Community Connections: El Centro Hispano

El Centro Hispano partners with many community organizations throughout Durham, Wake, and Chatham counties and beyond to bring services and programs to more than 200,000 individuals and families. Pilar Rocha-Goldberg shares more about its history and how community support has helped it expand so dramatically over the last three decades.  

Carolina Theatre: El Centro Hispano has been a foundational community organization in Durham since 1992. Can you share how it began and how it has grown since then? 

Pilar Rocha-Goldberg: El Centro Hispano emerged as a response to the pressing need for growth and support within the Latine communities. The year was 1990, and the landscape of North Carolina was undergoing a demographic transformation. At that time, 76,726 residents identified as Hispanic, constituting 1.2% of the state’s population. Fast forward thirty-two years and the Hispanic population in the state had skyrocketed to over a million individuals. El Centro Hispano, founded in 1992 as the Hispanic Resource Center and later evolving into an independent nonprofit organization, played a pivotal role in adapting to these changing dynamics.   

CTD: Can you tell us how you started with El Centro Hispano and what drew you to the organization? 

PRG: When I moved to the US from Colombia in 2004 as a nutritionist at Duke University to do research with hypertensive Latinos, my first point of contact was El Centro Hispano. I got there looking for ways to learn about the community and how to work with the community. I was embraced right away with a lot of enthusiasm and introduced to many programs at El Centro Hispano. I started volunteering while I was doing my research and was invited to join the Board of Directors. After 5 years of being part of it and after I finished my research project, I was asked by the Board to step up as the interim executive director of the organization for 6 months while we could find a permanent one. I have been in this position since then, which was 15 years ago.  

While I was volunteering, I was struck by the trust the community has in the organization and how vital the work El Centro Hispano does around strengthening the community, building bridges, and advocating for equity and inclusion is. I felt the need and passion to support these efforts from my privileged position and I still do.  

CTD: What types of services does El Centro Hispano provide and how have you seen these benefit the community? 

PRG: El Centro Hispano provides services with a holistic approach based on the social drivers of health: Education, Economic Development, Community Health, Community Support, and Civic & Community Participation. People can come to our walk-in offices where we listen to their needs and if we can’t resolve them within the organization, we refer them to different resources. The community can find support with rent and utilities, contacts with lawyers in different areas, interpretation, translation services, tutoring for children, ESL and computer classes for adults, tailored Spanish classes, connections with jobs and workers, financial literacy, small business support, disease prevention, health promotion and low-cost health care, and youth, LGBTQ+, and women’s support groups. 

CTD: What other community organizations do you work with and what types of programs do you partner on? 

PRG: In Durham, we work with many groups to be able to offer services to our Latine community including Museum of Life and Science, Durham Tech, Duke University, Duke University School of Nursing, Lincoln Health Community Center, Carolina Small Business Development Fund, Greater Durham Chamber of Commerce, Transitions LifeCare, Duke PrEP Clinic, Made in Durham, El Futuro, Durham County Department of Public Health, City of Durham Neighborhood Improvement Services, Durham Community Land Trustees, American Heart Association, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina, Durham Public Schools, and Durham County Library. 

CTD: What goals would you like to achieve over the next few years and how can people get involved to support your work? 

PRG: Our main goals are:  

– Expand educational opportunities and spaces for the intellectual growth and personal development of Hispanic/Latino/Latinx community members, from childhood to adulthood. 

– Grow wealth, economic stability, and entrepreneurship among the Hispanic/Latino/Latinx community members and other underserved populations. 

– Expand individual, organizational, and community capacity to sustain improved health and quality of life for Hispanic/Latinos and other historically underserved communities within its service areas. 

– Expand the capacity of community members and organizations to respond to, advocate for, and address issues affecting the lives of Hispanic/Latino/Latinx, assuring representation and inclusion of Latinos and their concerns in planning and decision-making processes.

People can support our work by volunteering and collaborating in our different programs, by spreading the word of the work we do in the community, and by donating to our general fund or specific programs. 

We are grateful to El Centro Hispano and the many nonprofit partners who work with us to serve greater Durham through expansive programming serving many diverse populations and communities. Through collaboration and innovation, we can better serve constituents of all organizations by making a broad spectrum of community programs and services available to everyone. Your support has helped us to achieve this vision and continues to build new partnerships across the Triangle every year. 

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