Latinos work to find place in Sisters

The Hispanic Coalition Group held its first meeting in Sisters earlier this month in an attempt to join area Latinos to the greater Sisters community.

A considerable and growing number of Hispanics is making up the local population (See related story, page 30). They are opening businesses and working in the community, yet they tend to remain apart, according to Carlos Guzman, one of the coalition's organizers.

In an effort to help integrate Hispanic folks into the community, Maret Pajutee, the district ecologist from the U.S. Forest Service, described a program that provides students aged 16 to 18 summer job opportunities with the Forest Service that sometimes provide much more than just a summer job.

"There are a lot of people who have done this and found a love for the work and ended up making the Forest Service their career," she said.

Unique problems faced by the Latino population were also on the agenda.

"There are problems for the Latinos that are similar to everyone's problems, but often they don't know where to turn. Getting information to them that they can understand is a problem. This is important so they can have access to the same resources as everyone else," said Rossy Gomez, another of the event's organizers.

Some think the issue of integration into the community is broader than one ethnic group.

"I think that the focus needs to be broader than just Hispanic. It would help to make this an International Coalition so that the base would be broader. There are Chinese, Dutch, Japanese, Russian and other nationalities here, and they all face the same issues," said Gérard Duerrmeyer.

Barriers to communication were of key importance to some of the attendees.

"It is difficult at times to help out when there is a need because of the language differences. Sometimes I need help when there is a student and communication in English is difficult. A bank of people who can help with translations would be a big help in the community," said George Shackelford, counselor at Sisters Elementary School.

The group discussed the possibility of finding resources for rent subsidies and assistance to find affordable housing.

"We handle a lot of those issues at work. We have a number of programs to help those that are trying to get their feet on the ground, and they are designed to bring the person to where eventually they will no longer need the assistance," said Sonia Duerrmeyer, the comptroller from Housing Works in Redmond.

For more information or to volunteer to help bring the community together, contact Rossy Gomez at Saving Grace in Bend at 977-9200.