{"id":2458524,"date":"2020-05-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=325815"},"modified":"2020-05-17T07:31:41","modified_gmt":"2020-05-17T13:31:41","slug":"new-nonprofit-aims-to-provide-voice-for-latinos-in-roaring-fork-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/new-nonprofit-aims-to-provide-voice-for-latinos-in-roaring-fork-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"New nonprofit aims to provide voice for Latinos in Roaring Fork Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"384\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/unitedvoices-atd-051720.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/unitedvoices-atd-051720.jpg 384w, https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/05\/unitedvoices-atd-051720-200x300.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px\"><\/p><figcaption><strong>Alex Sanchez is the managing director of a new nonprofit organization formed to create opportunities for Latinos in the Roaring Fork and Lower Colorado River Valleys.<\/strong><br \/><em>Mark Burrows\/courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">Jasmin Ramirez recalls the \u201cculture shock\u201d she experienced after moving from California to the Roaring Fork Valley just before her senior year in high school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ramirez, 30, said she came from an environment where cultural diversity was embraced. Growing up she was a U.S. citizen, bilingual speaker and had Latina role models as her town\u2019s mayor and congresswoman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In Glenwood Springs, she found the expectation was she should speak only Spanish and hang out exclusively with the Latino kids.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re seen as Mexicans and immigrants \u2014 everyone crossed over the border,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re never going to be seen as an American. That\u2019s a hard pill to swallow.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col\" readability=\"6\">\n<div class=\"row at-donation at-donation-mobile p-0\" readability=\"7\">\n<div class=\"col-xl-4 p-2\">\n<div data-bg=\"url(https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png)\" class=\"p-0 mt-2 mb-2 h-75 text-center rocket-lazyload\">\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2020\/03\/AT-logo-white.png\" class=\"logo m-0 p-0 invisible\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"d-inline mr-3\">Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p><button class=\"btn d-inline\" type=\"button\" onclick=\"handleDonationButtonClickMidArticle()\">Donate<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That environment inspired her pursuit of advocacy over the years since she graduated. Ramirez won election to the Roaring Fork School District RE-1 board of education in November. She said she is the first \u201cbrown person\u201d to serve on the board.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The victory that she labeled \u201cmiraculous\u201d inspired her to reach out to other Latino leaders with this observation: \u201cI know we\u2019re not organized, but should we be?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ramirez and several others formed the Roaring Fork Latino Network, a group of 100 leaders from Aspen to Parachute who are strategizing on how to elevate the voices of Latinos and Latinas in the Roaring Fork and Lower Colorado River valleys. That, in turn, led to the May 1 launch of <a id=\"N0x1da18e0N0x1d931a0:\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vocesunidas.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Voces Unidas de las Monta\u00f1as<\/a>, an organization which is seeking formal nonprofit status. It wants to serve as an umbrella organization that cultivates and oversees multiple other efforts, Ramirez said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Alex Sanchez, a Roaring Fork Valley native and Basalt High School graduate, is the managing director of the startup organization. He said its goals are multi-pronged but center on getting more Latinos involved in decision-making roles in the valley they call home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt\u2019s a nonprofit created by Latinos for Latinos,\u201d Sanchez said. \u201cWe as an organization don\u2019t want to speak for people. We want people to speak for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">United Voices won\u2019t reinvent the wheel in the Roaring Fork Valley. It will model its approach after successful efforts pursued decades ago in cities such as Denver. It includes registering people to vote, providing them with information during elections and mounting get-out-the-vote efforts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">United Voices wants to nurture candidates and build the confidence that they can win elected office, as Ramirez did. They want a greater role in running nonprofit organizations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In the bigger picture, it will work on social-justice issues such as affordable housing, expanded health care coverage and workplace advancement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThat work has yet to happen in our valley, from Parachute to Aspen,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He believes Latinos don\u2019t have a voice due to a system that creates and maintains inequities. United Voices aims to create opportunities where Latinos gain a voice in civic affairs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He noted that Latinos comprise about 30% of the population in both Garfield and Eagle counties and about 19% in Pitkin County. In the three counties combined, there are nearly 30,000 Latinos. The student population in the Roaring Fork School District is about 60% Latino.