Help when you can.
If Julia Perez’s family had a motto, that would be it.
That family value led the bilingual Perez to volunteer at Elgin’s Centro de Informacion, where she taught English as a second language during the mid-1980s.
An organization that “empowers the Latino and immigrant community to integrate effectively,” Centro de Informacion is one of five recipients of the Daily Herald/Robert R. McCormick Foundation Neighbors in Need fundraising campaign, now in its fourth year. As part of the partnership, the McCormick Foundation contributes 50 cents for every dollar readers donate to the fund, with proceeds distributed equally to the five charities.
After graduating college and pursuing a career in finance, Perez, now an empty-nester, returned to Centro about a year ago to serve as an immigration counselor assisting newcomers with the naturalization process.
Walking clients through that process then welcoming them back after they’ve become naturalized citizens is incredibly fulfilling, said Perez, Centro’s assistant director of operations and community engagement.
“Many times when we are born in this country we take for granted our citizenship,” said Perez. “When an immigrant becomes a citizen, they understand they’ve changed the trajectory of their entire family.
“Even after so many clients I still get teary eyed,” she added. “I’m just so proud of them. I see the magnitude of what they accomplished.”
Elgin’s Centro de Informacion helps immigrants integrate into their new communities. Assisting clients of the 51-year-old organization are Assistant Director Operations and Community Relations Neomy Rajas, left, Executive Director Dianha Ortega-Ehreth and Welcoming Center Program Manager Julia Perez, right.
John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
For more than 50 years, Centro de Informacion has helped immigrants fulfill their dreams. Established in 1972 to provide support for Spanish-speaking immigrants, Centro is one of Illinois’ 43 welcoming centers and currently operates satellite offices in Carpentersville and Hanover Park, said Executive Director Dianha Ortega-Ehreth.
Centro initially served as an information hub, directing clients to agencies offering services they needed while also helping them learn English and translate documents. During the 1980s, the mission expanded to assist people seeking citizenship or employment authorization, visa applications, asylum assistance, DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) renewal and other matters.
The organization subsequently received accreditation from the U.S. Department of Justice to assist clients with those and other immigration matters.
“The people who Centro has helped are people who have followed the rules,” said Ortega-Ehreth. “We expect those rules to maybe change, in which case we will do everything we can to help clients meet the requirements for eligibility.”
“People who entered the U.S. illegally … we can’t help, except to give them a bag of groceries so they don’t go hungry,” she added.
Centro also assists immigrants understand American culture, providing guidance on everything from understanding U.S. traditions and holidays, to financial literacy, to navigating computers and smartphones.
“The Centro was founded to help immigrants integrate. That process takes decades,” Ortega-Ehreth said.
Additionally, staffers offer fraud prevention tips to help protect clients from scam artists who target vulnerable immigrants.
Neomy Rojas’ first contact with Centro came when someone defrauded her parents. As a child, she was also one of the children from low-income families who received Christmas gifts courtesy of Centro, which also operates a food pantry in Elgin.
The University of Illinois Chicago graduate was hired as a caseworker two years ago. Her duties are similar to those she has long performed for loved ones.
“That client on the other side could be an aunt, an uncle, parents, grandparents,” she said. “I’m doing something I was already doing for my family.”
Rojas attributes Centro’s success to the shared experiences of its clients and employees/volunteers.
“Maybe they (employees and volunteers) were immigrants,” she said. “Maybe they are as I am, a proud child of immigrant parents. Our staff can empathize with a client, regardless of (his/her) journey.”
While Rojas sometimes worries she’s not doing enough for clients, she is encouraged by their accomplishments, including obtaining authorization to work in the U.S.
She recalls a client and his wife who came to Centro seeking employment information. They had been scammed trying to find an apartment and were unsure how to proceed, said Rojas. A couple of weeks later, after finding jobs, they asked Rojas how they could repay Centro for the help. The wife crocheted hats and the couple donated to the food pantry.
“Those success stories, or the client who says ‘you listened to me. I needed someone to hear me out,’ those moments are truly rewarding,” said Rojas, who takes over as Centro’s assistant director for programs and grants on Monday.
Perez likes to remind clients of the traits they and their native or naturalized counterparts share.
“No matter where you come from,” Perez tells them, “there are two things we do: we all laugh the same and we all cry the same … even if we don’t speak the same language.”
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
