Hispanic women facing 3 obstacles

The three barriers are that they are women, they are not white and they don't have English as their first language. This discrimination has to end. DP

By JONNA HUSEMAN, Telegram Staff Writer

ColumbusTelegram.com: COLUMBUS - When Juana Hanson moved to Columbus from Chicago 14 years ago, she was one of few Latina women in the community.

Now, Hispanic people, or Spanish speakers, make up more than 6 percent of Columbus's population, according to the 2004 Columbus Collaborative Team Community Needs Assessment.

As the Hispanic community continues to grow and flourish, many, including Hanson, a bilingual advocate for the Center for Survivors, believe Columbus could do more to keep up with the demands of Spanish speakers.

“The number one thing is the language barrier,” Hanson said. “Everywhere you go, you see the Latino population, but to find a good interpreter is really hard.”

According to the same CCT Assessment, the community believes that “communication with or for Non-English speakers” is a problem, ranking it 2.68 out of 4.0 in terms of seriousness.

However, when asked to evaluate how well local services met the needs of persons in the community, the same issue (communication with or for Non-English speakers) was ranked as “adequate.”
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