The United States experienced a significant growth in the Latin@ population on a national level, with over 50 percent increase in Latin@s from 1990-2000. The Franklin County area saw an even larger increase in those same years, at 168 percent. The increased presence of Latin@s has also meant that the population has increasing needs. In a large city such as Columbus, how does the right hand know what the left hand is doing in relation to addressing Latin@ issues?

The Latino Empowerment Outreach Network (LEON) was created in 2000 to collaborate as a network of organizations and individuals to empower and enrich the Latin@ community in areas of health, education, advocacy and communication. Many agencies in the greater Columbus area provide services and offer programs to the growing Latin@ population. Though nearly all organizations hope to contribute to a general goal of creating a healthy community and environment in Columbus, most programs provide specific services in areas such as health, education, safety, wellness, banking, business, or social services. Yet the reality is that in any large city, it might be difficult to know information about other programs and organizations that could assist Latin@s with needs. Having a place like LEON where individuals, organizations, and agencies can build connections, come together, get to know each other, and collaborate together on addressing community needs allows individual organizations to provide better service to their clients and creates collaboration for the larger goal of building a healthy community in Ohio.

LEON was formed out of a group of individuals from a variety of organizations who were working together collaboratively to address issues that affected the Latin@ community, such as health care, language, education, and domestic violence. After the project ended, the group continued to meet, recognizing that each individual and agency played a unique role and had special resources to offer when addressing complex problems. Current LEON chair Guadalupe Velásquez said, “By being a diverse network, LEON is able to reach out to the wider community because that community is also a part of LEON.”

LEON’s members come from a wide variety of businesses, non-profits, governmental organizations, and schools. Velásquez added, “It is truly a coalition of people who are dedicated to serving the Latin@ community. The networking meetings allow an open and flexible space for people to learn about other people’s agencies, organizations, or businesses that reach out to the Latin@ community. It’s a nurturing environment where people are warm and welcoming.”

LEON is organized to maintain its focus on the key issues facing the Latino community through its system of committees. Six committees make up a part of LEON — the executive, finance, communication, advocacy/legal issues, education, and health committees. The executive committee provides leadership to the organization, facilitates meetings, and organizes committee projects internally. The finance committee directs accounting and budgeting procedures. The communication committee works on promotional materials and assists in coordinating activities. The newly formed advocacy/legal issues committee hopes to provide a forum to discuss issues related to Latin@s in Central Ohio.

The education committee has focused its efforts on advocating for educational improvement of Latin@ children, creating a positive school culture for Latin@s, informing the community about the educational needs of Latin@s, and empowering parents to become active participants in their children’s learning. The Health Committee has developed an extensive Latino Health Resource Directory and helped guide area efforts in cultural competency and is currently launching an innovative training program to help newly arrived Latin@ immigrants with limited English proficiency to access health care in the United States.

Katherine Zapata, Ohio State graduate student and LEON member, said, “I love LEON’s atmosphere and culture. LEON works through collaboration rather than competing with other agencies. It takes community issues seriously and its members have experience working closely with the community; professionals from different arenas bring to the table a variety of ideas, and they are eager to see those ideas come alive.”

For more information about LEON, and its membership list, please see http:// www.leongroup.org.