'Lots of barriers ... lots of needs': Nonprofits aiding SC Latino community face hurdles
'Lots of barriers ... lots of needs': Nonprofits aiding SC Latino community face hurdles
Maria Martin wants Latinos to stop being an afterthought.
As the executive director for PASOs — a community-based organization that works with the Latino population in South Carolina to promote health advocacy, education and development — she strives to enhance the knowledge and resources of Latinos who seek out the organization.
Since 2000, the Latino population in South Carolina has more than doubled, going from 2.4 to 6.9 percent, according to a 2022 research brief from the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. Across the U.S., the population has followed a similar trend and more than tripled.
Martin — who has worked with PASOs for the past decade — noted the positive effects on the thousands of individual participants who seek the help of the organization. She said many participants are often new immigrants and are completely new to life in the U.S.
“When you have an organization like PASOs, you have someone you can call, someone who identifies with who you are and how you may be thinking or looking at things,” Martin said. “It’s a direct connection to your survival.”
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