From homework to conversations, Commission offers Latinos support

In a former church in Forest Park, children from Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador gather after school for free help with their homework. Their parents often stay nearby, hoping to pick up new lessons of their own in their work to adjust to a new nation and a new way of life.

The outreach effort by the Latino Ministry Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio in the former Holy Spirit Church continues to grow, offering support and encouragement to immigrant students, their families and the native English speakers who work with them in schools, hospitals and businesses.

Carlos de Jesus chairs the Commission and also provides conversational Spanish training for first responders in Forest Park and Fairfield. The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, with offices downtown, also includes one of fewer than 10 designated bi-lingual Spanish/English parishes in the country, at the Church of Our Savior in Mt. Auburn.

In the Forest Park space, English classes for native Spanish speakers and Spanish classes for native English speakers overlap every week, allowing teachers to talk to parents, nurses to chat with potential patients, and employers to have conversations with workers.

"If we can just give them confidence to communicate with their neighbors, bosses and at the store," says de Jesus, an energetic GE retiree. He spearheads the all-volunteer effort of the Episcopal Diocese with an eye toward creating a model for other cities, and expanding the homework club as well.

Do Good:

• Have a conversation. E-mail Carlos de Jesus to volunteer with the homework club or other learning sessions.

Give a tweet. Follow the Southern Ohio Episcopal Diocese on Twitter.

• Learn more about Latinos in Greater Cincinnati. Visit the Greater Cincinnati Latino Coalition.

By Elissa Yancey
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