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35 years… |
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| Much has changed in Georgia since 1972. Back then Alpharetta was farmland, Atlanta had never had a mayor of color, and, while other U.S. states had long lived in a melting pot of culture and heritage, only a few Georgians had ever encountered a neighbor that did not call English their native language. In the early seventies, Georgia’s Latino community was small and largely unnoticed.
In fact, Georgia’s Hispanic population was not recorded until the 1980 United States Census. |
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Today, with an estimated Latino population of nearly 600,000, the face of Georgia is evolving. Our community continues to become enriched and enlivened by the myriad of talents and traditions that the newcomers bring, and for the past 35 years, the Latin American Association has been evolving along with our community, serving the needs of a growing population that, more than anything, wishes to provide a better life for their families and to participate and contribute to our society’s success. |
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When LAA founders joined efforts in 1972 to lay the groundwork for what we are today, they envisioned an organization that Latinos could turn to, that would be there to guide them and to help them overcome the daunting challenges that come with starting life in a new country. Thirty-five years later, the LAA continues to fulfill that promise, assisting almost 70,000 individuals each year in their efforts to succeed in school, learn English, find jobs, become better parents, and so much more.
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From the
Director |
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As you will read in this month’s newsletter, The Latin American Association is celebrating 35 years of community service and is taking the opportunity to honor its past, study its present and plan its future. |
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| We recently completed our strategic plan for 2007-2012. It will soon be shared with our stakeholders and the public and will be posted on our website for your convenience. The details will come soon enough but I can tell you this much for now: The future includes more outreach centers and an approach to our programs and services promoting the full participation of Latino immigrants as workers, family members, students and leaders in the community. This is accomplished through four strategic directions that will be detailed on the website, but I will share one for now. |
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One of our strategic directions is focused on improving academic achievement at the middle school level. According to the statistics, this is where we are losing our students. You’ll hear about the scope of our work: how it’s tied to other parts of the strategic plan, aligned with partner organizations and geographically focused for greater impact. At the moment I want to connect it to our upcoming youth conference scheduled for October 27 th. As we have reported in the past, the youth conference has grown exponentially in the past few years with close to 1,200 students participating last year alone. This year is no exception. However, this year our conference will concentrate more intensively on middle schoolers, and more middle school students and parents have registered than ever before. What a tremendous opportunity for all of us! In the past, students have told us that they want more networking opportunities with other students and information on how to be more involved in their communities, and parents have told us is that they need more information on Advanced Placement classes, navigating the school system and understanding how to prepare their students to take the SAT among other things. The program has been created with these needs in mind. |
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We are grateful to all who are supporting our efforts in education and look forward to seeing you on October 27 th on the Georgia Tech campus.
This is a tremendous opportunity to continue to build a coalition of parents, corporate leaders, volunteers, teachers, and leaders in our institutions of higher learning who are committed to improving academic achievement for Latino students in Georgia. As our keynote speaker, Ralph de La Vega, said last year—“¡Sí se puede!”
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Feature Story: An Investment in Family |
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Most people ponder what they might do if they came into a sudden influx of money. Many fantasize about spending it on things like cars, clothing or vacations, and Susana María Rodríguez*was no exception.When going through the incredibly difficult process of leaving an abusive marriage, little did Susana know that this question would one day become real rather than hypothetical. However, unlike many who might choose to spend the money frivolously, there was never a question in Susana’s mind that she would use the opportunity to ensure a better life for her and her children. |
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Susana came to the Latin American Association two years ago seeking help with her abusive husband, who had continuously beaten her throughout their 8-year marriage. With three children, the youngest 4 months old at the time, Susana, a full time mom, felt trapped in a situation that was dangerous both to her and her children as her husband repeatedly threatened to kill them if she called the police. It was the realization that her oldest son, then only three years old, was displaying increased aggression that prompted her to seek help because she realized that he was at risk of following his father’s patterns. |
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After taking the brave step of pressing charges against her husband, Susana used the five months he was in jail to position herself for a new life. A trained hairdresser in Mexico, Susana worked during that time to get her license in Georgia so she could work. With her self-esteem having been beaten down as well, she also attended one of the LAA’s domestic violence support groups, which helped her sustain the strength to not return to an abusive situation. “When Susana came to us, she was at a point of desperation,” comments María Fernanda Bermúdez of the LAA’s Domestic Violence program. “Her self image was very negative, and she was confused about where to turn and what to do. Our job was the easy part—to help her create a plan to care for herself and her children. Her job was the hard part—to put that plan into action, which takes incredible courage and determination. And it turns out that Susana is one courageous and determined woman.”
