Friday, December 3, 2004

Nashville Hispanic Chamber launches continuing education event, December focus is law enforcement

The Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (NAHCC) kicks off LatINforma, a monthly series of educational sessions to keep the Hispanic/Latino community better informed.



The first session will take place on Monday, December 6, from 7 to 8:30 pm at the Chamber offices inside Harding Mall, 4050 Nolensville Pike, Suite 211.



These sessions are free and open to the public.



Representatives from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Communications, Metro Nashville Police ‘El Protector’ Program and Tennessee Department of Safety will meet with the Hispanic/Latino community in an informal and personal level to educate, interact and inform about the different roles each of these agencies play in our community.



In many Hispanic countries the Police are not only responsible for law enforcement, their roles go as far as issuing passports, driver’s licenses, and IDs and even dealing with civil warrants. Therefore there is a significant need to inform the Hispanic/Latino community about the differences in everyday life with hopes that this knowledge will prevent any confusion that could result in unintentionally breaking the law.



LatINforma is a spin-off of the community collaborative that started in November 2003 with a partnership between NAHCC and Scarritt-Bennett Center, to bring Diversity in Dialogue Study Circles to south Nashville’s Hispanic/Latino community. With the support of the Metro Human Relations Commission two listening forums to foster relationships and understanding between law enforcement and Hispanics/Latinos were conducted at Glencliff High School in February and April 2004. Other organizations involved in the collaborative were Hispanic Link Consulting, La Noticia Spanish Newspaper, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods, and Metro Nashville Police Department.



“It’s apparent that the growth of the Hispanic population in our area is best defined as overwhelming, and it creates a need to rapidly assimilate at many different levels. Obtaining information is crucial and troublesome for Hispanics. LatINforma is an initiative designed to help in this process. Our Chamber is picking up where the listening forums and study circles left off; we are taking responsibility by continuing our initial goal of providing our growing Hispanic/Latino community with the necessary tools to better interact in our city”, said Yuri Cunza, President of the NAHCC.



Topics to be discussed in future sessions include:



* Metro Codes and Health Departments

* Metro Water Services and Stormwater

* Metro Public Schools

* Metro Fire Department

* Metro Nashville Police ‘El Protector’ Program

* Metro Human Relations Commission

* Scarritt-Bennett Center’s Diversity in Dialogue Study Circles

* Youth/Child programs

* Financial Planning

* Auto, Home, and Life Insurance

* Domestic Violence



NAHCC’s LatINforma is supported and endorsed by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office, Hispanic Link Consulting, La Noticia Spanish Newspaper, the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods, Metro Human Relations Commission, Metro Nashville Police Department and Scarritt-Bennett Center.



For further information please contact Gabriela Coto at 615-568-3652, gabicoto@msn.com or Diana Holland at 615-585-9884, diana@hispaniclinkconsulting.com, LatINforma Program Coordinators and Board Members with the NAHCC.

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