MADISON —For 30 years, Centro Hispano of Dane County has been the leading social service provider for Latinos in the greater Madison area. On Friday, June 27, 5:30 p.m., the Centro Hispano board of directors, staff, and Executive Director Karen Menéndez Coller will host a gathering for invited community leaders, supporters, and the media to outline the agency’s programmatic vision. Part of this vision is a continued commitment to fostering strong Latino youth, but also a renewed emphasis on services that center on thriving families meant to ensure adolescent success both within and outside of school.
Demographically, a similar percentage of Latinos are living below the poverty line as are African Americans in Dane County. The percentage of adult Latinos 25 years and older with a high school diploma or GED is dismal with only a little over 30 percent achieving this goal. And nationally, the trajectory for US-born Latinos is not that much better. In Los Angeles, a long-standing hub for immigrant communities, only about a quarter of young Mexican-American youth progress beyond a high school education. Centro Hispano has crafted a plan to positively impact disparities within the Latino community centered on helping to streamline services for the Latino community within Dane County, in particular, services focusing on education, employment, and meaningful case management of life stressors both during and in-between crises.
“As I approach the 1-year mark of my time as executive director, I find it imperative to outline the future direction of our agency,” said Menéndez Coller. “Disparities within the Latino community are increasingly prevalent the longer our community lives in the United States and this is why our programs are essential now to ensuring the success of both adults and children as they transition to life in this new country.” A member of the Justified Anger Coalition, Menéndez Coller went on to state, “Our agency will continue to ardently support on-going efforts in place through the Justified Anger Coalition and believes it is crucial we take a stance to ensure equity for Latinos in this community.”
