Social Vehicles to Cluster Services to Underserved Latinos

HEY-OYE has been operating a “storefront” in the Columbia Heights Latino area of Washington, DC to counsel “marginalized” immigrants on financial, regulatory, housing and related concerns. Our findings of attitudes of these Latino immigrants in our “barrio” are as follows:

1. Latinos are leery of “institutions”: they trust certain family members, friends, “patron” (reliable employer), colleagues, “compadres” (individuals that are tied to the family by marriage or represent other close ties), and certain church and community organizations that have served them in the past.
2. For these “marginalized” Latinos, obtaining reliable “information” (financial, immigration, legal, regulatory, housing, health, schooling and related critical issues) is a challenge. Unfortunately, many of these Latinos are functionally illiterate (both in English and Spanish) and they have a hard time navigating all the available information sources (understanding the issues, and separating “infomercials” from objective news).
3. The Latinos who are most difficult to serve (also the biggest opportunity), are undocumented (without proper immigration status in the US), do not have a solid permanent employment, nor belong to a Union, and otherwise do not have a secure link to the economy or social safety nets. 
4. A generalized profile of these undocumented Latinos is that they are hard workers (sometimes in more than one job), live in group housing, and are able to save and send cash to their relatives.

CHALLENGE: to find a “social vehicle” (cooperative, nonprofit entity) to serve as the “cluster” for these underserved, undocumented, underemployed, US-based urban Latinos, so they have better access to financial, legal, housing, health, education and related products and services.  “Membership” in such an “affinity group” could entail: deposit and credit card services (remittance features); purchase of “embedded” products (cell phones with messaging services and future mobile banking); health group insurance; legal services; and in general “union” type collective services. 

Obviously, there are numerous regulatory challenges at the Federal and State level for any such “social entity”. Perhaps, undocumented Latinos will have to settle for operating individually with Federal Tax Id #s and otherwise cluster informally through the services provided by NGOs, church or other community organizations. HEY-OYE is intent on engaging other organizations (including research and operating entities) in exploring best products and services to offer these Latino individuals.