Budget cuts are in store for 2004 in several areas of Ohio’s government – an unsurprising occurrence given the brittle stability of the economy. The effects of such significant deductions will affect many Ohioans, especially the growing Latino community.
The Ohio Commission on Hispanic-Latino Affairs is one of the many government-funded organizations to receive a decreased amount of funding from the state’s pocketbook, despite the continuing upsurge of the Latino population in Ohio, which grew at a rate almost 12 times the state average last year to 350,000, according to The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The commission – which serves as a liaison between the state government and the Hispanic-Latino community in Ohio in the areas of education, employment, economic development, health, and housing – uses its funding to staff two full-time employees along with 12 governor-appointed commission members who are responsible for serving as the voice of the Latino community.
Michael Florez, chairman of OCHLA, expects to receive approximately $37,000 less in government funding for 2004.
“We all receive budget cuts,” Florez said. “This is to be expected, especially being such a small commission.”
While the Latino community continues to be the largest growing minority population in Ohio, OCHLA ranks at the bottom of the government’s funding priorities.
An annual budget of $200,000 is set aside for the commission – approximately 57 cents per person per year. With the expected upcoming decrease to $163,000, the amount drops to 46 cents for every Latino living in Ohio.
“It makes the task of serving as a liaison between the government and the community very difficult,” Florez said.
Erica Shell, who coordinates Spanish interpretive services at Riverside and Grant Hospitals and has attended OCHLA meetings regularly, said the commission has obviously struggled because of a lack of funding.
“Without funding, they are unable to gather the necessary information needed to better serve the community,” Shell said.
She said she believes the state government is unable to fully comprehend the importance of the Latino community in Ohio. She credited Latinos for services many take for granted, such as allowing others to dine in restaurants, eat fresh fruit and buy food in grocery stores. Latinos play an essential part in all of those things, Shell said.
“Latinos are on all sides. They allow our middle class to exist,” Shell said. “They are teaching in our universities and cleaning our universities.”
While the budget cut will not directly affect Ohio State’s involvement with the Latino community, some see it as a poor reflection of the state’s opinion of the importance of the Latino community to Ohio.
“As a university, we need to learn about this new population, how to serve that population, and enrich our community overall,” said Yolanda Zepeda, director of enrichment programs for the graduate school at OSU. “There is a great need to help new arrivals and find ways to orient them.”
Zepeda said the Latino population in Central Ohio brings a richness to our community which is both economical and cultural.
“As a community, we should take advantage of that so we can all benefit from this richness,” she said.
Shell said she sees this as an issue of free trade between human beings.
“Latinos contribute so much to Ohio’s economy,” she said. “They deserve something in return.”
