Integration workshop a success

Dear Editor:

The Community Integration Initiative wishes to thank those who made our first “Living in the U.S.” workshop, held June 23 at Mountain View Church in Glenwood, such a success! Our topic, “Challenges of Raising the Immigrant Child,” featured a first-rate panel of local experts, with Adriana Ayala (RE-1 Pre-collegiate Program), Bruce Benjamin and Marie Munday (Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office), Sarah Woods and Evan Zislis (YouthZone), and Lis Mancinas (Roaring Fork Family Resource Centers).

Simultaneous and consecutive interpretation by Maria de Leo and Carlos Herrera ensured that monolingual English- and Spanish-speaking participants alike understood every comment and could be a model to bridge the language gap at similar meetings.

Thanks also to Pastor Juan Lopez, staff and the 25 to 30 participants who shared questions and concerns about the emerging multicultural generation and its viability in the Aspen-to-Parachute region. We hope to see even more of you at our upcoming workshops!

Jim Coombs

Hanya Gottardo

Roberto Moreno

Glenwood Springs