Jessica Kota is a 25-year-old college student. She is married and the mother of three children. She also is a trailblazer. In May 2004 she became the only Native American Outreach Worker in the Ingham County Health Department, where Community Voices Ingham County is based. It is the only health department in Michigan with an outreach worker dedicated solely to assisting Native Americans.
The day I visited with Kota in Lansing, Michigan she described her passion for her profession. She told of how in the past 10 years she has attended three or four funerals each year. Many of the deaths resulted from diabetes and alcoholism. She said, “It wasn’t a far leap for me to see that along with education, people need to be able to go to the doctor.” So, after beating out a large pool of candidates, she became a Native American Outreach Worker. With a caseload of nearly 30 clients, she has her work cut out for her. The County has been measuring the outputs from Kota’s work, now it is slowly starting to measure the outcomes.
On a ‘typical’ day Kota makes at least three ‘at home’ visits with a wide array of clients with needs ranging from: child development screening; parenting skills; basic needs; getting clothing and food; and making certain those with addictions keep appointments with counselors and the courts. Not all are success stories. Kota described a diabetic woman who can barely walk, yet she continues to eat too much pie. She talked of bearing witness to how drugs and alcohol can tear apart a family. Her voice softened and dropped to barely a whisper as she lamented over the babies who die.
Yet, there are success stories. Two nights a week Kota attends a drum circle program she initiated. It affords her another opportunity to utilize outreach to assess needs and to keep the community involved and informed. Tuesday evenings are for men. When the circle first began only two or three men showed up. That number has since grown to about 30 men. Wednesday night the women come out. Kota said at the beginning they were much more receptive and dedicated to the drum circle than the men. She spoke of a 24-year-old woman who had three children less than five years old. When her case was opened her youngest child was only three months old and there were problems at home. Since joining the drum circle, Kota said the woman has become more outspoken, has one child in Headstart and her home life and relationship with her boyfriend have greatly improved.
Kota holds a position on five different councils and boards, including the Michigan Indian Education Council and a substance abuse coalition. She also works closely with the Michigan Indian Child Welfare Agency, or MICWA, to make sure mothers learn to prioritize and follow the MICWA guidelines in order to get back their children. Native Americans fall under different child welfare laws and therefore must abide by MICWA rules. This may seem like a lot, but for Kota it is par for the course. For years she has been involved in community work, following in the footsteps of her mother, Sharon Kota, who founded the Indian Education Council in Port Huron, Michigan. Kota said her mother “… saw how education could positively impact Indian’s lives.”
Still, despite her best efforts, Kota acknowledged there are challenges and sometimes it is an uphill climb. She said there is a lot of work to be done, but not enough time and resources. She admitted that at times she feels as if she “…can’t do any more right now.” But, she presses on. She said one of the difficulties she faces is stopping herself from intervening and just taking people to their appointments and doing things for them. But that is not her purpose. Her job is to help them learn to help themselves. At the end of each day Kota says she feels a certain sense of satisfaction when she can say, “I’ve done the best I can to show them the way.”