Local activists Carolina Ramos and Richard Gallego have teamed up with The Center to launch a new Latino Services Project in October. In establishing the new services to cater to San Diego’s Latino population, The Center is recognizing the growing diversity of the GLBT community and the need to reach out to all minority groups.

“In keeping with our commitment to best serve our growing and increasingly diverse LGBT community, I am proud to announce that we have created a new Latino Services Project,” said Richard Valdez, chair of The Center’s board of directors. “The presence of strong Latino services in San Diego’s LGBT community is vital given the large Latino population in our area. Equally important to our community are the cultural and political contributions that the Latino community brings to San Diego.”

The new Latino Services Project will have an office, meeting area and drop-in space at The Center. The project will also offer support groups and social programming for GLBT Latino/a San Diegans. The Center’s bilingual psychological services will remain at The Center’s health services facilities on El Cajon Boulevard and in South Bay.

“The Center consistently strives to connect our entire community, and this new program will enable us to do just that,” said Delores Jacobs, chief executive officer of The Center. “We are extremely fortunate to be able to bring on Carolina Ramos and Ricardo Gallego to manage this integral program. Both of these outstanding individuals have a great deal of expertise in serving our LGBT Latino/a community in San Diego.”

Additionally, the Latino Services Project will offer client advocacy, case management, translation services, resource and referral services and HIV Prevention for Positives programming all targeted at serving the GLBT Latino/a population.

To head up the program, Ramos will be leaving her position as the San Diego regional director of Bienestar.

“I’m just excited about the new services that The Center is providing,” Ramos said. “I think it’s going to benefit all of us, The Center as well as all of our people. I’m just really excited to be a part of that team. We are going to be sitting down, spending some time seeing what the community wants from The Center and we are going to take it from there.”

The move on the part of The Center is being seen as a positive one by local leaders from the Latino community.

“It is clear that there is a need for specific programs that provide important services for LGBT Latinos/as. It’s appropriate that The Center establishes a specific program to serve the growing Latino/a LGBT community at this time,” said Larry Baza, a member of the San Diego LGBT Pride board of directors. “This commitment by The Center is an important milestone for Latinos/as and certainly for the entire LGBT community. I personally commend and thank Delores Jacobs, Carolina Ramos and The Center’s board of directors for taking this important step for our community.”

Volunteers will be needed for The Center’s Latino Services Project. The Center’s front desk will continue to recruit Spanish-speaking volunteers to join an already bilingual reception staff. For more information on how to become a Center volunteer, please call (619) 692-2077 ext. 111.