HAMILTON: Educating and empowering the Hispanic community

By Jennifer Kohlhepp, Managing Editor
   As the first Hispanic elected to serve on the Township Council, Ileana Schirmer wants to address Latinos’ needs comprehensively and within a cultural context, with the goal of moving them towards self-reliance.
   When her parents came to this country from Cuba they had to start from scratch. There were few services available to help them integrate into the community.
   ”My parents didn’t come to this country to be dependent on the country,” Ms. Schirmer said, adding that her mother canceled the family’s financial assistance as soon as her father got a full-time job.
   ”When she went to the department to cancel the assistance they said but Ms. Hernandez you qualify. She said my husband is working full-time and we don’t want this assistance,” Ms. Schirmer said. “They were hardworking people who wanted to be self-sufficient. Trust me, we could have used the money. My mom used to walk around in flip-flops and we lived off of donated clothes.”
   For Ms. Schirmer empowering people through education is personal.
   ”I don’t like seeing lazy Americans, and when I say American I mean anyone who lives in America. I get so angry of people living off the system. That to me is despicable. I’m not here to help people like that who take our money and live it easy. I want to help those who are hardworking and really want to contribute.”
   In April, Ms. Schirmer started hosting Hispanic information sessions. During the first session, Abraham Lopez, executive director of the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development (CHPRD), spoke about the mission of CHPRD. The center seeks to empower, provide financial support and technical assistance to primarily Hispanic community-based organizations throughout New Jersey and also ensures the executive and legislative branches of the government are informed of legislative initiatives with potential impact to the Hispanic community.
   The second session focused on managing and securing a financial future, banking, investments, life and property insurance, and strengthening and advancing small businesses.
   The third session is scheduled to take place Sept. 24 from 7-8:30 p.m. at Malaga Restaurant, located at 511 Lalor St. in Hamilton Township. The topics will include education and health, with presentations by a member of the local school district and staff from Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. “The third part is on education — adult education and children’s education — and how to engage the Hispanic community more in children’s education,” Ms. Schirmer said. “An article came out a few months back that said those schools with the highest number of minority students, like some in Hamilton, do the worst. There are so many Hispanics right now in certain sections of Hamilton. The parents are so busy working and because of the language barrier don’t engage in children’s education the way they should. I grew up in family like that.”
   She said a school district representative will talk about what the district is doing within the schools to assist and engage Hispanic families.
   The fourth session will take place Oct. 22 and will feature a discussion on “Knowing Your Rights,” which will include topics such as immigration, citizenship and visas. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with the Hispanic police representative.
   For more information about the sessions, call 609-396-8878.