For over seven years, the Hood River Latino Network, a Rural Organizing Project member group, has organized events to connect the Latino community in the Gorge and advocate for greater representation. In early 2024, ROP and Hood River Latino Network partnered to open ROP’s newest field office, the Immigrant Help Center.
Learn more about the Hood River Latino Network and stay in the loop on upcoming events and resources.
What is the Immigrant Help Center ?
The core of our work is helping Latinos, immigrants, farmworkers, and all community members access resources and solutions. To build an inclusive, people-centered movement for justice, everyone must have the opportunity to participate fully and effectively in our local economy.
In addition to helping folks navigate the complicated challenges of accessing public services, we come together with local leaders to identify community solutions that defend the rights of Latinos and immigrants and advance social justice for all. We’ve hosted many community events, including the annual Hood River Latino Fest, which brought over 1000 attendees together last August!
The Immigrant Help Center is the vehicle to address immigration injustice that disproportionately affects our community, especially given the unique challenges immigrants face in a rural setting. We are excited to take on more bold ideas that meet the needs of rural communities across the state, and we need your support to make that happen.
How do I access the Immigrant Help Center and learn more about upcoming events?
Community members can walk in or make appointments to learn and navigate issues like tenant rights, employee workers’ compensation, how to register to vote, the citizenship process, and green card support, as well as any other questions and concerns that arise. They will also have an immigration attorney and other law services available for consultation as the office continues to establish itself.
Call (541) 436 -4756 or visit https://hoodriverlatino.org/ for more information
Why an Immigrant Help Center?
Public gathering spaces are vital to building strong, resilient communities. As libraries, schools, post offices, and small-town businesses are shut down, there are fewer and fewer gathering spaces in rural communities. The Immigrant Help Center is more than a building. It’s a hub. A haven. A home for community groups working to advance our shared values of human dignity, respect, self-determination, and democracy. The Center not only serves as an ROP’s office but also a symbol of our momentum and a doorway into a rural movement for human dignity. For the people of the Columbia River Gorge, especially, it’s a public space for gathering and organizing as well as a resource for strategies and ideas.
The Immigrant Help Center is a robust community hub that includes:
Training Hub: Host community classes that build economic and workforce skills and provide media training for youth.
Community Help Center/Workers and Renter’s Rights and Immigration Resource Center: Community members can walk in or make appointments to learn and navigate issues like tenant and landlord rights, employee workers’ compensation laws, how to register to vote, the citizenship process, and green card support, as well as help to answer other questions and concerns that arise. We will also have an immigration attorney and other legal services available for consultation.
Cultural Resource and Event Hub: Host and support local cultural events that offer numerous volunteer opportunities. The center serves as a place for farm workers and migrants to meet and provide the infrastructure that is critically needed to organize and be responsive to rising priorities in our community. Additionally, through the physical space of the Center, we are able to build relationships and trust with our community and provide the space to bring people in and together.
Leadership Community and Campaign Incubator: Support and bring together the next generation of organizers. We will provide a meeting space to foster multi-generational leadership to come together to strategize and share techniques, to problem-solve, and identify community solutions
Donate to ROP to support the programs at the Immigrant Help Center
