Esperanza Center

In 2013, Esperanza Center will celebrate 50 years of service in Baltimore. Our bilingual staff works with Hispanic and other immigrants to provide healthcare, social services, referrals, employment counseling, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, and Immigration Legal Services (ILS).

On any given day, there’s a lot going at the Center. Last year, the Esperanza Center Client Services staff at the information desk on the first floor welcomed and assisted 2,209 people. The staff and volunteers in the large classroom teach English language, computer literacy, and citizenship classes. On the second floor, our medical and dental staff offers primary health and dental services to adults and children. And on the third floor, our legal providers advise and represent individuals on an array of life-changing immigration legal issues.

Those who come to the Client Services area get information on how to enroll their children in school,  how to apply for a mortgage,  how to find housing, and how to open a checking account to pay their bills. They can have correspondence translated and explained, and much more. Most importantly, they are warmly welcomed by a friendly person who speaks their language.

In order to learn English, people come to the scheduled English as a Second Language (ESL) classes morning, afternoon, and evening, or drop-in as time permits to complete the curriculum.  They take classes that focus on exactly what they need for their jobs, or for food shopping, or for conversing with their neighbors, or for handling money.  Sometimes they come to the Center just to practice their new language skills with a friend.

At the Esperanza Center Health Services, people who are uninsured or uninsurable, are compassionately cared for at the walk-in clinic four days a week or can make an appointment to see a doctor, dentist, or specialist. A baby screaming with an ear infection doesn’t have to suffer needlessly or end up in the emergency room. People with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, can get a diagnosis, control their disease, and avoid serious, high-cost complications.  Children get the vaccinations they need to attend school. Words cannot explain the impact that kindness and care can have on a person’s well being.

And finally, individuals and families facing life-altering legal issues receive legal advice about their immigration matters in their own language from people who truly understand their situations.