US Representative Jamie Raskin (8th Congressional District) recognized Identity’s Executive Director Diego Uriburu as a Montgomery County Local Hero in the last week of Hispanic Heritage Month. Diego shared that the same potential he saw in our Latino community members when founding Identity in 1998 still inspires Identity’s work today: our Latino neighbors are assets to be nourished, not problems to be fixed.
Diego praised Montgomery County’s leaders for recognizing the urgent need to partner with community-based groups to combat COVID-19. The result: a vaccinated Latino population that is one of the highest in the United States. He credited the Salud y Bienestar culturally competent outreach strategy with making this happen. And, he added that using the same strategy – respecting the community’s norms and needs – will also define the plan to welcome the new high-potential Haitian and Latin American immigrants and asylum-seeking youth and families coming to the county.
Watch the video to hear their conversation.