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019ll be driving the growth of these counties,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Sanchez experienced his own bit of culture shock after returning to the Roaring Fork Valley 20 years after he graduated from Basalt High School. He said he couldn\u2019t believe how little progress had been made on integrating Latinos and Latinas into the valley. He wants to work toward a situation where \u201cwe\u2019re not treated as strangers in someone else\u2019s land.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Circumstances being what they are with the coronavirus crisis, one of United Voices\u2019 first calls to action was helping Latinos navigate a somewhat confusing and bureaucratic aid system.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">On May 5, just five days after United Voices was founded, it launched its Ayuda campaign to identify Latinos who were struggling finding help to pay rent, bills and other essential needs. People were urged to text a specific number to ask for help. In less than 24 hours, they received more than 1,000 individual texts from roughly 250 individuals from Aspen to Parachute. They were assigned to one of 17 volunteers who had been briefed on what aid exists and how to match needs with opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re not a service-based organization,\u201d Sanchez said. But the board of the new organization felt it must reach out to help Latinos in the time of need. \u201cWe saw a lot of Latinos get left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Elizabeth Velasco of Glenwood Springs is one of the volunteers assisting people. The Eagle Valley native is a small-business owner, providing interpretation for Latinos with medical needs, so helping people find aid during the COVID-19 crisis was a natural fit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She found the biggest stress generator was the sudden loss of jobs. People who were used to working two jobs were suddenly down to part-time, if they were working at all. The American Dream of working hard to achieve success was suddenly a distant memory, she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Undocumented immigrants are facing a particularly bleak time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThey\u2019ve been scared to even get help,\u201d Velasco said. \u201cThey\u2019re the ones who are working at the restaurants. They\u2019re the ones who are working at the hotels. They can\u2019t file for unemployment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Numerous nonprofit organizations have joined some local governments to provide aid. However, it is often a one-shot situation where families who received financial aid to make it through April are ineligible for a second dose. In addition, some Latinos have experienced language barriers or insurmountable bureaucracy while seeking aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Velasco said the problem remains severe despite the economy slowly opening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere are so many people that are in the hole,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t even know what to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">She has been volunteering four days per week, two hours per day for the aid effort. During the week of May 4 to 8, she provided information to 21 people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cI had to stop,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s very overwhelming. It\u2019s very heart wrenching. It\u2019s difficult to hear their stories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">United Voices conducted a survey of 280 people it assisted in the Ayuda campaign. More than 90% of the respondents said it had been very difficult or difficult to get emergency aid during the coronavirus crisis. More than 70% said they had been denied aid.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The majority of respondents said they needed rent assistance for May.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">While the need is overwhelming, Velasco said it also is rewarding to help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe\u2019re all putting our heads together to support them and find help,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ramirez and other leaders already are envisioning the next steps for United Voices. The Latino community needs to be included in discussions on economic recovery, she said. They will approach the cities and counties of the region to ensure they have a voice in the discussions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Sanchez said officials with Pitkin and Eagle counties have sat down with them, but \u201cit\u2019s been a little more difficult with Garfield County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Ramirez envisions a day when there truly is one valley with fluid interaction among all residents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work ahead of us,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:scondon@aspentimes.com\">scondon@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/new-nonprofit-aims-to-provide-voice-for-latinos-in-roaring-fork-valley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alex Sanchez is the managing director of a new nonprofit organization formed to create opportunities for Latinos in the Roaring Fork and Lower Colorado River Valleys.Mark Burrows\/courtesy photo Jasmin Ramirez recalls the \u201cculture shock\u201d she experienced after moving from California to the Roaring Fork Valley just before her senior year in high school. Ramirez, 30, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2458524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-17 01:15:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2458525,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458524\/revisions\/2458525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}