by Monica Chamness
Staff Writer
For the first time in its five-year existence, the Mayor’s Hispanic-American Advisory Board will host a symposium exploring Hispanic issues.
“Our issues are the same as those that affect everybody: health, education and economic development,” said Tomás Jiménez, one of the founding chairmen of the board and the current chairman of the board’s government affairs committee.
For the fall symposium, the board will pull together all of the Hispanic organizations in the community to create an informational document on issues important to the Hispanic community that will be reviewed by the mayor’s office. Establishing new services or service providers is not the objective. Directing the Hispanic population on where to go for help is the primary goal.
Concerns specific to the local Hispanic population include legal advice for the poor, medical assistance, immigration problems, business loans, translation services, English language classes, low-income housing and college scholarships.
“The biggest challenge [for this demographic] is speaking the language,” said Cuban-born Jiménez. “If they can speak English, they can get a better job.”
Each year the board holds a luncheon during late October, celebrated as Hispanic Heritage Month. This year’s scheduled speaker is Raoul Cantero, the first Hispanic to be appointed to the Florida Supreme Court.
In September, the group will host its second annual health fair, which is open to the public.
“We have information on the different illnesses common to the Hispanic community,” said Jiménez.
The group also rallies aid for poor Hispanic communities abroad that are victims of hurricanes or other natural disasters.
Six board committees have been formed to address issues pertinent to the Hispanic community: welfare and health, government affairs, education, public safety and legal affairs, cultural affairs and economic development.
The education committee awards $500 college scholarships each year depending on available funds. This year, scholarships may be as much as $2,000 each. Additionally, board members are involved in EASL (English As a Second Language) to teach English to Hispanic children in the school system.
One big project of the public safety and legal affairs committee is recruiting Hispanics for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
“During last year’s World of Nations, the sheriff’s department had a booth next to the advisory board,” said Jiménez. “They feel the ranks of law enforcement should grow along with the population.”
In 1998, former mayor John Delaney created the board through executive order with set objectives, which included enhancing Jacksonville’s image as a diverse and multicultural city, developing a bilingual workplace to attract foreign business, and fostering partnerships with Hispanic business leaders to promote the education of Hispanic youth.
“The new mayor [John Peyton] will let the board continue,” said Jiménez. “It was established as a conduit between the fast-growing Hispanic community in Jacksonville and City government.”
The board also hopes to increase Hispanic participation in local government and disseminate information about City programs and processes to those who need them.
“The Hispanic population has had a tremendous influx in the last five years,” said Jiménez, an exporter of heavy machinery. “The last census says we are almost 5 percent of Jacksonville’s population.”
The census includes the metropolitan area adjacent to Duval County, including St. Johns and Clay counties. Five percent translates into roughly 40,000 people.
“There are a lot of people of all different nationalities moving from South Florida. We have Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Venezuelans, people from the Dominican Republic, people from Central America,” he added. “They are looking for quality of life.
“Jacksonville is a very good place to raise children, and there are a lot of opportunities to find jobs.”
The Mayor’s Hispanic-American Advisory Board meets the second Monday of every month at 6 p.m. in the 15th floor conference room of the City Hall Annex. Meetings are open to the public.