Global Concern and Local Practice: an Interdisciplinary, Empowerment Collection of Immigrant/Migrant Hispanic Voices Used to Implement Community-University Collaborative Actions in Suburban Settings

Abstract

Utilizing a community-based participatory research mode (CBPR), a local university completed a needs assessment study of an emerging immigrant population’s service needs and perceived barriers for accessing services in their suburban community settings. The study participants included: (1) one hundred and fourteen Hispanic immigrant residents participating in twelve bi-lingual facilitator-led focus-group sessions, (2) eighteen community service providers, and (3) nine Hispanic community leaders. All three groups identified common unmet service needs in the areas of health care, ESL education, and social services as well as the lack of bi-lingual social workers/mental health staff and bilingual interpreter staff in service agencies as major barriers to service provision and access. The study findings point to the benefits of university-community collaborations when advocating for the creation of community intra- and inter-structures that support the development of services in suburban and small city settings for the influx of Hispanic immigrant/migrant populations.