Logan groups work with USU to offer services for influx of Hispanic people
Logan’s rapidly growing Hispanic community faces many challenges, but one community leader summed up the biggest problem in two words: “Language barriers.”
Leo Bravo, director of the Hispanic Center in Logan, said the inability to speak English prohibits some Hispanics from getting the work and the education they need to succeed.
“In order to find a good job, you have to have the language,” he said.
Everardo Martinez-Inzunza, director of Multicultural Student Services at Utah State University, said the Hispanic population in Cache Valley has increased by 225 percent in the last 10 years. Thirteen percent of Cache Valley residents are Hispanic, he said.
Populations should continue to increase, because many of the recent immigrants are young couples who are having children, Martinez-Inzunza said. Fifty percent of Hispanics in Utah are younger than 18 years old, he said.
Enrollment in English as a Second Language programs is up 30 percent in the last three years, he said.
Because of the growing populations, issues involving the Hispanic community are receiving increasing attention.
In Logan, the Hispanic Center is a place where people of any nationality can go to receive assistance.
“People come for many reasons,” Bravo said. “Sometimes they have questions about the courts, the police, drivers’ licenses, civil dispute matters.”
The Hispanic Center is funded by grants and donations. Fees are charged for services like consultations and preparing documents.
“We explain the rights and privileges that people have in this country. They have rights but they also have duties,” Bravo said.
The center also explains constitutional law to help people protect themselves against abuse and understand legal issues dealing with immigration, he said.
Antonio Arce, a member of the Hispanic Center Board of Directors, said Bravo has done a lot to help members of the Hispanic community.
“Leo is kind of a middle point, not just for people in Cache Valley, but I would say for people all over Utah,” he said.
Bravo said original funding for the center came as a $14,000 grant from the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice. Help also comes from the courts, police, the United Way, food banks and local churches.
USU’s Multicultural Student Services also provides many services, he said.
“We are lucky to have Utah State University,” Bravo said.
Martinez-Inzunza said there is no such thing as “the Hispanic community.”
“There is not just one community. The Latino community is among the most diverse in the country because Latin America is so diverse,” he said.
The diversity is important, Martinez-Inzunza said.
“It’s like a black and white TV compared to a color TV,” he said. “Once you go to color, you’ll never want to go back. The world is full of colors, full of music, full of flavors. Why narrow yourself by choice?”
Idani Mirabal, Outreach specialist for USU Personnel Services, coordinates a free, 10-week workshop called “Enhancing Diversity in the Workforce” for people with limited English skills.
“The university is trying to bring more diversity to the workforce and trying to help the community,” she said.
The program is for ethnic minorities in Cache Valley who need help increasing their ability to speak English, Mirabal said. The classes emphasize employment, cultural skills and technical training. After completion of the course, graduates can receive money to pay for classes at the Lifetime Learning Center and Bridgerland Applied Technology Center.
According to a press release, the program has already graduated 107 participants, some of whom now work for the university.
Mirabal said there are beginning and advanced classes for students at different levels taught on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Logan High School from 6 to 8:30 p.m.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu