CARTHAGE, Mo. — Moving to a new community can be a daunting task even when you speak the language. Imagine how much harder that would be when you don’t. An area not-for-profit helps with that transition.
“It’s pretty exciting to see, you know, within three years how far it’s come,” said Fernando Carbajal, Founding Member of the Hispanic Connection.
Carbajal is one of five founding members of a group called the “Hispanic Connection.” It formed during the height of the COVID crisis with the goal of helping Spanish-speaking people new to the Carthage area learn how to acclimate into the community and stay up to date on the latest COVID information.
“We are committed to helping the communication, you know, bridge the gap between the Spanish-speaking and the English-speaking,” said Maria Sanchez, Founding Member, Hispanic Connection.
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And even though the pandemic is over, the group organizers agreed it makes sense for them to continue their mission, especially when it comes to healthcare options.
“We inform them, especially about health insurances, you know, with Access Family, with different walk-in doctors, and various needs, even with the United Way discount prescription cards that we’ve been able to share that information,” said Sanchez.
The information and advice Connection members give come at no cost because all of them have been there and done that, and want to help others avoid some of the mistakes they made in starting over in their new community.
“They know that they can reach out to us, and we can speak their language to where they feel more comfortable dealing with us. I think that, you know, drives us to provide these services to them to make sure they do the right thing,” said Carbajal.