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Fearful of what her husband might do after his release from prison, Susana worked with María Fernanda to secure a protective order against him, who, due to some additional criminal charges, was consequently mandated to leave the country and no longer posed a direct threat. But even though Susana was now safe and had used the time her husband was in jail to position herself to support the family, she was still in a very precarious economic situation. LAA staff helped her apply for financial assistance through the Georgia Crime Victims Compensation Program, a program which provides a helping hand to innocent victims who have been physically injured in a violent crime and who meet a set of eligibility criteria. As a result, last year Susana received $10,000 in assistance to help with her expenses.
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The thought of wasting the money did not even occur to her. Instead, she used the assistance to open her own hair salon, which today is doing well. “My family and I are doing well and are so happy now,” says Susana. “Life is totally different—the way it’s supposed to be. I’m so grateful to the Latin American Association. And most of all, I am proud of myself.”.
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*Actual client name was changed to protect her confidentiality.
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Foundation Partner: United Way |
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For 28 of the LAA’s 35 years, the United Way of Metro Atlanta and the LAA have worked together to bring about long-term positive change for Atlanta’s growing and changing Latino community. Since 1979, the United Way of Metro Atlanta has invested significant financial support and resources in the LAA’s proven strategies to address the most critical issues facing Atlanta Latinos. Because of this, the LAA has had an even greater impact in the areas of employment, housing, technology, homelessness, families, children and youth.
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Last year, the United Way of Metro Atlanta provided almost $400,000 in direct financial assistance for nine LAA programs. Their support allowed the LAA to launch one of metro Atlanta’s only bilingual transitional employment programs targeting Latinos and has been instrumental in allowing the LAA to grow its programs in Cobb, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett Counties to help meet the overwhelming demand for LAA specialized services.
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Additionally, over the years, the United Way of Metro Atlanta has provided considerable opportunities to collaborate and share resources with other nonprofits and community stakeholders. For example:
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Two years ago, the LAA joined forces with the United Way of Metro Atlanta and a number of local service providers to provide basic needs and emergency support in the region for Hurricane Katrina evacuees.
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In 2004, the LAA teamed up with the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta and several community partners and created an economic initiative called COMED (Construction Micro Enterprise Development) – a program to close the gap between the large number of Latino workers and Latino-owned construction firms |
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The LAA thanks the United Way of Metro Atlanta for its continued support and partnership over the last three decades and looks forward to a successful and productive future. The LAA is proud to be a United Way agency.
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Partnership in Action: Junior League of Atlanta |
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The Junior League of Atlanta is an organization of women committed to diversity which promotes volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and community improvement. This year, in an effort to reach out to Latina girls, the Junior League will offer in collaboration with the LAA a program for 20 middle school students called Estrellitas. Together with the LAA, this ten-week program will cover topics that affect young Latinas, such as physical development, teen pregnancy, mental health and career exploration. These adolescent girls, who are at a transition point in their lives, will meet every week to discuss current issues of teen life with peers and adults in a safe and supportive environment. |
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“We are so excited about the Estrellitas project,” said Connie Land Norris of the Junior League of Atlanta. “We think that Estrellitas has the opportunity to become a major initiative in the area, leveraging both the Junior League's ties as well the LAA's ties.” |
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For more information about the Estrellitas program, please contact Janie McNair at (404) 638-2214. |
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Faces: Roger Trueba |
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If Roger Trueba of Delta Air Lines could say only one thing to the Hispanic youth he meets today, it would be this: Give back. The son of Mexican immigrants, Roger, Chairman of the LAA’s 2007 Latino Youth Leadership Conference, says that he acquired his “spirit of giving” when he went to a school that encouraged the students to do volunteer work in the community. “That’s why I think it’s important to teach a sense of civic giving at an early age,” he says. “Even the youngest people can care for others and give back to their community.”
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Nobody knows about giving back better than Roger. When he is not busy spending countless hours volunteering with the Latin American Association, he is giving his time to be a mentor to not one, but eight Hispanic young people. All he asks of the youth he works with is that they “mentor back” to others. “That is their legacy,” he says. |
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It is also important, Roger says, for Hispanic youth to have many Hispanic leaders to look up to, and that is why he is so involved in the annual youth conference. “Being in a sea of Hispanic leaders,” he says, “energizes the young people, and encourages them to see beyond high school.” Regarding the significant high school drop-out rate of Hispanic youth, Roger believes that seeing college-educated Hispanic adults helps to encourage high school students to “tough it out” and pursue higher education. They also start to realize that in the adult world, “speaking Spanish is cool!” he says, and that they will actually benefit from embracing their language and culture. |
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As a professional in International Business Development at Delta, Roger is also president of LAHEN, the Latin and Hispanic Employee Network. Through his leadership, he has transformed LAHEN from a group offering “chips and salsa” kinds of events into a vibrant organization that is able to teach employees how to get involved with the community and to help Delta channel its resources to effectively meet Hispanic customers’ needs. |
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