The call to action was one of several next steps outlined by the Latino Alliance of Northwest Ohio that emerged during the past two Southend community meetings to address concerns regarding the Broadway Construction Project. It didn’t take very long for our gente to figure out that when you come together, identify an issue and mobilize your community around the issue with a plan of action, something can be done to improve or change the situation.
That is exactly what is happening with the Latino residents in the Old Southend these past months while attendance is growing at the Sofia Quintero Art and Cultural Event Center. Residents and Latino business owners requested meetings with city leaders and got an era full of concerns regarding minimal traffic signage, trucks driving through neighborhoods, no pedestrian or school walking plan and general lack of regular construction updates to community. Residents not only shared their concerns but were prepared with their list of solutions. The city has been responding and will continue to meet with residents and business owners through the end of the construction project expecting to be done by Thanksgiving.
The ultimate goal of the Latino Alliance of Northwest Ohio is to mobilize the Latino community throughout the city and build collective people power, provide grassroots leadership training so that the community can determine their own needs, communicate their needs, fight for them, and then get the results they are fighting for in both their respective neighborhoods including common goals citywide.
Some of the other concerns raised at the community meetings are voter registration and then vote, community safety, education of our youth, affordable home ownership opportunities, living wage jobs, increase job placement within the city and county, data percentage of Latinos employed in city and county, and bilingual/bicultural services and translation.
Stay connected pick up La Prensa weekly newspaper in your neck of the woods for future updates and join our team to start helping build a collective voice in your neighborhood.
Ramon Perez