Welcome Housing Support Specialist Maria Martinez and Program Manager Daniel Garcia
To help more people in the county from underserved communities access disability services Jubilee has expanded its ability to help people in Spanish-speaking households. Jubilee welcomes bilingual Housing Support Specialist Maria Martinez and Program Manager Daniel Garcia to Jubilee to better serve our Spanish-speaking clients and families.
“We don’t want language to be a barrier to getting needed disability services,” said Executive Director Steve Keener. “Both our housing and residential support services departments now have staff that speak both English and Spanish to better serve local families that communicate in Spanish. These hires build on the work Jubilee’s Breaking Barriers program does to help underserved communities learn about and apply for disability services.”
Although 12 percent of Maryland’s population is Hispanic, only two to four percent of the people accessing disability housing programs, vocational rehabilitation services, and long-term care for people with developmental disabilities are Hispanic.*
“We see firsthand that families that do not speak English are less likely to apply for disability services, often because they lack clear information in their language. Just this year, more than half the families helped by our Breaking Barriers program staff preferred to speak in Spanish,” said Jubilee’s Breaking Barrier Senior Manager Lisa Lorraine.
Spanish-speaking families interested in learning more about disability services are invited to join Lisa for a monthly zoom call on the first Thursday of every month. Learn more and RSVP for the August 1 zoom meeting here.
*Source: Data review by Enriqueciendo Vidas, a coalition working, along with Jubilee’s Breaking Barriers program, to increase awareness and access to disability resources in the Hispanic community.