Latino Connection News
Posted by Lorena Mora on June 10th, 2009
Good news! Gina announced that we have officially attained a 501 3c status. She reviewed the tentative schedule for the rest of the year (depending on those invited to talk:
June: Social Security (Theresa Buscher)
July: Celebration of 101st meeting: Dance Lesson and dance group
August: LULAC updates and Census Bureau
September: Department of Labor
October: interviews with youth: NCCJ and youth programs
November: Nominations, Community Education and Outreach (OSU and Dayton Metro Library)
December: Elections
John Pawelski delivered the report from the Spiritual Care Committee:
Sr. Maria is organizing a summer camp
Dale Nieberding is preparing the June 18 Annual Gala Fundraiser. Registration by June 10, $25 per person or $30 after June 10. It is semi-formal attire. For more information or questions, please call Dale at 252-5700 X 247.
Ruth and John have plans to go to Mexico and the support the community where they have worked and which is really flourishing.
Last Tuesday the Spiritual Care committee met. Francisco Peleaz was there. Although the attendance was sparse, the most important thing was that a group was able to pray. Send prayer requests to them.
The Advocacy group (although it is now not officially connected with LC) spoke about Ohio HB 184 that has just been introduced and requires the use of E-verify by employers even though this has been shown to be a flawed system. HB 1 requests fund for Limited English Proficient students. Another legislation proposes making April 30 the Day of the Child. Julie Arias and Francisco Peleaz gave this report.
Theresa Troyer reported for the Education committee. There are various grants in process. LULAC is writing for learning centers from AT & T and P&G in collaboration with WSU whose students would follow the Latino student from the school to the learning center.
Tom Wahlras (Human Relations Council of Dayton) and Dale Richardson (Montgomery County Children’s Services, Adoption division) came to present on government agencies and their outreach to diversified populations.
Dale told us that Montgomery County Children’s Services (CS) has worked with diverse populations since 1990. They noticed a disproportioned number of African American clients. So they began a diversity training program for their staff. They also have a Diversity Awareness Committee (DAC) with the goal to promote diversity in the workplace while respecting individuality. CS has a policy of requiring 6 hours of cultural diversity. They stress knowledge and respect for cultural diversified populations and promote vendor contracts for those who are also respectful of culture. The 2008 Culture Fair is Sept 30, 2008 at CS. They had the Big Read Program where they have special books to read. In this case the author of The Glass Castle came to speak at the Reibold Building. The county hires interpreters for services. ON Sept 19, there will be A Diversity Awareness Fair. More information is forthcoming for those who would like to share information, have a table.
Tom Wahlras then spoke about their work. They hear complaints about discrimination within the city limits of Dayton. Their mission is to keep peace, order and harmony within the jurisdiction of Dayton. They insure equality of treatment and opportunity for all. Since he has been with the DHC, they have not received any cases from Hispanics. They do not check documentation. They encourage working together in matters of employment, housing, credit transaction, contract compliance. Their procedure is to look at the situation, see if it seems discriminatory, investigate and mediate. They prefer to handle a problem, for example, with a landlord, before it becomes a police problem. If they get complaints from direct service providers, at lest pressure can be put on offenders.
They are planning to have their brochures translated Feel free to call Tom at 333-1407 or Courtney Kyles at 333-1424.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Goodie Gillispie from the Minority Contractors Business Assistance Program offered assistance to city of Dayton’s minority contractors. Please call 223-2164. June 25 is the Women’s Entrepreneur’s Conference from 9am- 4pm at the Dayton Convention Center. Registration on-line. Call 223-2164 with any questions.
On June 19th, 15 tons of food is to be delivered to the Food Bank, in collaboration with LULAC. The LULAC Convention is Saturday, June 20th . $10,000 in scholarships will be given. The Diversity/ Latino Job Fair will be held at the Nutter Center from 10am to 2pm.
Julie Arias mentioned that the AFS has an action alert to urge President Obama to give Temporary Protective Status to Haitians. She also mentioned that Roberto Martinez who pioneered efforts for human rights on the border, passed away.
Dale Richardson mentioned that their department is now doing child specific recruiting. He has 5 teenagers to highlight. One is Hispanic, a young man with a Nicaraguan mother who has lived in a Hispanic community.
The Greater Dayton Interfaith Commission invited an Immigration attorney from the Presbyterian Church to encourage churches to sign a statement urging Humane Immigration Reform.
The Next meeting is June 18.
Ongoing Announcements
Boy Scouts have a Hispanic Initiative, so please encourage young people ages 5-21 to contact Marilyn Miller at 278-4825 if interested in learning more about the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Venturing programs.
Habitat for Humanity is seeking Hispanic family partners. If you know of a Hispanic family that might be interested in a Habitat house, please contact Holly Fetters at 586-0860, ext. 10.
The OLAnet website, which is part of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs, , is a great resource to find out about events and make others aware of your organization. If you are interested in registering, please contact Lilly Cavanaugh at lilleana.cavanaugh@ohio.gov.
United Way’s Help Link is language accessible at 225-3000 or 211. Please tell callers to say their language and hold to be connected with an interpreter. Also, please check the information about your organizations online or by calling and asking for Katina. Please provide an updates or corrections to them so that they can better direct callers.
Free Computer and Internet classes are available at the LULAC Computer Lab operated by Dayton Christian Center. Hours are Monday-Friday from 10AM-6PM and the first Saturday of every month from 12-3PM. It is located in Linden Baptist Church at 101 Linden Avenue. Please call 424-3550 for more info.
The Red Cross is seeking volunteers. For more information about their opportunities, please contact the Volunteer/Human Resources office at 222-0124 ext. 138. Also, bilingual per diem Health and Safety Instructors are needed and training is free. Please call Jodi at 222-0124, ext. 121, for more info. All course schedules are available online at www.dac.redcross.org.
Salud Community Clinic is a Spanish-language accessible health clinic that accepts patients with Medicaid, private insurance, and offers a sliding fee scale for persons with no insurance. They are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9AM-7PM and the 2nd Sunday of each month from 12-4PM. Please call 667-1122 for more information.
St. Paul United Methodist Church’s food pantry is available Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10-2:45. It is language accessible for Hispanics, and no SSN is required. The Life Enrichment Center also gives food once per week, and they only require a photo ID, though the center can issue a form of identification on-site. For more information, call St. Paul’s at 252-4467 or the Life Enrichment Center at 252-5700.
Respectfully submitted,
Sister Maria Stacy, Secretary
Please email corrections and/or updates to latinoconnection2005@yahoo.com
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