costs down." and the chronicle praises "her ideas to end soft corruption in politics." let's shake up the senate. with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message. damian trujillo: hello and welcome to "comunidad del valle." i am damian trujillo, and today we feed the soul on your "comunidad del valle." ♪♪♪ with democrat katie porter. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ damian: we begin with the latest from

the san francisco ballet. they have a whole season full of events. with us now is sasha de sola, she's one of the dancers on some of the performances. sasha, welcome to the show. sasha de sola: thank you so much, damian. damian: thank you for being here. well, tell us a little bit about yourself real briefly and how you got started with ballet. sasha: sure. so i'm a principal dancer with the company. i've been a principal dancer since 2017, but i actually started my career when i was just a teenager here back in 2006. so, it's been really a pleasure and a privilege to kind of grow up on stage and in this company. and yeah, i feel very, very grateful and privileged to have this opportunity. damian: that is awesome. well, we're gonna talk about a couple of the performances. in fact, just coming up here this coming week, "swan lake" gets underway. sasha: that's right. so "swan lake" is already underway. we have performances through march 3, sunday, march 3. my partner is isak hernandez, and we'll be dancing on tuesday

the 27, as well as sunday march 3, the very last performance. it's one of my all-time favorite roles to perform. it just grows on me and every single time i dance it, there's something new to discover and it's such a beautiful ballet. damian: wow, and then there's another one called dos mujeres. what can you tell us about that performance? that one is from april 4 to 14. sasha: correct, yeah, so that's a really interesting one. those are ballets that are--well, it's two ballets. one is "carmen" that was created just this past year, so it's brand new. it will be a world premiere. i was involved in that creation and i'm really looking forward to sharing that with audiences. the other is called "broken wings," which is based on the life of frida kahlo, and it was created a few years back and it's a gorgeous work and it will be really lovely to share that with san francisco audiences especially. damian: does a part of you come out in the performances?

i mean, i know you're a professional, you're dancing and that's what it's all about, but is it a part of you that needs to come out in order for the audience to feel you? sasha: absolutely. i've always thought that regardless of the character that you're playing, there is this innermost part of you. the audience sees this very vulnerable innermost part of the person that's on stage and it is a very vulnerable feeling to share that but at the same time it's so beautiful because that's what i believe touches the souls of others. is this ultimate human connection. so for example, in "carmen," it's really special because i'm playing the role of carmen, and in this version she is in the united, she lives in the united states and returns to her home in this case, cuba, and with parents that are from venezuela, i very much relate to that feeling of being both american and latina, and part of both worlds and also part of neither world.

damian: very interesting. now it makes a lot of sense. when you are, you said you're dancing one of the performances with isak hernandez. you know, you have your individual lessons if you will, your individual dances, performances, but at the same time when you're dancing with them do you dance as-- you dance as one? sasha: absolutely. yeah, it's really--i love working with my partners because it really is such an integral part of creating what you're gonna see on stage. we have to be able to tell the story. we have to have a common understanding of what story we're trying to tell. so with isak, he and i think, are both very much interested in the storytelling aspect when it comes to "swan lake." of course, "swan lake" is known as a very technical role but at the same time, for me, the most important thing is the heart of it and the storytelling of it. and ultimately, it's a pretty tragic of story actually.

damian: you know, a lot of families are watching this show and a lot of little girls, including my daughters when they were younger, they take the ballet classes and they all want to be ballerinas. your message to those little girls who maybe are thinking about pursuing something that you're in. sasha: i've always been a big believer in dreaming big whatever it is. if you wanna be a ballerina, if you want to be an astronaut, if you want to, whatever it is, dream big, don't hold back. you never know what can happen when you put yourself out there. take risks, work hard, and persevere. everybody has moments of difficulty, everyone has moments of doubts, absolutely everybody. and it's important to persevere through those and follow your instinct and your gut. damian: boy, that can be true of any career and especially in the performances that you do. we have about 15 seconds, any final thoughts, sasha? sasha: well, i hope everyone will join us this season at san francisco ballet.

i think especially "swan lake." i would love to see you there. that's my personal favorite, so i hope you'll be there. and if not for "swan lake," for the multiple other programs we have coming up, there's something for absolutely everyone. damian: all right, sasha, thank you so much. it was a pleasure having you on the show and enlightening us about the san francisco ballet. sasha: thank you so much, damian. damian: thank you. well, we're gonna show you the website for the san francisco ballet. for more information you can log on. again, "swan lake" is underway until march the 3. there is "mid-summer night's dream," from march 12 to the 23. dos mujeres is april 4 to 14 and "mere mortals" april 18 to april 24. "swan lake encore," again, april 30 through may 5, just a whole slew of events. log onto that website, you'll find more about what's going on. up next on here on "comunidad del valle," "feeding the soul." please stay with us.

the economy is simply not working for millions of hard working families. they're working harder than ever and they still can't make enough to get by to afford food and medicine to even keep a roof over their heads. we need to build more housing that's truly affordable. we need to address this terrible epidemic of homelessness. we need to invest in good paying jobs, union jobs and investments in our future. this, this is why i'm running for the us senate. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message. on "comunidad del valle." with us here on the show today is lidia gutierrez she is with "meals on wheels," diablo region.

lidia, welcome to the show. lidia gutierrez: thank you damian. thank you for having me today. damian: and i think a lot of us have heard about "meals on wheels." we have some video to showcase it, but tell us about though what is it that you all do there in the diablo region? lidia: sure. yeah, so what we do here at "meals on wheels" diablo region, we are beyond a meal delivery company. i personally manage the case management and outreach department. and what--the primary focus has been to reach out to seniors in the community who often are not connected to resources. in the past two years, new project came on board called outreach program, and it was with a focus of connecting seniors in the far east of contra costa county. and we have recently expanded to central and west county. so that program has been very, very successful by assisting the client with whatever the client needs. damian: and we're showing video from across the country just of other "meals on wheels" programs. but as you mentioned, it's more than just food delivery, right,

i mean, there are just a whole slew of things that you all offer. lidia: yes, we have definitely food that what the company is known for, the meal delivery program, but we also have case management department, outreach department for prevention, health and wellness, and beyond that. damian: i know that, i mean, this community is so diverse. the bay area is so diverse, the nine bay area counties. so you're trying to do what you can to reach specifically the spanish speaking seniors of your area. lidia: correct, yes. and with that being said, we have recently designed a program called cultural cuisine. we have noticed that there's a lot of latino seniors in our community and often they, even though they're eligible to participate in our meal delivery program, they were not too interested. so we decided to design a program that is more latino focused on the meals. and with that it was a project that began in the cities of

concord and pleasant hill and it has been very successful that we recently expanded it to antioch, pittsburg, and bay point. damian: so maybe instead of having our folks eat peanut butter, jelly sandwiches, or a grilled cheese sandwich, maybe some enchiladas and some tacos on the side. lidia: i can tell you a little bit more of what's in the menu. the menu looks like enchiladas, chile relleno, pupusas, milanesas, tinga de pollo, carne guisada con nopales, and it's just a little bit of the variety of the menu that we have in the cultural cuisine. damian: oh my goodness. you're making me very hungry here on "comunidad del valle." i mean, why is it important that those who you serve are not eating just the grilled cheese sandwiches and the peanut butter and jelly? that we dive into these culturally sensitive meals. lidia: because we respect all people's culture and with desire to eat the food that they grew up with.

so that's how this program was designed. damian: do you--i don't know if you've done the research but have you found that sometimes the trays would be returned with the meal half eaten because it wasn't culturally sensitive and now they're eating everything on the-- lidia: yes, you know--and it's also nice to let clients know that they have an option, so they have an option to get the regular meal delivery program, or now the cultural cuisine. and you know, let's say that they have been enjoying the regular meal delivery program and they wanted to try something different, they can switch to the cultural cuisine for so many months and then go back and forth. so it's nice to have that flexibility and be able to provide more than one option as a meal delivery company. damian: so maybe one week spaghetti the next week chiles rellenos, how can you go wrong? lidia: there you go. damian: you also have something called the breakfast bag program. lidia: yes, so the breakfast bag, we have that program for

almost three years now and telemundo has been a great sponsor of "feeding the soul" campaign since the beginning. and one of the big goals that telemundo has is that they've raised a $1,000 per day during the month of february. so with this month being a leap year, we're hoping that along with telemundo, we can raise $29,000 to provide over 5,000 breakfast bags for our seniors. damian: well, we will do what we can here on nbc bay area and telemundo. again, this is "meals on wheels" mount diablo region in partnership with telemundo 48 and nbc bay area. well, if you wanna get a hold of their programs and find out maybe what the menus are, there they are, the "meals on wheels" diablo region, there is their website. we're feeding the soul here on "comunidad del valle." we'll be back on the show with this very program and with lidia gutierrez. so stay with us.

the first time i tried to quit vaping, i told myself that it was like a mountain that i had to climb over and once i got to the other side, it would be clear, but i couldn't make it over. what really got me to quit was my little sister. i saw her vaping so i was back in the mountain, but this time she was up there with me. it's weird what you can do for others that you won't do for yourself.

damian: and we're back with lidia gutierrez here on "comunidad del valle." she's with, "meals on wheels," mount diablo region. and we all know that the need all across the bay area for food and clothing and shelter has increased especially after the pandemic. what can you tell us now about where we are when it comes to our seniors in our communities needing some extra help? lidia: yes, so we know that the seniors are the fastest growing society in our community. about 10,000 people are turning 70 every day. we also in contra costa are the number four diverse population and seniors throughout contra costa county. and feeding america data shows that 7.4 of california seniors were food and secure in 2021. just with "meals on wheels" diablo region, we had an increase of a 100% in delivery meals in the last four years.

so that is huge. damian: well, what that tells me is that the way you were doing business four years ago is not the way you need to do business now because you've increased so much. the need has increased so much. so that's why there's this campaign, "feed the soul." we need as many donations as possible to help you help them. lidia: correct. damian: talk about the importance of people maybe opening up their souls to borrow the term and their wallets to help you guys out. lidia: yeah, it is very important because like you said, not only telemundo but we partner with other agencies. we conduct outreach into the community to make sure that we are providing not just a meal but resources to seniors throughout the community. and when i say the community is throughout the contra costa county because we offer multiple different programs.

we have the meal delivery program, we also have a lot of clients that are whole handing and i think that's why this program has increased so much because people come to us for a meal and they find out that we have way more resources than just a meal delivery. damian: and you know, a lot of seniors don't have anyone else. their family either is not there or -- and so these seniors are two things. they're relying on agencies like yours to provide those daily nutritional meals, but also they're relying on your agency sometimes just to talk to somebody. lidia: yes, often we find out that with a staff or the volunteers who do the meal delivery, we are the only point of contact with a real person that a senior is gonna have for that day. so it is very important and it's very rewarding the kind of work that we do. damian: so what happens? i mean, you're not a psychologist, you're not a doctor, neither am i, but what happens to these seniors if it

wasn't for "meals on wheels," if they don't have those meal deliveries, if they don't have these other resources to get their minds off of certain things and just focus on the friendships that y'all provide? lidia: yeah, we have great programs now. we have friendly caller with often seniors don't feel comfortable having people over. so what they do is they call over the phone. we also have the friendly visitors who come once a week to give companionship and like you said also the friendly helpers who come and assist the senior to take 'em to pick up prescription drugs to the pharmacy or give them a ride to a doctor's appointment and that kind of stuff. and after the pandemic, a lot of seniors were really, you know, lonely and isolated. so it's important to make sure that we bring them back to society and to also help them be active again. damian: well, it's a wonderful service that y'all are providing.

again, lidia gutierrez is case management and outreach manager for "meals on wheels," mount diablo region. any final thoughts, lidia, before we let you go? lidia: yeah, and i just wanna say that if you have a senior, or you know a senior in your community who is looking for resources to please feel free to reach out to us because you'll be surprised of the many resources that we offer here at "meals on wheels" diablo region. damian: all right, so two important things. one, if you know somebody who might need the services, feel free to contact "meals on wheels," two, if you can help out with the campaign and "feed the soul" and make sure that the "meals on wheels" is able to do what they do effectively there in mount diablo region, then go ahead and give them a call. lidia, thank you so much for the work that y'all are doing over in coco county. lidia: thanks again, damian, for having me today. damian: thank you very much. again, we're gonna show you the website because again, it's a valuable service that they're providing. the mount diablo region, they're feeding the soul "meals on wheels." you can either obtain services or help out so they can provide even more services. we'll be back with more interesting topics and

interviews here on "comunidad del valle," so you wanna stay with us. it's the work behind the scenes, let's take a look at this knee. that truly matters. [ physical therapy staff discusses results ] for your mind. for your body. and for the community. -team! kaiser permanente.

damian: with community health partnership and some important new developments regarding medi-cal and other medical services, with me are jesse castaneda, cecilia tyson, and melissa trujillo here on "comunidad del valle." folks, welcome to the show. jesse castaneda: thank you. damian: thank you for being here. we'll start with you melissa. tell us first about community health partnership and the mission you all have there. melissa trujillo: yeah, thank you damian. so yes, my name is melissa trujillo with community health partnership. i'm one of the health coverage program managers here along with my colleagues, and i'll have them introduce themselves too. jesse castaneda: so i'm jesse castaneda, also health coverage program manager. cecilia tyson: cecilia tyson. damian: all right, well, welcome. yeah, go ahead melissa. melissa: thank you. so community health partnership, also known as chp, is an association of different health centers throughout santa clara and san mateo county. many of the health centers provide primary care services

along with other services such as dental services, mental health services, prenatal and case management services. and the mission of community health partnership is to advocate for quality, affordable, accessible, and culturally competent healthcare systems that demonstrate respect and compassion for our diverse communities. and at community health partnership, we do have five priority areas that we work in. so we have different teams that work on different areas. we have an advocacy team and in that advocacy team is a patient's rights team that provides resources on patient's rights that will help patients regardless of what coverage they have or what provider they have to learn about their patient's rights and accessing healthcare services. we also have a workforce development team that offers workforce training, internship for students and staff training. we have a community engagement team that leads work in

preparing the community for emergencies through workshops and outreach on how to prepare for emergencies. we have a population health team that conducts quality improvement programs at our member clinics and health centers to improve health outcomes for our patients. we also have a community programs team which is a team that jesse cecile and i are in that conducts outreach and education on health around diabetes. damian: looks like you froze a little bit there, melissa. a lot of work being done by community health partnership. but it's important news jesse, that it came out at the beginning of the first of this year. tell us about that change regarding medi-cal. jesse castaneda: so what happened as of january 1, 2024, was there was an adult medical expansion. so anyone between the ages of 26 through 49 that lives in santa clara county or throughout the state, can apply for medi-cal if

they don't already have medi-cal, and now there's no immigration status. there are income limits and also another big thing that happened with medi-cal, there's no asset limitations. before there were previously, there were asset limitations that a lot of people didn't qualify for. so it's important for members of the community if they've applied in the past and for some reason they weren't eligible, they should reapply. if they need help applying, they can always call us at our helpline, which is 408-579-6028, and we can help them in the process and also referring them to one of our clinics. damian: so to sum it up, a lot of people did not qualify last year for medi-cal benefits this year they do. jesse: yes. one of the big things is the immigration status. so in 2016, there was a senate bill 75 that passed that allowed children under the ages of 19 to qualify for medi-cal. there were income limitations and it was regardless of their immigration status.

and then january 1 of 2020, it was expanded to 26 years and younger. and then the one previous was 50 adults, 50 plus. that was may 1 of 20--2020, and now this one includes adults 26 through 49. and the big change like i say, is there's no immigration status needed. so previously anyone who had medi-cal was on restricted medi-cal. so it was very limited, the services they received. now with the full scope medi-cal, it's more comprehensive. they will be assigned to one of two different insurance plans in santa clara county. damian: so i have just a quick yes or no answer. are there other changes to medi-cal that people should know? and i'll get to that in our next segment. just curious if there are any other changes that people should be aware of. jesse: yes. well, the big thing is the immigration status and no asset limitations. damian: okay, great. we'll get to that in our next segment and expand on that a little bit.

and cecilia, we'll start with you in our next segment. but for more information, again, this is the community health partnership, they're right here in the south bay. they do help all of these community health clinics. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪

♪♪♪ chipotle's braised beef barbacoa might be our best kept secret.

slow cooked responsibly raised beef. seasoned with garlic and cumin.hand-shredded for fall off the fork tenderness. chipotle's braised beef barbacoa. if you know, you know. (tense music) - [trace] 25 years of the idc and no better place to celebrate it than right here at purina farms. there you go, sensational sounders once again does it. the green flag falls at the texas motor speedway. dogs from the central us compete. made up of 10 miles of uninterrupted beaches, huntington beach, california, host once again to the purina pro plan incredible dog challenge.