The Hispanic population in Pittsburgh is growing steadily and has its first Spanish directory to prove it.
The Hispanic Center/El Centro Hispano launched its 302-page Directorio de Servicios Para la Comunidad Latina (Spanish Service Directory for the Latino Community) and it’s now available to Pittsburgh residents and businesses.
The directory was written as a guide for new Spanish-speaking residents, human resource managers and anyone wishing to learn more about the Spanish-speaking community in the region.
“The directory is very comprehensive. It’s one way of helping our community to connect,” says Pedro Paulo Bretz, executive director of The Hispanic Center. “We’ve also distributed it to human resource managers so they can provide it to their employees to help them find services in our region that are available in Spanish.”
While Pittsburgh’s population has steadily declined during the past 10 years, the Hispanic population has grown. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Hispanics living in our nine county region rose from 15,734 in 2000 to 23,947 in 2006, a 34 percent increase.
The directory provides 20 chapters with listings that include information on financial, legal, health, education, social, and restaurant businesses. “It’s a go-to guide for all new residents and international students and businesses, as well as for human resource managers seeking a more diverse, Spanish-speaking workforce,” says Bretz.
The Hispanic Center in Pittsburgh serves the Pittsburgh Hispanic community through services offering career development, job training, and job referral. LAst year the center helped 200 Spanish-speaking and bilingual people to find employment, which in turn helped to give back to the local economy, Bretz says.
For more information on the directory or to view a copy online, click here.
Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Pedro Paulo Bretz
Image courtesy of The Hispanic Center