Profile of HCCL
Mission Statement
Hispanic Business Resources and Technology Center (HBRTC)
Workforce Development Training Program
Statistics
HCCLChamber of the year 2006
Hispanic in Louisiana after Katrina
National Small Hispanic Chamber of the Year 2006
The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) is a non-profit organization created as the result of a merger in 1999 of two chambers: The Louisiana Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (incorporated in 1984) and The Gulf Coast International Chamber of Commerce (incorporated in 1990). Our membership today is at 300.
Dedicated and committed to creating a business climate conducive to the economic development and growth of the Hispanic community, its mission has historically included the expansion of trade relations between the State of Louisiana and Latin America. T hen, Hurricane Katrina came ashore in New Orleans on August 29, 2005 changing all of that, and the rest, as they say, is history.
The socio-economic damage caused is without precedent. More than one million people were displaced and thousands of small businesses ceased to exist. More than 40% of Louisiana’s economic base was destroyed or disrupted.
Clearly, it was no longer business as usual for our chamber. Over 100,000 Hispanics have moved into the region since the storm and are predominantly engaged in rebuilding the area. HCCL immediately recognized the new challenges: a variety of work and social skills must be developed and nurtured; language training must be provided; business skills and guidance must be offered; mentoring, education, and leadership opportunities must be provided. These and other needs must be addressed to facilitate the assimilation of the Hispanic population into southeast Louisiana and to build a strong and literate workforce.
The Hispanic Business Resources & Technology Center (HBRTC) was created in response to these needs. With a grant to HCCL from the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, and expanding upon the concept of their Casa Cyber Network with the AT&T Foundation, the HBRTC opened its doors on March 13, 2006 being the first program of its kind in the nation. It utilizes a holistic approach of providing fuller business assistance, educational opportunities, and social services to the affected Hispanic community and represents a real approach to addressing ethnic cultural sensitivity and language barriers.
HBRTC represents a coalition of public and private entities having entered into partnerships forged by and with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana to turn the concept into a reality. Our partners include the Hispanic Apostolate of the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans (CCANO), the Jefferson Parish Public School System (JPPSS), and Southeastern Louisiana University’s College of Business through its Latin American Business Development Initiative (SLU). All four entities have dedicated staff and resources to the HBRTC to provide programs that are bilingual in format and culturally sensitive to the targeted needs of the Hispanic community.
All services are provided at the HBRTC. The Jefferson Parish School System has allocated approximately 4,800 square feet of space in an annex building at one of their middle schools located in Kenner, LA – an area with a heavy concentration of Hispanics – as well as certified ESL instructors. At present, the HBRTC houses 3 computer labs, a business conference room for workshops, a social services room, and ESL and citizenship classrooms. There are also offices for the administrators, private counseling sessions with a trauma psychologist, and a caseworker counselor. In addition, the JPPSS Adult Education program provides Internet connection and ESL courses.
The Hispanic Apostolate, through Catholic Charities, has social service representatives on site to assist individuals with job placement, educational programs, emergency assistance, immigration services, trauma counseling, workers’ rights workshops, citizenship classes, and medical assistance.
Southeastern Louisiana University provides instructors for the monthly business development workshops and for the computer and Spanish classes. In addition, they provide translation services, grant writing assistance and research support related to the migration of the Hispanic population in Louisiana.
The HCCL provides workshops relating to immigration and employers in order to provide information on hiring documented and unauthorized Hispanic workers; entrepreneurial workshops, and other business topical seminars.
Additionally, the HCCL offers business mentoring, youth mentoring and a business survey related to post-Katrina Hispanic businesses. Perhaps most importantly, the HCCL is the liaison between the Center and the Louisiana business community, attracting corporate and civic sponsors, and speaking at numerous forums on the changing face of the area’s population with its growing economic and cultural impact on the region. This, in turn, leads to further interest in and support for the efforts of the Chamber, the Center, and its partners.
The following programs and activities have been successfully conducted and continue to be offered since the inauguration of the HBRTC: 1) Adult Ed Program – including ESL classes, computer classes, & Spanish classes. 2) Business Development Workshops & Counseling - including How to create your own business; Marketing your business; Human Resource Management; One-on-One business counseling; & a Micro-enterprise development initiative program. 3) Personal counseling & seminars - including Know your rights for employees; trauma psychologist; health promoters; immigration for employees; immigration for employers. 4) Disaster relief services - including SBA Hub Zone Certification Training; SBA AA & SBB Certification training; FEMA preparedness training; & Cultural sensitivity awareness sessions.
The HCCL has sought and acquired collaborations for the HBRTC with the University of New Orleans Small Business Development Center, the AARP Foundation, the Home Builders Institute, Tulane University Latin American Resource Center, Tulane University Anthropology Department, International School of Louisiana, Generon Consulting Sustainable Food Lab, and the Latino Memphis Organization. Financial assistance has been received from grants and sponsors including the USHCC Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, Toyota, Bellsouth Real Yellow Pages, Cox Communications, Entergy, Prudential, Wal-Mart, New Beginnings LLC, Verizon, and the National Council of La Raza.
The HBRTC is expected to positively impact the local and regional community by providing resources to help the Hispanic community recover from Hurricane Katrina and provide direction and guidance for Hispanics migrating to the region. It will also provide for the assimilation needs of new Hispanic workers as they potentially become new residents and contributors to the region’s economy. Because any entity providing services in the New Orleans area would need to consider family as well as business needs, the philosophical approach of the HBRTC is holistic in nature, requiring equal components of business and educational development, technological training and social services.
In January 2008, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation began a 2 year contract to provide web-based workforce development training with bilingual availability at the HBRTC. Trainees will include those who are unemployed or underemployed and the soft skills training can be general or industry specific. At the completion of each individualized program, participants will be placed in jobs with companies who have come to us seeking employees in this overly tight labor market in the Katrina recovery zones.
In June 2008, we moved the HBRTC from its location housed in a Jefferson Parish middle school in Kenner to the campus of the Louisiana Technical College on Airline Drive in Metairie.
In April 2006 the HBRTC and its four founding partners were awarded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation President’s Award for establishing a capacity building institution and providing leadership for Hispanic businesses after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Plans are currently under way to establish additional HBRTC locations throughout the area.
In September 2006 at its national convention in Philadelphia, The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) the “National Small Hispanic Chamber of the Year” in recognition of all its work.
The HCCL and HBRTC have been featured in the press and media with EFE America Television, Univisión-Primer Impacto, Discovery en Español, WWL-TV, WGNO, ABC-TV, HBO-TV, Kenner TV 76, The Advocate (daily newspaper) in Baton Rouge, El Tiempo (monthly publication in New Orleans), the Times Picayune, City Business of New Orleans, Southeastern Louisiana University Television, De Todo Un Poco of Cox Communications, Radio Tropical 15.40AM and Radio La Fabulosa 8.30AM .
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Darlene A. Kattan, Executive Director
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana
1515 Poydras Street, Suite 1010 New Orleans, LA 70112
Post Office Box 58031 New Orleans, LA 70158
Tel: 504-885-4262; Fax: 504-887-5422
dkattan@hccl.biz
www.hccl.biz