Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Hispanics revive Alliance
By Howard Yune/Appeal-Democrat (link to this article on Appeal-Democrat website)


Ryan Harris/Appeal-Democrat
Alliance for Hispanic Advancement officers are, from left, Vera Correa, Debby Porcayo, David Gonzalez, Margret Fernandez, Rosemary Avila and Toni Fresquez.

The troubles facing many Latinos seem can seem so pervasive as to become stereotypical - language barriers, school dropouts, a drift toward teen pregnancy or gang activity. Amid such problems, good life examples and happy endings can seem scarce.

In response, a group of Latino Mid-Valley residents have revived the dormant Alliance for Hispanic Advancement. The group plans a range of programs that its leaders say can point locals, especially the young, to a secure place in society.

“Our main thing is to let people know we're here, and here to help,” said Margaret Fernandez, one of the alliance's two chairwomen and the owner of a Yuba City job recruitment company.

The original Hispanic alliance began in 1992 with a core of about 20 organizers. From the start, according to Fernandez, the group sought ways to give local Latinos - both immigrants and their children - the knowledge needed to craft a life beyond the drudgery of farm labor or low-wage work.

The alliance found its most visible expression in a college scholarship program, paid for with fundraisers, that brought tuition money to about a dozen Yuba-Sutter teens. But any mission, however well-intentioned, was hard to sustain as a mere sideline, and the group's activities petered out by 1999.

In January, some of the founders gave their program a second chance, resuming meetings and eventually reviving the Hispanic alliance. The group's new program includes such causes as increasing Latino voter registration, the citizenship process and even health awareness. Alliance members also plan to raise funds to revive the scholarships campaign.

But in its early months, the revived Hispanic alliance will turn its attention to those still in school. Starting in October, volunteers from the group will join mentoring and counseling programs at Yuba City High School and the Marysville branch of Friday Night Live, a youth educational and community-service group.

For Oscar Velasquez, one of a handful of prospective teenage mentors, the top priority is simply to keep his peers from dropping out of school and limiting the scope of their lives.

Ryan Harris/Appeal-Democrat
Oscar Velasquez, an aspiring filmmaker, is one of the teenage members of the Alliance for Hispanic Advancement.

“There are people with family issues, who need to support their families because they're the only ones who are bilingual,” said the 17-year-old, already a mentor in the state Youth Employment Opportunity Program. “They have to pay the bills, get a job, make the phone calls, and if they get a job it'll be minimum wage.”

Velasquez, who turns 18 in September, will go to Los Angeles to attend film school next spring. Such stories are what his elders hope to hold up to local youth.

“We need to teach your children how to be responsible, reliable adults who take care of themselves,” said Fernandez, the alliance leader, “and let them know these things are out there for them.”