Nine months after opening, a nonprofit targeting the Latino population in Carrboro is expanding services to aid its local youth population.
The El Centro Hispano center in Carrboro is adding several projects, including the Jóvenes Líderes en Acción program, or Young Leaders in Action, which began in 1996 in El Centro Hispano’s Durham office.
Rossana Zetina, the administrative coordinator for the Carrboro office, said they began developing Young Leaders in Carrboro early this month.
“This program is already well-established in Durham, but we need to see what needs are here and build up relationships for a successful program,” Zetina said.
Pilar Rocha-Goldberg, president and CEO of El Centro Hispano, said Young Leaders involves identifying a group of about 20 teenagers who meet with an adult once a week. They attend workshops, go on college visits and look at scholarship programs.
“We work with the youth on leadership, self-esteem and identity,” Rocha-Goldberg said.
Youth Organizer Ivan Almonte, who leads the program in Durham, said youth ages 14 to 19 can be involved with Young Leaders for as long as they are in school.
The program incorporates students’ families, who can meet with counselors and attend workshops to help their children apply to college.
Young Leaders also provides cultural and social activities.