Thursday, December 03, 2020

UNCW’s Latino Alliance has been recognized by Diamante Arts and Cultural Center, the oldest Latino/Hispanic Arts and Culture organization in North Carolina, for providing services and support in fighting COVID-19 within the Latinx community.

The alliance was presented the Health and Science Award during the virtual 25th Latino Diamante Awards held Nov. 21. The awards honor individuals and organizations that make significant contributions to North Carolina’s Latino/Hispanic community and celebrates the diversity within the Latino/Hispanic community.

“Through mutual connections, we were able to connect with their Latinx/Hispanic Employee Resource Group at New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Todos Unidos, and from that came a wonderful and impactful partnership,” said Spanish professor Amanda Boomershine, who serves as UNCW’s Latino Alliance co-chair along with Centro Hispano director Edelmira Segovia. “It was a real pleasure to work with the Todos Unidos team at NHRMC. Astrid [Keusseyan] and the other members were wonderful partners in ensuring that the local Latinx community had up-to-date information on COVID-19, how to prevent it and treatment options if affected.”

Since March 2020, the Latino Alliance has helped distribute more than 6,000 masks to Latinx families. The group partnered with Christ Community Church to host three drive-through resource events, where groceries, masks, books, diapers and other items were distributed. The alliance also aided the NCCU ACCORD to facilitate the testing of nearly 200 Latinx residents in New Hanover County. It collaborated with New Hanover Regional Medical Center to conduct a series of Facebook Live sessions in Spanish on COVID prevention, testing and treatment with a combined audience of 9,200 viewers. The alliance also distributed bilingual flyers from New Hanover County Public Health to Latinx communities throughout the county.

Latino Alliance’s mission is to build a stronger network to support the Hispanic/Latino community in the region and to empower local citizens and organizations that serve the Hispanic/Latino community by creating positive change in areas of education, business, health care, safety and community building.

“We are filling a service gap in a growing city that does not have a local agency or nonprofit tasked with case management and advocacy for the Latinx community,” said Segovia. “We are serving as a bridge between the population in need and the resources available. This award is a direct result of our strong partnerships with leaders in health service agencies, primarily with New Hanover Regional Medical Center Todos Unidos Employee Resource Group.”

Segovia and Boomershine said it was an honor to be recognized by the Diamante Arts & Cultural Center and that none of the outreach would have been possible without their community partners. The alliance’s partners include Christ Community Church, NourishNC, NCCU ACCORD Project, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Food Bank of Eastern NC, First Read, New Hanover County Schools, Cover Our Peeps, Cape Fear OSMS, the City of Wilmington, New Hanover Disaster Coalition, La Grande, Diaper Bank of Lower Cape Fear, Catholic Charities, New Hanover County Public Health and Coco Clem.

-- Venita Jenkins

#COMMUNITYENGAGEMENT
#CENTROHISPANO
#OIDI

UNCW’s Latino Alliance was honored by the Diamante Arts and Cultural Center for providing services and support in fighting COVID-19 within the Latinx community. Pictured with the award is co-chair Edelmira Segovia, director of Centro Hispano.

Amanda Boomershine, co-chair of the UNCW Latino Alliance and professor of Spanish

From left to right: Joseph Casares, Araceli Leon and Astrid Keusseyan, members of Todos Unidos, the Latinx/Hispanic Employee Resource Group at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.