Today is: Feb 23, 2012
PROFILE of HBRTC
Creation
The Hispanic Business Resources & Technology Center (HBRTC) was created by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina which came ashore in New Orleans on August 29, 2005. The socio-economic damage caused to the region was 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.
Over 100,000 Hispanics moved into the region following the storm and were predominantly engaged in rebuilding the area. The arrival of the Latinos brought new challenges. In response to these needs, the Hispanic Business Resources & Technology Center (HBRTC) opened its doors in March 2006, the first such entity of its kind in the nation. Established with seed money from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the AT&T Foundation’s Casa Cyber Network, the HBRTC represents a coalition of public and private entities utilizing a holistic approach of providing 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.
Location
The HBRTC is housed on the campus of Delgado Community College – Jefferson Campus.
Address: 5200 Blair Dr., Bldg. 1, Room 22, Metairie, LA 70001 (near Airline Drive & Transcontinental)
Telephone: 504-324-6522
Progress
As we move farther away from Katrina, the programs and services originally offered at the HBRTC have accordingly evolved. Today we are proud to offer the only web-based bilingual soft skills workforce development training program in the State. Adult learners can study at their own pace at the Center with the assistance of an Hispanic instructor/case manager, or can work from computers at home or the library. A bilingual GED course is also offered. Over 200 adult learners enroll per year in our workforce program, and we place over 150 per year in full time jobs as they complete the program. HCCL engages with the local business community to help fill their employment needs.
Being housed on the campus of our partner - Delgado Community College - inspires many of our adult students to continue their education by enrolling in technical training programs such as nursing, welding, refrigeration, etc. As we help to build a more skilled labor force, the economy improves and all parties benefit.
The Hispanic Apostolate of Catholic Charities was our very first partner at the HBRTC. Today that partnership has blossomed into an even closer relationship and together we work to serve the Hispanic population. Whereas immediately after the storm only workers themselves came to Louisiana, as time has gone by, their families have joined them here and they have put down roots and placed their children in our school systems. Housed with us at the HBRTC, the Apostolate’s Promotoras de Salud (Health Promoters) provide health counseling, and arrange for medical care for Hispanics who can’t otherwise access treatment due to language barriers. They also provide educational programs, emergency assistance, immigration services, workers’ rights workshops, citizenship classes, ESL classes, and most recently, first-time homebuyer seminars.
Entrepreneurship Training & Capacity Building
Expanding our commitment to build capacity in the Latino community, in September 2009 HCCL began an ongoing partnership with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) to offer entrepreneurship training programs in the evenings, with many seminars being taught in Spanish. We are now in our 4th series of training classes. We worked with U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu and the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship to have their brochures on business resources in Louisiana translated into Spanish.
Visibility & Engagement
Today the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana is more visible than ever. We are increasingly solicited to participate in collaborative endeavors focused on economic development. In August 2010, after a vigorous vetting process conducted by a panel of all the local university presidents, we were awarded a founding seat on the New Orleans Business Alliance - the official public private partnership for economic development for the City of New Orleans.
We are ever more engaged with the City Council on issues dealing with minority and DBE contracts. In 2011 we will be heightening our focus on these contract issues. We will work with Hispanic businesses to build companies of scale so that they can attain greater participation in the opportunities that will become available.
In June 2009, Gov. Jindal signed into law House Bill 521 creating the Council for the Provision of Government Services to Latin Americans, thereinafter called The Latin Council. HCCL holds a founding seat on this Council through which it is working at the forefront of issues related to economic development and workforce development training for Hispanics.
HCCL is a member of the Advisory Board of PERC, the Political & Economic Research Council, a think tank in the Washington DC area whose ongoing 5-year study includes the relation of the Hispanic community to the recovery of the region post-Katrina.
HCCL works closely with the Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA), a non-profit funded by the Rockefeller Family Foundation, on its ongoing Hispanic Integration Initiative which studies the impact of immigrant workers on the economy of the United States, with a spotlight focus on New Orleans.
HCCL and the HBRTC have been featured in documentaries and news interviews which have aired nationally and internationally, produced by the major Spanish speaking television networks Univision, Telemundo, Televisa, Discovery en español, and CNN en espanol. HCCL has weekly Spanish radio show airing on 5 different stations in which it educates the Hispanic business community on important business and policy issues with which they may not be familiar due to language barriers.
Awards & Recognition
In 2006 HCCL and its partners were awarded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s President’s Award for establishing a capacity building institution and providing leadership for Hispanic businesses after the devastation of Katrina.
In September 2006 HCCL was recognized by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as “The National Small Hispanic Chamber of the Year.”
And most recently, the Executive Director of the Hispanic Chamber was named the SBA Louisiana 2010 Small Business Minority Champion of the Year.