The Wasatch Latino Coalition’s flame was reignited in 2018 when Yuri Jenson took it upon herself to restart the group that had once been established to serve the Latino community in Wasatch County.At that time, Jenson was working with Wasatch Behavioral Health as family resource facilitator. She was looking for a place to direct Latino families for resources and identified a gap, struck by the fact that there wasn’t an organization or a group of people supporting Latinos in Wasatch County.She was told that there had been a group that did this a few years prior but it had disappeared when the founder moved. Unable to contact the original founder and searching for ways to support her community, Jenson committed herself to bringing the group back to life under the same name. “So, what I always say is that the Wasatch Latino Coalition was reborn,” said Jenson.Thanks to her job, she was in contact with various groups in both public and private sectors which allowed her to gather the people that make up the bulk of the coalition today.The group took a detailed approach to researching the type of help people need, conducting surveys and speaking to community members to identify their needs, and with organizations to learn ways to support their goals. Through this process, the group established what would become their mission, published on their website: “To connect families with resources and advocate for greater impact through education, collaboration, and involvement of the Latino community.” Jenson also said that the larger vision includes, “having an empowered, integrated and prosperous community in which all contribute to the well being and development of Wasatch county.”Now, six years later, the Wasatch Latino Coalition boasts a growing network of 75 individuals in Wasatch and Summit counties working together to bring people closer to needed resources and to each other.“We are a strong coalition. For every organization you can name, we have someone involved — from law enforcement and education, as I mentioned, in both private and public sectors, the school district, the health department, the People’s Health Clinic, Peace House, which also works for Summit County. We even have representatives from universities, business owners, mothers, and students,” Jensen said.Within the Coalition exist the Latino Youth coalition, a group of students who, “aim to help all of the organizations that serve kids and adolescents, so that together they can contribute to the wellbeing and development of Wasatch County,” she said.Another group involved in the coalition is the lideresas, a team of mothers who oversee schools and communities throughout Wasatch County. “The lideresas (leadership group of mothers) are community bridges that help us keep our multicultural values and our traditions alive in Wasatch County,” said Jensen, “bringing information from the organizations to the community and listening to what the community needs to be successful in schools.” Coalition meetings are held each month, where community members can collaborate to share news about available resources, events and other valuable information, spread equally through their different channels of access. While the Coalition is not a nonprofit yet, Jenson said that they are closer each day to becoming one, establishing a strong foundation for its future. Their accomplishments for the community include providing over $50,000 of housing aid during the COVID-19 pandemic, connecting citizens of Wasatch county to needed resources and hosting an array of both recreational and educational community events. “I would love to see the community more involved and integrated in everything that happens in Wasatch County,” said Jenson. “I would like the community to be much more engaged contributing to events, workshops, and activities that take place in the community. I would like the coalition to help schools so that more parents get involved in their children’s education. I would also like the organizations we work with to continue striving to ensure that the Latin community has all of the necessary information and resources.”Jenson hopes that through greater access to information, the difficulties that exist in the community will start to ease. “I know it’s a challenge for the barriers to completely disappear, but I believe we can do better,” said Jenson.To view the Wasatch Latino Coalition’s full list of resources, visit their website wasatchlatinocoalition.org. For interest in collaborating with the coalition or further questions, email them directly at [email protected] members pose for a picture at the 2024 annual Wasatch Latino Coalition gathering. Credit: Courtesy of Wasatch Latino CoalitionThe post Coalition amplifies Latino voices of Wasatch County appeared first on Park Record.