Programs
Information and Referral Program
For approximately 30 years, Casa Latina has assisted Latino families in Hampshire County in their search for a broad array of support and services, including health care, housing, employment opportunities, adult education programs, child care resource programs, legal services, transportation resources, public assistance offices, food pantries, domestic violence support, and immigration resources. Casa Latina’s programming helps low and moderate income Latino town residents gain access to these crucial health and human services. Our bilingual, bicultural staff provide information about and referrals to these services, along with interpretation, translation, and advocacy – which are essential components of the referral process for many Latinos.
Medical Interpreting Service
We train and support a network of community medical interpreters who work with local hospitals, clinics, and private practitioners to provide culturally- and linguistically-competent care to Spanish-speaking patients.
Community Education
Our community education programming is a hallmark of our commitment to the empowerment of the local Latino community. Although we are aware that the significance of the word “empowerment” has been diminished by its overuse, we continue to believe that genuine empowerment for low-income Latinos – by which we mean that we come to recognize and utilize our own potential and power – must remain our ultimate goal. Our community education programming brings groups of low-income Latino community residents together for a period of weeks or months to explore the causes behind the serious hardships that face local Latinos and to work together to examine possible short- and long-term solutions. In recent years, these projects have included such issues as domestic violence, Latina women’s history, racism, and HIV/AIDS education. Currently, our community education efforts include a women’s group focused on health care access, a group that advocates for Latino children with special health care needs, and a group that trains Latino elders to provide support to their peers.