizing a care coordination model carried out by regional Migrant Health Promoters, the program empowers farmworkers to make timely health decisions. In addition to offering care coordination to migrant farmworkers in need of health care services, Bridges to Health creates capacity-building opportunities for local health entities to implement linguistically and culturally appropriate services.

“This past year, UVM Extension coordinated vaccinations in 13 of Vermont’s 14 counties, partnering with local health services and using a combination of on-farm clinics, state-sponsored clinics, BIPOC clinics and pharmacy appointments. They reached about 900 people.” VPR – How Vermont Has Vaccinated Its Farm Workers

To learn more, visit Dana Medical Library and see our exhibit in person or visit our digital exhibit.

Excerpt panels from The Most Costly Journey: