Luis Perez Case Luis Perez,

Luis Perez Case

Luis Perez, recently deceased, was a successful Vintner in Argentina before he and his wife, Maria, decided to immigrate to the United States in order to provide more opportunities for their family. Despite the expense, the were able to purchase a small rural plot to grow grapes, and brought their 8 children, ranging from 19 to 3, and his elderly parents and two dogs to America. Luis and the children are fluent in English, Maria is unconfident with her language skills, and Luis' parents, Ramon and Carmen, have no desire to learn English and prefer the family continues in the traditional, Roman Catholic, Argentinian culture. Of course, life in the United States is quite dissimilar to that in Argentina, the closest Church is 15 miles distant and served by a traveling priest, there is no immigrant or Argentinian community for any of the adults, and almost from the start there is a strong desire on the part of the children to acculturate. Unfortunately, Ramon dies and Luis falls victim to multiple schlerosis, burdening the family with medical bills and difficulty in maintaining the farm. The oldest son, Ramon, 19, is expected to move into the role of "man of the house," but is resentful because he wishes to go to college and pursue a different direction. The other children try to make friends at school, and have little interest in the "traditional" ways of their grandmother. Maria and Grandmother Carmen feel increasingly isolated without their husbands at full capacity and the family in turmoil. The family itself is quite isolated from the community and, other than school; the children have little opportunity to distance themselves from the stress of their family life. To add to the conundrum, Maria is pregnant and overwhelmed with the possibility of living with a terminally ill husband with an incurable, and progressive, disease (Ashford, Lecroy and Lortie).

Luis, until his illness, was clearly a vibrant, hard-working man; intelligent and deeply concerned about the welfare of his family, the future of his children, and finding a way to pass on a legacy to the next generation. The strongest influence on his behavior was the relationship and cultural heritage passed onto him by his parents, Ramon and Carmen. They clearly support family and family values over individual needs and use the family unit as their core cultural determiner. However, one must surmise that the decision to move to the United States was also meant to allow the children to move into a different sort of life, one with various opportunities that Luis felt were unavailable in Argentina.

Luis certainly never planned that he would be struck with a debilitating, and incurable, disease at roughly the prime of his life. He and his wife clearly have a positive relationship, 8 children and one on the way. Luis' plans, though, did not include some of the fiscal and health upsets that make it impossible for him to work as hard as needed to ensure the success of the family farm. As he transitions from middle adulthood to late adulthood, it is likely that he will become more conservative and nostalgic for the traditional family ways. His father died, his mother is isolated, his wife concerned; yet his oldest son is only begrudingly working the farm to keep food on the table, and Luis likely feels impotent because he is unable to quickly and decisively "solve" this situation as he has so many times in past issues. Luis, in fact, will need to get used to allowing for greater medical care as his disease progresses, the role which will likely fall to his wife as she faces the burden of caring for an ill husband and a new child.

In working with the family there are two major dysfunctions that would be difficult with which to deal: the traditional Roman Catholic attitude towards birth control, and; the idea of bringing his family to the United States for better opportunities, but refusing to allow those opportunities because of traditions (in particular, Ramon). However, personal values are not transcendent, and as a human service professional, our job is to provide professional, non-biased services as an advocate and consultant -- a solution oriented professional who will help provide a win-win situation for the client and family members. The Human Service Professional's role is to help, inform, and treat each client with beneficence and respect for their own values -- to advise but not coerce, and to develop a positive and trusting relationship that also allows each client to actualize their own personalities and belief systems (Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals).

As a result of working with a family like the Perez', three things happen: socio-cultural views about religion and tradition are more understandable; frustration that a large immigrant group taxing the system would be mitigated by realizing the future children have the opportunity to change their, and others' lives; and a respect for unplanned situations (medical) that creep up on even the most robust of families. With that in mind, it would be important to develop a plan for the Perez family that would address the following:

Isolation -- One of the clearest problems is that all members of the family, in some way or another, feel isolated. Reaching out for Argentinian, South American, or other Spanish speaking immigrants in the area and putting them in touch with the Perz family would help.

Religion -- Religion is so important to the adults in the family, and yet those needs are not being met. Meet with the local Catholic priest or bishop to find outreach and/or community programs.

Social/Health -- Ramon is isolated because of the dichotomy of his situation. Two potential solutions; help Ramon find a partner who will buy into the farm, help him farm it, and make an arrangement so that, long-term, he can get to college or; help the Perez family find a buyer for the farm and assist them in moving to the closest city where their might be more educational and professional opportunities, as well as easier access to healthcare, rehabilitation assistance for Luis, a multi-lingual community for Maria and Carmen, and evening, weekend, or community-based programs for Ramon.

The Luis Perez Family - EcoMap

REFERENCES:

Ashford, Lecroy and Lortie. "The Perez Family Case Study." Human Behavior in the Social Environment. New York: Wadsworth, 2006.