Community members gathered around banquet tables in the Jasper Engines & Transmissions training facility last week to discuss the relationship between the Latino and Caucasian populations in the county.
The Latino Collaboration Table — a group of concerned community members that formed in 2014 — hosted four discussion sessions, one for school officials and three for employers, to discuss what is needed to better serve the Latino community. The discussion groups included representatives from a variety of industries including education, manufacturing, healthcare and banking.
Donna Oeding, one of the founding members of the Latino Collaboration Table and administrative director of the Dubois County Health Department, said the sessions all had common issues. For example, she said, everyone cited language barrier as an issue.
“We aren’t bilingual, and neither are they,” Oeding said.
People also saw a need for Caucasians to better understand the immigration system and the steps Latinos must take to keep their legal status and become citizens. The Trump Administration’s announcement to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program last month brought the immigration system to the forefront for people who work with Latinos regularly because the futures of people in that program are now uncertain.
“It creates that issue for employers, too,” Oeding said of the uncertainty. “These are good employees.”
Participants also saw the need to teach the Latino population about the systems in place in our country for everyday life such as banking, health care and education. In health care, for example, Oeding said there are certain immunizations people have to get. The questions become how to communicate that need to the Latino population and how to tell them where to go to get those shots.
Educators also discussed the struggle of explaining the education system to the Latino population. Each Latin country has a different education system, and each of those systems is different from the American system. The emphasis the American system puts on standardized tests, for example, has been difficult to explain. Grade levels are determined differently in America than other countries, and classroom etiquette varies as well.
The last main point that was discussed in all the sessions was a need to understand each others’ cultures. In regards to education, for example, American culture puts more emphasis on school and grades than the Latino community, who tends to emphasize working and earning an income. Despite the differences, there are important cultural overlaps.
“(Latinos) are very hard working,” Oeding said. “They’re family oriented and ... they’re faith oriented.”
Dubois Countians pride themselves on those three traits as well.
The next step for the Latino Collaboration Table is setting up similar sessions for members of the Latino community, including one with students. Those meetings should happen before the end of the year.
“I do think getting the opinion of and hearing the voice of the Latino community it crucial,” said Evelyn Rivas, a member of the Latino Collaboration Table and president of the Association of Latin Americans in Southern Indiana.
After the community sessions, the Latino Collaboration Table will collect the comments documented during the sessions and host one large meeting to decide on the next steps.
“I just see building a stronger Dubois County,” said Rivas. “I think we could all learn from each other. It’s always good to hear the other side.”