When Annapolis resident Blanca Calderon cut her index finger at work on Sunday, she was immediately rushed to the emergency room, treated and given medication for her pain.

As it turns out, the phone call to make a follow-up doctor's appointment was an even bigger pain.

Ms. Calderon, a native of El Salvador, barely speaks English, so her boyfriend, Eusebio Ramirez, tried to schedule an appointment for her. But try was all he could do.

"I was calling (the doctor's office) and the receptionist didn't understand," Mr. Ramirez said in a thick El Salvadoran accent. "We immediately came here."

Here is El Centro de Ayuda Spanish for The Help Center a resource center set up in a trailer at the Allen Apartments in Annapolis, where it serves the city's large Hispanic community.

Ms. Calderon and Mr. Ramirez received help when they came up against a language barrier, but the center offers assistance in many other areas.

"A lot of families come here for simple things like mail, completing money orders, or help with applications," said Darline Thomas, the center's program director. "People pop in with issues all the time."
Sometimes cultural differences present a problem, too.

Ms. Thomas said she recently helped a tenant of Allen Apartments who cooked a raw chicken on the stove without a pan, causing the meat to catch on fire. Though that may sound strange to us, in his native country, meat is cooked directly on heated stones, Ms. Thomas said. Other basic living and maintenance skills what to do when the toilet is stopped up or if you smell gas also are addressed by the center.

"We keep discovering more things we have to do," Ms. Thomas said.
With the help of volunteers and other agencies such as the Organization of Hispanic/Latin Americans, Anne Arundel Community College, Anne Arundel Medical Center and Food Link Inc., the center strives to provide support and educational services to highrisk, low-income families.

Programs include an afterschool club for children, fresh food distributions, referral and assistance programs, and an array of classes in adult literacy, nutrition, health and childbirth.

With OHLA's office also set up at the center, director Francisco Encina can directly assists those who are seeking jobs or those who need information on immigration and legal rights.

"The resources are pretty good. If you have something to do they help you. It's a good community here," Mr. Ramirez said.

Fellow Allen Apartment resident Dee Contreras agrees.

"Some of the people (here) don't speak English at all," she said. "(This program) is good for children, too. They can come and get help with homework."

As the local Hispanic population grows, workers at the center are discovering an ever increasing need for the services they provide. The 2000 census numbers report 2,301 Hispanics live in Annapolis a 376 percent hike over the 1990 figure of 483. The most recent tally for the county was 12,092 a 77 percent jump from 6,815 10 years prior.

Locally, many Hispanic families live at the Allen, Admiral Farragut, Forest Hills, Forest Village and Westwinds apartment complexes, as well as in Presidents Hill, Parole, Eastport and on West Street, Silopanna Road and Greenfield Street, Ms. Thomas said.

To serve all these families, Ms. Thomas hopes to eventually expand El Centro de Ayuda after it's two-year permit expires in October 2002. But for now, she's happy to help as many families as possible.

"This program is open to anyone who needs it," she said.

For more information on El Centro de Ayuda, call 410-266-8013.

Published 05/10/01, Copyright © 2001 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.