Growing Latino population in PA facing challenges and opportunities

What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, April 10, 2019:

The Latino population in the U.S. is the nation’s largest and fastest growing ethnic group. The population increase is significant; Latinos account for half of U.S. population growth between 2000 and 2014.

In Pennsylvania, the Latino community is nearing one million, or approximately seven percent of the state’s population.

One of the biggest concentrations of growth is in the cities and region located along U.S. Route 222. Cities like Lancaster, Reading and Allentown are part of the “222 Latino Corridor” that is now home to a large Latino community.

This growth presents both challenges and opportunities. There continue to be barriers to education and healthcare, in addition to the lack of affordable housing. Those problems are difficult to solve with a median Latino income of $23,000 per year.

A report that provides more details came out of the Pennsylvania Latino Convention in Lancaster last fall.

Meanwhile, a 2018 report in USA Today found Pennsylvania ranked fourth from the bottom when it comes to health for its Latino population. A statewide Latino Health Summit is scheduled next week in York to address the issues that include liver disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity.

Appearing on Smart Talk Wednesday to discuss the many issues and challenges facing Latinos are Norman Bristol-Colon, chairman and founder of the Pennsylvania Latino Convention, Gloria Merrick, executive director of the Latino Hispanic American Community Center in Harrisburg, and George Fernandez, CEO of the Latino Connection.

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