Today, several staff members from Open Society Institute met with about 20 representatives from Baltimore’s Latino community to talk about OSI’s program areas and Safe City Baltimore initiative, and listen to the representatives’ thoughts on what is most needed in their communities.
Open Society Advisory Board member Veronica Cool (speaking in the photo above), arranged and hosted the meeting, which took place at Catholic Charities’ Esperanza Center, in hopes that Open Society staff could better understand the concerns of Baltimore’s Latino community and the community would have a better idea of the work that OSI does. Cool is CEO of Cool and Associates, a management consulting firm that works to connect companies and organizations to Latino communities
Representatives from the Baltimore City Health Department, the Southeast Community Development Corporation, the House of Ruth, Hampstead Hill Academy, and many other organizations attended the meeting and raised a number of crucial issues, including the need for mental health services for undocumented immigrants, facilities problems in local schools, and more drug treatment options.
Cool, OSI staff, and community members all promised to follow up and continue to build relationships and look for ways to collaborate on solutions to some of the issues raised.