COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — Centro Latino closed abruptly in October. It left a gap in services for immigrants in southwest Iowa needing information and services. City and county officials, including police and public health, are working with other nonprofits to address unmet needs.
WATCH HERE
- Council bluffs Police Chief Matt Davis said that his department misses its partnership with Centro Latino: "We've been trying to work very closely with leaders in the faith community, other community leaders who are trying to step into the big shoes that Centro Latino filled."
- Maria Torres, Pottawattamie County Public Health: "Going out into the community and actually talking to people, it's like, 'We don't know what do, we don't have a safe space to go into, where do we ask questions, where do we get resources?'"
- For more information on the Emergency Action Plan: communityprojectcb.org
- Pottawattamie County Public Health: pottcounty-ia.gov/public_health
- RELATED | Lack of funds leads Council Bluffs nonprofit to close after nearly 20 years helping immigrants
STATEMENT FROM IOWA WEST FOUNDATION
"About 10 percent of the residents of Council Bluffs have Latino or Hispanic heritage. With the closing of Centro Latino, Iowa West Foundation wants to better understand the services that are needed to help Spanish-speaking residents succeed. We engaged the Latino Center of the Midlands to speak with residents and service providers to hear their perspectives. Iowa West Foundation will convene a meeting in the Spring to discuss the results of the survey and consider how our community can help remove obstacles to the success to our Spanish-speaking neighbors."
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The sudden closure of Centro Latino last October left a gap in services for Pottawattamie County neighbors.
I'm Southwest Iowa neighborhood reporter Katrina Markel.
I'm here in Council Bluffs talking to community leaders who are looking for ways to address those unmet needs.
"Now that Centro Latino's not here, where do we send people?" Maria Torres asked.
The closure was a shock. Centro Latino offered classes and translation services. It provided immigrants from around the world with information they needed to navigate life in the United States.
Maria Torres: "Going out into the community and actually talking to people, it's like, 'We don't know what do, we don't have a safe space to go into, where do we ask questions, where do we get resources?'"
Maria Torres, the health equity coordinator with Pottawattamie County Public Health, says immigrants working toward citizenship or permanent residency need connections to professional services.
"Having lawyers. Those who already have some kind of process going on, they need immigration lawyers here," she said.
Council bluffs Police Chief Matt Davis told me in January, his department misses its partnership with Centro Latino.
"We've been trying to work very closely with leaders in the faith community, other community leaders who are trying to step into the big shoes that Centro Latino filled," Davis said.
Torres says she encounters immigrants here legally, still afraid they could be arrested. In the absence of Centro Latino, community leaders created a booklet with an emergency action plan, so neighbors can be prepared if they are detained. She immigrated from El Salvador and became a citizen six years ago.
"I'm getting my own child ready just in case of anything,” she said. “Like I said, I don't have a sign on my forehead that says, 'I'm a citizen.'"
Another concern: immigrants will be afraid to report crimes committed against them.
"We want to engage with the community,” said Davis. “You know, especially when there's fear and apprehension, provide information, clarity."
Visit 3newsnow.com for a link to the emergency action plan and Pottawattamie County public health.
