Casa Latina, Inc.

La Noche Cubana: A Fundraiser for Casa Latina

Join Iroko Nuevo for an Afro-Cuban community celebration in song & dance. Live Music! Dance Demonstrations! Social party!

$10 Suggested Donation (no one turned away for lack of funds)

When: Saturday, April 6 @ 7pm

Where: Florence Community Center, 140 Pine St., Florence

Call (413) 563-2189 or join the Iroko Nuevo Group on Facebook for more information.

Three Kings Day

Our annual Three Kings Day celebration will be on January 12, 2013 from 1:00 – 4:00 in the Florence Community Center (140 Pine St., the same building as our office).

Please call us to register at (413) 586-1569

Support Casa Latina on 12/12/12

Please donate to Casa Latina as part of Valley Gives day on 12/12/12.

Casa Latina 2011 Re-Encuentro

Amidst a cacophony of children’s laughter and the wonderful aroma of Latino food, provided by C Town Supermarket in Holyoke and courtesy of Casa Latina, members of the Latino community, Casa Latina staff and board members, as well as other members of the community at large came together to catch up socially at the annual re-encuentro which was held on Thursday, December 1 at the Florence Community Center.

Heather Warner, Board Chair, distributed arts and crafts supplies to each table as Lillian Torres, Director, opened the gathering with a warm “bienvenida.” The propose of the gathering was to give the community an update on the work and services that CL staff members have been providing for the community as well as an update on CL’s standing as a non-profit organization. The re-encuentro is also an opportunity for members of the community to relate their concerns and wishes for the upcoming year.

Lillian requested that families register their children for the annual Día de los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day), which has been scheduled for Saturday, January 7 at the Florence Community Center from 1:00 to 5:00 pm. The event is a highly anticipated, as well as well-loved and well-attended, event with food and entertainment. Toys are distributed to children of all ages who are in attendance.

Luz Enieda García, Co-Director, then took the floor and reported on Casa Latina’s current financial standing and the challenges the organization is facing. She impressed upon those in attendance the importance of participating in the annual appeals campaign. Every amount is welcomed regardless of size and/or quantity. She also reminded all present to spread the word about our organization, relating how vital and instrumental the organization has been in her own personal life. Casa Latina provides educational programming, community activities, access services (medical interpreting), and an information and referral program. Attending CL’s events is another way of supporting our organization.

Eneida mentioned an upcoming workshop for parents sponsored by Families with Power, a Jackson Street School parent-run organization that helps “empower low-income families of color to take action to help [their] children succeed in school” (Mary Cowhey, http://www.mcowhey.com/learning_to_roar_91299.htm).

Lillian and Eneida then raffled off $15 gift certificates from Walmart, followed by an invitation to partake of the food and socialize.

Casa Latina receives grant from Drawing Democracy

This grant is for training the community on the redisricting process. We have attended two hearings and are looking at developing a map to present to the redistricting hearing by mid-July.

Casa Latina Benefit Dance This Friday

Join us at the Iron Horse @10pm on Friday 10/22 for a night of live Latin music with Kultura Boricua.

$20 Tickets available by calling Casa Latina (413) 586-1569

Also available Northampton Box Office (+ fee) on Main St. or at the door (+ fee).

2010 Casa Latina Dance is coming

Stay tuned …. We are scheduling our 3rd annual Latin Dance and will announce its date and location soon.

2009 Reencuentro

Please join us at our 10th annual Reencuentro which is a chance for members of Hampshire County’s Latino community to give feedback and help direct the work of Casa Latina.

When: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009@ 6:00
Where: Florence Community Center [map]

We will talk about our work in the past year and plan 2010. Food will be served.

Casa Latina is awarded grant to close gap on health disparities among Latinos

This September Casa Latina was awarded a two year grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA Foundation to fund the “Bridges to Latino Health/Puentes a la Salud Latina.” project.  After completing a needs assessment phase called “Closing the Gap on Health Disparities among Latinos in Hampshire County,”  Casa Latina will offer a project that will target both health providers and Latino consumers. 

Our integrated strategy includes the deployment of certified bilingual Community Health Workers (CHW) working primarily with two large primary care practices- Valley Medical Group and Northampton Area Pediatrics.  The purpose of the CHW is to improve access to and increase utilization of primary health care, and reduce health disparities by serving as the ‘bridge’ between clients in the needs and health care services.  The CHWs will also offer educational groups on health topics to the Latino community and Chronic Disease Management groups. 

In addition, Casa Latina will be offering  staff training for health providers and partner agencies on such topics as Latino culture, health education materials for bilingual and low-literacy audiences, and organizational strategies to create a more ‘Latino-friendly’ environment.

Finally, Casa Latina will be facilitating a broader Partnership Coalition of providers, consumers and local service agencies. Our agency partners include – ServiceNet, the Hilltown Community Health Center and Cooley-Dickinson Hospital will serve on the Partnership coalition with VMG and NAPEDS. Through a combination of these efforts we will be increasing the community’s understanding of the root causes of disparities and the community’s role in helping to shape local solutions.

Casa Latina 40th Anniversary Dance

Yesterday, we celebrated 40 years of Casa Latina at the Garden House at Look Park. Thank you to La Veracruzana for providing the food and Tiger Press for all of the printing and to the many local businesses who donated to our raffle.