SPRINGVILLE — Centro Hispano first opened its doors in 2002 with the sole purpose of providing help and assistance to the Latino community in Utah — a community that, due to language barriers, has a difficult time accessing basic needs.
“We found that they are slipping through the cracks because most services are provided in English. We wanted to have this event so that they could come and learn about services in Spanish,” said Jackie Larson, Executive Director, Centro Hispano.
Sergio Palomec and Brenda Hernandez, local Provo residents who are part of the Latino community, have benefited from the services Centro Hispano offers.
“We’ve been benefiting from their services, whether it’s information…they tell us where to go if we need something… education for children,” said Sergio Palomec, a Community Assistance Fair attendee.
“I always do my taxes there. They help the community with their taxes. I’ve been doing my taxes for so many years there, and I’ve never had a problem with the IRS,” said Brenda Hernandez, another Community Assistance Fair attendee.
“We know that doing your taxes and going in front of the IRS can be difficult, especially if it’s not your first language. So we can do that for you. We do translation of documents, we have a notary service,” said Abraham Hernandez, Health Promotion Coordinator, Centro Hispano.
Its mission is to have equal access to the information and resources the Hispanic community needs in order to strengthen individuals, families, and communities through education and skill-building activities.
“Centro Hispano is a community center; yes, our focus is the Latino community, but anyone is welcome to come and use our services. We want to be that link to other resources,” said Hernandez.
