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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-06-27 NHCHLC Minutes New Hanover Hispanic/Latino Commission June 27, 2023 – 5:00 PM l. Call to Order: Meeting called to order at 5:05 p.m. Members present: Dr. Andres Afanador, Flor Bautista, Dr. Amanda Boomershine, Gabriel Guerra, Dr. Susanna Lopez-Legentil, Michel Montalvo, Chris Montero, Gustavo Rodea, Maria del Carmen Rodriguez Morales, Dr. Edelmira Segovia, Helen Tarokic Members absent: None Staff: Monica Rohena Guest: None II. Introductions - Dr. Edelmira Segovia and Gustavo Rodea who were not present at the first meeting introduced themselves. III. Motions to Elect Michel read the duties as noted in bylaws. In order to make the motion to Elect a chair, Susanna asked those interested in becoming chair to raise their hand. Dr. Edelmira Segovia and Chris Montero raised their hands. She then stated that they should each state why they wanted to be Chair so that we may vote. Chris Montero presented his reasons for his interest in the position of Chair. Dr. Edelmira Segovia presented her reasons for her interest in the position of Chair. Secret paper ballot voting took place, resulting in seven for Edelmira and four for Chris. Motion to Elect Chair – Michel made a motion to elect Dr. Segovia as chair. Gustavo seconded it. Edelmira started leading the meeting as Chair. Call was made for anyone interested in serving as vice chair. Only interested party was Andres Afanador. Andres Afanador presented his reasons for his interest in the position of Vice-Chair. Motion to Elect Vice Chair – Amanda made a motion to elect Andres as vice chair. Chris seconded it. Motion to approve Maria Rodriguez as secretary - Andres made a motion and it was seconded by Amanda. IV. Set the future meeting dates Discussed at the last meeting and then agreed to the fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:00 pm. Up to three absences are permitted. It was mentioned that we could not do video meetings. They had to be in person. We looked at the calendar and set the dates for the full year. The commission started in May. Motion was made to make the meetings every fourth Tuesday of the month at 5:00pm except for Holidays. Michel made a motion and it was seconded by Amanda. The dates are  July 25, 2023  August 22, 2023  September 26, 2023  October 24, 2023  November 28, 2023  No meeting in December  January 23, 2024  February 27, 2024  March 26, 2024  April 23, 2024 The County will facilitate posting dates on the website. The County will try to get the same meeting room for the rest of the year. V. Items for Discussion At the last meeting it was mentioned that we could have the Strategy Team come to our meeting. Members discussed how it is important not to reinvent the wheel, suggesting leaning on established agencies and asking them how we can help facilitate what they are doing. Focus on broadcasting the status, events, success, and needs of the Hispanic community, given that as a Commission we have a captive audience. Suggestion to lean on the media as part of that amplifying the voice of the Hispanic community beyond social platforms like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. Consider access to Spanish language. Helen brought up the concern of directing too much overflow to different organizations once communication is amplified. Learning a lot about what agencies are doing but wondering where they are at with capacity. To prevent exhaustion or lack of capacity issues, there has to be some outreach related to capacity. Shared lesson learned from project on human trafficking, that taught her that they do not have capacity to serve the 2000 people who watch session. Other members echoed concern giving example at Med North and Clínica Latina. Chris mentioned a commission in Raleigh or Charlotte and the opportunity to learn from them. Edelmira echoed mentioning the NC Governor’s Hispanic Advisory Council and an opportunity to represent our areas, as they have struggled to have representation from Wilmington and the East Coast. Gustavo noted we need more representation within the political arena because they are the ones making the decisions and sometimes do not have the presence of Latinos. Mentioned immigration as number one topic and suggested we should utilize the power of the Commission to voice those needs. Amanda echoed, adding looking at the ability to affect change at a higher level. Suggested making a list of the organizations that are Latinx serving or Latinx businesses. Other members agreed. There are databases already started that could be merged for this purpose. It could be shared with the membership to continue developing it. Susana noted that emails to each other have to be made available to the public, including the sharing of the database. There was a discussion about having five to six columns in the directory, including the name of the location, contact person, website address, phone number, email, and type of service. Added recap the two things that we were talking about. One being the megaphone of things that are already happening, success stories. Make sure that a bilingual equity plan is part of it. We need some guidance about moving forward with items that we really believe in. Suggested to seek guidance from Linda Thompson. Gustavo read from bylaws “identify the status of the Hispanic/Latino population in the County and assess their needs.” Asked how do we assess the needs and bring it to them? Chris added; Labor law, contracts, housing. Tremendous main points that we are going to need to know how to address. Helen added that the Public Health Commission presented to the Commission saying that the number one public health issue priority they wanted to address was housing. The New Hanover Sheriff's Office won't take labor trafficking, labor exploitation reports, referring all to ICE. They’re also not consider certifying T-Visas for victims of trafficking, leading them to working with the district attorney's office without participation of the Sheriff's Office. Chris noted the importance of strategizing and leaning on agencies outside of state who can help us strategize. Susanna asked about the process of working with the Strategy Department. Monica noted that they listen to what we want to do and help you build that. They want to help guide. Maybe narrow it down. They do not take over. Maria brought up concern that many times they do not know how to help our people because they do not understand us. I think that our goal is to teach them what they do not know and to help us, help each other. Gustavo brought up HB10 and asked how it will affect people. Susanna noted that the lawyer said we were not allowed to email about this. Helen suggested we need to get the lawyer back in talk with us, noting that emails are not confidential. It is a publicly accessible email. Later she asked whether we can ask people to present to us, like Ted Davis to give us his opinion on this. Monica didn’t think there are any restriction on who can speak. Other commissions have had people come in to present on different things. Gustavo asked how do we as a committee inform the community. The general public is going to be affected by this. They will not know until it is a law. Noted the importance of voting Vl. Public Comments: none Motion to adjourn the meeting. Andres – Motion. Michel – Seconded it. VII. Adjourn: Meeting was adjourned by at 6:17 pm NEXT MEETING – July 25, 2023 – NHC GOVERNMENT BUILDIN