Community Experience

I visited Centro Hispano in Provo and talked to 3 different people about the services offered by Centro Hispano and what the center does for the community. I really wanted to visit Centro Hispano because I am minoring in Dual-Language Immersion (in Spanish), and I feel very passionately about helping the Hispanic community. I know that no matter where I teach, there will be a number of Hispanic students in my classroom, so I felt that it was really important for me to go to Centro Hispano to better understand what services are offered to the Hispanic community.

Some of the resources provided by Centro Hispano that I learned about include community resources, health and wellness programs, adult education resources, and low income tax resources. I was really impressed by the community resources they provide. At the front desk, essentially anyone can come in and request help with anything—job applications, vehicle registration, resume creation, citizenship forms, translation of documents, and so forth. Centro Hispano also provides programs to help anyone learn about improving health. In addition, they provide free health screenings for diabetes, blood pressure, and depression. Furthermore, through their adult education resources, they provide classes to the community on citizenship, how to live in America, health care, developing healthy relationships, etc. Through their services to low income tax payers, they offer help for people struggling with the IRS and for those who have not payed their taxes in passed years to help them resolve those issues.

Right as I entered Centro Hispano, I faced a disruption while talking to the lady at the front desk. She started telling me about how she provides services to low income taxpayers to help them with taxes for past years and helping them resolve problems with the IRS (to help them not have to deal with all of the consequences that. I was sad to admit it, but I felt a little disrupted when she said this. It made me uncomfortable because initially I did not feel it was “fair” for people who had missed tax deadlines to receive so much help. I think this was costly for me to accept because it hurt my pride or made me ‘jealous’ because those services did not apply to me. However, if I embrace these services, I know that they will be able to help many of my students whose families face these tax issues and problems with the IRS. As the families are able to resolve these issues with the IRS, the students will be able to feel more emotionally stable and be able to perform better in schools. When I learned about the free health screenings provided by Centro Hispano, I was also disrupted by this at first as I wondered from where the funding for that came and questioned how “fair” that was (for them to receive health screenings at no cost whatsoever). For the same reason mentioned above, I think it was costly for me to accept because of my jealously and pride. But, if I can accept and embrace this service provided by Centro Hispano, so many students and families can be blessed by this service, as they receive help in finding direction in dealing with health problems.

I was amazed by the services Centro Hispano offers and felt grateful that the Hispanic community has access to those blessings and resources. I think it is important that Hispanic families know about these resources and take advantage of these opportunities. I can honestly see myself talking to parents of my Hispanic students about these resources, as I learn more about the family backgrounds and struggles my students are facing at home. For example, if I am aware of parents who do not speak English applying for jobs, I would help them realize the resource available at Centro Hispano for helping them fill out applications. I noticed that at Centro Hispano, they have papers and resources  to explain their resources to people. So, in my future classroom, I could carry there brochures for students or parents who come into the classroom and want to take a copy. In addition, through meetings like parent-teacher conferences, I could make parents aware of these resources.

I think that some potential risks in providing these resources are that there could arise political controversies over providing free health screenings and providing help to low income tax payers with the IRS. Due to issues of white supremacy, racism, and political issues concerning immigration in the United States, perhaps some white parens and families in my classroom may feel opposed to me discussing resources for Hispanics in my classroom. I might also face challenges with the school district in getting to know students’ personal lives on such a close level and seeking to help their families on a more intimate basis as well. I will need to understand my school district’s policy and then do all I can to fight to make these resources readily available and known among families in the district.

 

I think that Centro Hispano is a remarkable organization, as it does so much to help the minority community of low income Hispanics. They face the effects of white supremacy and even discrimination on a daily basis (as, for example, in America, they are often not provided with documents in their own language or help with health care or other resources). The Hispanic community also faces major setbacks in terms of immigration policies in the United States. Through Centro Hispano, they are provided with more resources to help them reach citizenship and understand how to “make it” in American society.

If these resources provided by Centro Hispano were made readily available to the Hispanic community and were truly utilized as well, I believe it would have a really positive impact on many families and many students in helping them in a number of ways—whether by overcoming struggles with poverty, improving family relationships, improving health, or dealing with the challenges of living in America. Also, I feel that as families use these resources and receive of the benefits of these resources, students will be able to feel more emotionally confident and stable at school (with less problems in their home life), and in turn, will be able to contribute even more to my multicultural class as they feel accepted in class and by society.