Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month: Triangle organizations help to support the community

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- El Centro Hispano has been serving the Hispanic and Latin American communities in North Carolina for more than three decades, reaching across 23 counties, including Durham County where community health department manager Rubi Morales said a lot of work needs to be done.

"We want to make sure the community understands how it's important to go to the doctor," Morales said. "To know how better the life is going to be if they prevent diabetes, for example."

The Latino community is booming in the Bull City with at least 14% of Durham's residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino in 2010, and 14% also identified as foreign born.

"That's why we're always looking for what the necessities are ... what their barriers are for health access," Morales said.

With each screening and even food boxes that are available to those in need in the communities they serve, Morales hopes the support continues.

You can find El Centro Hispano at least twice a month at Super Compare Foods in North Durham, where they offer services such as health screenings and education about health resources.

"I know there is a lot of things that we need, that has to be done," Morales said. "But also, they are always open to receive the help that we bring. They are always open to receive the vaccines and the information that we can provide them."

ALSO SEE: Bachata dance classes surge in popularity

El Futuro is also working to support the community as a Latino-serving mental health care service provider.

Executive Director Luke Smith said he's seen a growing demand for this kind of care in the Bull City, especially among young people.

"We are seeing that one out of every three students in the schools is Latino," Smith said. "We're seeing a community come in from Latin America that is rich in variety ... who are very proud of culture, yet far away from their home communities. So that's very stressful."

Smith said those stresses are why they've been serving the Hispanic and Latin American communities for 20 years, providing services such as therapy and psychiatry, youth mental health, and substance-use counseling.

"When they find us, it's like an oasis," Smith said. "They say, Oh, finally I found help, and it's from people who talk the language I talk ... and that feels so refreshing."

Smith said it's important to care for the mental health of the Latino population but more can always be done to support the community.

"There's a lot of different levels of action that we can bring ... to make them feel a part of the bigger community, that's in our schools and our workplaces," Smith said. "But then once they're here to celebrate culture, that has added something positive to our bigger community that's making all of us stronger."