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HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION <br />MINUTES - May 17, 1999 Page 2 of 5 <br />2 1999 FORUM <br />3 <br />4 1999 Forum Topic Committee's Report Ms. Louise Echols, representing the Topic <br />5 Committee, (whose members are Ms. Echols, Mr. Kittrell and Ms. Christine Barfield), <br />6 recommended that the 1999 Forum topic be "Services for the Hispanic Population of <br />7 Orange County." <br />8 <br />9 Discussion of Proposed Topic <br />10 The proposed theme was discussed. Judy Cox said that she feels one of the most <br />11 urgent needs for the Hispanic community is services to its undocumented members. <br />12 <br />13 Commissioner Jacobs spoke about the tremendous hostility against Hispanics in <br />14 California and Florida. He suggested that we invite people from the local or state <br />15 governments of those areas to speak at the Forum about how to constructively deal with <br />16 the resistance that builds up among citizens against Hispanic immigrants. For example, <br />17 one issue is the question of "Why do I pay taxes for services to undocumented <br />18 persons ?" He added that the Hispanic population will increase dramatically in the near <br />19 future. <br />20 <br />21 Commissioner Jacobs also pointed out that migrant farm workers are exploited. He said <br />22 that many North Carolina citizens are not even aware that these workers are among us. <br />23 <br />24 Ms. Jeffries added that the children of these workers are afraid to go to school because <br />25 the other children make fun of them, pull their hair, etc. She said that another barrier to <br />26 some Hispanic children's education is that their parents are frequently transferred in the <br />27 middle of the school year. <br />28 <br />29 Ms. Cox asked if we have ongoing "English as a Second Language" classes for adults <br />30 the area? Mr. Kittrell said that Durham Tech has a very large ESL class and that we do <br />31 have some classes available in Orange County, as well. He added that there is an <br />32 ongoing conversational Spanish class available for County employees. Ms. Cox <br />33 suggested that one of the handouts at the Forum should be information about these <br />34 classes as well. <br />35 <br />36 Ms. Foster described the Spanish language classes at UNC saying that the classes are <br />37 interdisciplinary and that Spanish culture is a popular component of these classes. <br />38 <br />39 Other needs of the Hispanic population that were mentioned were: <br />40 • Barriers to using services <br />41 • Daycare <br />42 • Jobs <br />43 Transportation <br />44 What exacerbates these needs? Language? Time of day? Unfriendly environment? <br />45 <br />H: \MY_DOCS\HSACVAGENDAS\HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY COMMISSION.doc; Last printed 06116/99 4:23 PM <br />