Big grant props up Latino agency.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

An infusion of financial support promises to breathe new life into Centro LatinoAmericano, thanks to a three-year grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust.

The foundation announced that it will give $152,000 to the financially struggling agency. In late September, the center announced that without help it would shut down within a month.

Calling the support "a saving grace," center board member Emilio Hernandez said the money will help them hire an executive director and restructure to provide more focused services.

The agency provides a variety of support to Hispanic residents who need shelter, health care, counseling, job referral and other kinds of assistance. It has been part of the community for 33 years and serves about 1,800 people a month.

The agency has worked without an executive director since Carmen Urbina left in 2004. Retired educator David Piercy worked for several months as interim director this year.

Hernandez has agreed to act as interim director until the position is filled in February. He is also the director of the high school equivalency program in the University of Oregon's College of Education.

Centro will be scaling back some of the services it provides that duplicate those offered by the city and the county, Hernandez said.

Job counseling and mental health services, for example, are available elsewhere, but government agencies don't always have people fluent in Spanish to work with people who don't speak English, he said.

Centro also has functioned as an emergency interpreter, providing translation services for others without charging a fee.

Similar agencies in other counties have been more assertive in charging for the services they provide, Hernandez said. "We haven't worked those things out," he said.

News of the center's dire straits prompted a trickle of local support. An anonymous $25,000 donation in October was followed by $18,100 from Lane County's Health and Human Services Department, and $2,500 from the Lane Individual Practice Association, which administers the Oregon Health Plan.

Centro LatinoAmericano attributed its financial problems to the loss of government grants. In recent years, its annual budget has dropped from $1.1 million to $650,000.

The Meyer Memorial Trust supports projects that deliver significant social benefit to Oregon and southwest Washington.

The foundation awarded the money to Centro LatinoAmericano because it plays a pivotal role in the Latino community, said Meyer Memorial Trust spokeswoman Marie Deather- age.

The fact that others, such as the county, had already stepped forward to help the center impressed the foundation, she said.

"We felt that it was actually a pretty strategic time to help because it will give them stability and breathing room," Deatherage said.

The support is part of Meyer's monthly general purpose grants. In December, the foundation announced 63 grants totalling $2.4 million.

Three other Eugene groups received Meyer support: $51,000 for Arts Umbrella to expand its programs serving young rural musicians; $61,241 for the Metropolitan Affordable Housing Corporation to add staff and build capacity; and $200,000 to Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon to begin a public education effort to develop healthy sexual attitudes and behaviors among teens.