The day-long Puerto Rican and Latino Summit in Hartford on Saturday focused on Connecticut's Hispanic communities, aiming to identify and prioritize improvement areas for these rapidly growing demographics.
The summit sought to foster collaboration and create a nonpartisan legislative agenda to address the unique needs of the Latino community in Connecticut. It was organized in collaboration with the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, its Puerto Rican and Latino Studies Initiative and The Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity & Opportunity.
Organizers sought to directly present the agenda to elected officials, encouraging in-depth discussions and ideally sparking legislative actions on vital issues. Emphasized topics included housing inequality, Latino voters and civic engagement, education equity, health disparities and community strategies and linguistic justice.
Housing inequality
A recent report from Advancing CT reveals that in 2023, 331 Hispanics experienced homelessness. Despite a decline in chronic homelessness, there was a 7.06% increase in youth homelessness among community members in the same year.
The report underscores an increase in the number of Hispanics seeking refuge in emergency or transitional shelters within Fairfield County, an area known for its substantial Hispanic population.
On the housing insecurity panel was San Juan Center Executive Director Fernando Betancourt, who emphasized that some Hispanics live paycheck to paycheck, struggling to afford housing. And Betancourt stressed the significance of offering these communities better opportunities.
“With a lack of affordable housing, you have a concentration of poverty that also affects everybody,” Bentancourt said. “And what they're not talking about is that this is about discrimination and racism because many of us, that look like us, or speak like us, they don't want [as] their neighbors. All we need is the opportunity so we can thrive."
Health disparities
Health care serves as a source of historic discrimination, with almost 20% of Hispanic individuals reporting avoidance of medical care due to fear of discrimination or mistreatment. Consequently, eligible Hispanic/Latino individuals refrain from enrolling in public health insurance coverage or accessing health services. The distress is further exacerbated by anti-immigrant public discourse and reduced employment opportunities.
Lisa Werkmeister Rozas, a professor at the UConn School of Social Work, highlighted the reluctance of many Hispanic immigrant families to seek health services, attributing it to discrimination based on speaking Spanish or having a low income. This sentiment was supported by Victor Cristofaro, the principal at Burns Elementary School in Hartford, who emphasized the significant need for health services, particularly mental health services.
“They're walking around in fear, so they tried to stay like under the radar and don't really fight for basic human needs,” Cristofaro said. “We have to keep encouraging them to seek what they deserve.”
Latino voters and civic engagement
The summit was a discussion platform and a space for actionable insights, featuring remarks from state officials and local civil rights advocates. Organizers provided data from recent collective sessions among Hispanic communities in the last months to establish a foundation for understanding their unique challenges and opportunities.
Attendees expressed eagerness for the collaboration and hope for tangible change in the social dynamics for Hispanics by providing a platform for dialogue and data-driven decision-making, which they say is pivotal in shaping a more equitable and inclusive future for all.
Daisy Olivo from Meriden, a member of the Connecticut Democratic Latina Caucus, advises eligible Hispanics to become U.S. citizens to participate actively in civic events, such as elections.
“We need to bring more Latinos to the forefront. We need to be in leadership, and we need to bring up the numbers and register voters and try to convince the youth that their vote counts,” Olivo said. “That's very important.”
The real impact of this event will be assessed based on the policies, initiatives, and partnerships that develop during the upcoming legislative session in February. Organizers and attendees anticipate that these outcomes will demonstrate a collective commitment to improving the well-being and empowerment of the Hispanic communities in Connecticut.
