CENTRO DE INFORMACION
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Mission Statement
Poverty, fraud, and ignorance of laws and how things work in this country are problems experienced by the low-income, Spanish-speaking immigrant population of the far northwest Chicago suburbs. Misinformation circulates in the immigrant community, and fear is growing. Since 1972, Centro de Informacion has helped, principally, Spanish-speaking immigrants integrate effectively into the greater community through the facilitation of information, education, citizenship, and well-being. Centro bilingual staff answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions, provide emergency food and clothing, teach parenting skills and financial literacy, advocate with landlords and employers, and connect Hispanics with the information and preventive, supportive, and emergency resources that enable them to overcome language, personal, and systemic barriers. Centro de Informacion serves 11000 women, men, and children every year from 30+ different countries.
About This Cause
For 48 years, Centro de Informacion has served, principally, the Hispanic population of the far northwest Chicago suburbs, providing services to 11,000 individuals per year. The far northwest Chicago suburbs have a large, and growing, Spanish-speaking immigrant population. In actuality, the size of the Hispanic population is even greater than the data indicate as a significant but uncounted percentage of Hispanics are here without legal documentation, and their presence goes undetected in official statistics. Those Centro continues to serve, like most immigrants before them, have limited English, low skills and education levels, and a low socio-economic background. Immigration status, misinformation, and fear further handicap them. Centro de Informacion is the place that Hispanic immigrants trust for answers, help, and services they need. With offices in Elgin, East Dundee, and Hanover Park, Centro carries out its mission through information, advocacy, and referral; citizenship, DACA, and other immigration services; employment assistance and job fairs; emergency food and clothing; life skills seminars and legal clinics; after school tutoring for children; women's support groups; family-centered mental health services; and financial literacy, basic computer skills, and parent training classes. Community needs The far northwest suburban Hispanic population is one that experiences domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, unmet health and basic needs, substance abuse, unemployment at higher rates than state and national averages, substandard housing, and gang involvement. They include the parent who died, a dad who left when his wife received a cancer diagnosis, a mom whose landlord refuses to fix the furnace or broken window, a dad who had a serious accident and lost his job, insurance, and, next, the family’s home, an elderly man who cannot afford groceries but is afraid to ask for help, victims of fraud, identity theft, crime, and violence. In addition to anti-immigrant sentiment and the personal challenges of this population such as little knowledge of American culture and law, this population has a fear of approaching public agencies or government and pride that prevents asking for help. Misinformation circulates, criminals prey on vulnerable immigrants, and they do not know where to turn with their questions and needs, or who they can ask for help. The low-income Spanish-speaking immigrant population of the far northwest suburbs often needs a helping hand to overcome these language, culture, and systemic barriers to gain access to vital basic human services such as housing, employment, food, legal help, medical care, domestic violence and addiction support, and application help for public benefits including state, township, utility, medical, and other emergency assistance. There is a wide range of services available to low income reside in this area; yet, the immigrant community’s needs for crucial health and human services often go unmet for a number of reasons. Many Hispanic families new to the area have little or no knowledge of the availability of social services. In addition, many Hispanics, newly arrived or not, do not speak English which limits their ability to navigate the social service system. Still others have a basic level of English competence but lack confidence in their ability to make themselves understood, especially when discussing such sensitive topics as death, domestic violence, mental health, or their family’s needs. COVID-19 has hit this vulnerable population hard. Immigrants often work as cooks, janitors, eldercare workers, and in other low-skill occupations in businesses and industries hardest hit by the pandemic. When they lose their jobs, they lack vacation time, sick leave, health insurance, and they fear seeking medical attention. Sudden furloughs mean no family income at all. How Centro meets the immigrant community needs For those immigrants who come to Centro de Informacion, Centro’s bilingual, bicultural community outreach counselors listen, explain, advocate for, provide interpretation, and help secure services needed. Through its programs, the agency provides emergency food, a blanket or winter coat for a child, diapers, interpretation, paperwork assistance, and case management. Centro works with attorneys, Hope Fair Housing, Prairie State Legal Services, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, and with Centro's many other partner agencies to ensure that families receive the answers and the help they need on an individual basis and in group information events that Centro organizes in each of its offices. Several agencies provide their services regularly at Centro to overcome clients' lack of transportation. Since many immigrants struggle with the same lack of information and skills, Centro organizes community resource/information fairs and offers life skills seminars--all in Spanish--on such topics as employment and renters' rights, income tax, living with diabetes, avoiding foreclosure, HIV, consumer issues, and how to become a citizen, among many others and legal clinics, with local bilingual attorneys on a pro bono basis ti provide Hispanics with the tools to resolve their own immediate crises and enable greater access to a full range of life-improving services such as health, housing, language and literacy, and other basic needs. The assistance that Centro community outreach counselors procure for families in crisis can include calling a landlord who refuses to fix a broken window or a furnace or going online to fill out multi-page paper forms in English for public benefits such as food stamps and medical cards, or emergency assistance from townships and local hospitals when, for example, people incur emergency room bills that they cannot pay. When a professional or a business has taken clients' money and not provided the service, Centro community outreach workers contact the Illinois Attorney General Consumer Fraud Bureau and fill out a consumer complaint form on their behalf. In other situations, they complete a crime victim's compensation form for the client. They help families with credit problems or in danger of foreclosure find refinancing help and those with 5-day eviction notices find shelter. Employment and unemployment support, help with resumes, and on-line employment application assistance in Centro offices enable immigrants on the wrong side of the digital divide and with little English fluency to find jobs. Immigration counselors encourage citizenship and answer questions about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. They provide legal screening, consultations, and application assistance for renewing green cards and for a wide range of immigration procedures. Centro de Informacion is recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice )DOJ), and its immigration counselors are DOJ accredited. While Centro de Informacion never closed its doors, of course, COVID brought all seminars and group events to an abrupt halt. Services are now provided on an appointment basis only.