Latinos Unidos moving forward

NORWALK, Conn. – Weekly meetings of the newly formed Latinos Unidos de Connecticut (LUC) have resulted in an organizational structure and plans for community outreach.

LUC is now a registered Connecticut non-profit, Israel Navarro said. The organization is planning a family day – the date will be set according to events in the World Cup – and a LUC Fair on July 16, where community organizations can share information the Latino community needs. That will likely include the Norwalk Fair Rent office and the League of Women Voters, Navarro said.

“We want to bring all the Latino people together,” said LUC President Gabriela Peña-Perelli last Thursday, at a meeting called to organize volunteers.

Peña-Perelli  said the 15 to 20 people present had signed exit forms at the initial LUC meeting on March 17, offering to help out. “We need them to get more people, to get more ideas and volunteers because we all have our own jobs, and we’ve really got good ideas from everybody,” Peña-Perelli said.

LUC formed four committees at the event, one for sports, one for public affairs, one for communication and one for culture. Common Councilwoman Eloisa Melendez (D-District A) will lead the public affairs committee. Navarro said he is representing LUC at events, and if a topic comes up at the Common Council he’ll be the one speaking on behalf of the organization.

It’s not a political organization, Navarro and LUC treasurer Aleyda Caceres said.

“We are thinking that at the LUC Fair we are going to have a table, volunteer people to explain the process, like you’ve got to vote,” Caceres said. “That’s the only way to ask the government for your rights. And how you do it. How the government is set up, stuff like that. But not any politicians, politics.”

Questions at Thursday’s meeting included the title of the organization itself, she said, as people wanted to know why it wasn’t Latinos Unidos de Norwalk.

Caceres said that was done to keep the organization more broad. “In case we want to represent ourselves in Hartford, we are not just Norwalk,” she said.

Attendees were told to sign up on the group’s Facebook page to stay informed about LUC events.

“We are trying to see how we can help the community in different ways,” Caceres said.