‘Centro de familia’ helps provide resources for Spanish speaking individuals in El Paso County
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- A Colorado Springs non-profit is seeing a slight increase in migrants coming to their center for help. Jacqueline Jaramillo is the Executive Director for 'Centro de Familia' she said their goal is to help Spanish speakers in El Paso County and address the misconception about what resources the Hispanic community and migrants are actually seeking.
Centro de Familia was first created in 1991 by two Latina women who understood the need for Spanish-speaking interpreters in the Pikes Peak area.
"They saw a gap in services for people who were monolingual Spanish speakers. And so both of them were bilingual, and they started Centro de la Familia, primarily to address the gap in services, in mental health services to the Latino community," said Jaramillo.
Since then, Centro de Familia has helped hundreds of people, and recently, they've made it their goal to address the misconception many have about asylum seekers or migrants who have arrived in Colorado Springs.
"These are people who have been here or are working for, you know, who are struggling, just like any other citizen of El Paso County struggles," added Jaramillo. "So they truly are asylum seekers and they're very misjudged.
Jaramillo said those who come to Centro are not asking for free handouts, but rather seeking employment.
"In the last ten years we hardly see Mexicans and we see more Central Americans and those individuals are coming," said Jaramillo. "They're here to work. They have the first thing out of their mouths is, we just need a job. Give us a job and we'll get to work. They're not here. They don't have the concept of a handout because they were never given handouts in their own country."
Centro offers them free counseling but primarily serves as an information center for those who go in.
"We try to navigate, help them find as many resources as they can. But in many cases, it's very limited and they end up still. They're still ending up on the street," said Jaramillo.
The non-profit estimates that 1 in every 10 people they work with every day is an asylum seeker.
