ERNIE BROWN JR. 5 women set out to change prospects for Latinas

When Wilma Torres and Marilyn Montes were growing up in Youngstown, the roles of Latin girls were firmly established by years of tradition and culture -- find a good man to marry and have children.
They didn't believe they should be so confined, however, and broke from the traditional roles.
They also believe the next generation of young girls, or Latinas, should have options to forge their own careers and plan their own destinies based on their abilities and education.
Torres and Montes of Youngstown have joined with Frances Wilson of Girard, Mirta Reyes-Chapman, also of Youngstown, and Olga Rivera of Boardman to form Latinas United Networking Association Inc., or LUNA.
Torres is chairwoman; Reyes-Chapman, first vice chairwoman; Wilson, second vice chairwoman; Rivera, treasurer; and Montes is secretary.
I met with these five enthusiastic women recently at Casa Ramirez Mexican-American Restaurant on Mahoning Avenue to discuss LUNA's origin.
How this began
The seeds of their networking experience were sown at a Youngstown Area Urban League dinner that featured speaker George C. Fraser, who extolled the positive virtues of networking and people building in the black community.
Torres, Montes and Rivera also attended the Puerto Rican Heritage Day dinner in May at Organzacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana, where local Puerto Rican professionals, artists and business owners were recognized by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration.
OCCHA serves as Youngstown's primary Hispanic social service agency.
"We started talking about Latin issues, especially as it related to our girls," said Wilson, who is a retired manager for Delphi Packard Electric Systems.
"We decided that this networking idea needs to happen," added Montes, human resource director for Youngstown Area Community Action Council and a former Youngstown school board member.
So, in May, LUNA was created.
The organization has five main goals:
UProvide networking opportunities through meetings and forums.
USupport Latin women seeking community leadership opportunities.
UProvide mentoring opportunities for Latin youth in an effort to create future Latin leaders.
UDemonstrate support and advocacy on social issues affecting Latin women.
UServe as a resource for the community as well as an advocate and support to Latin organizations and businesses.
They serve as examples
Reyes-Chapman is an urban systems engineer and program manager for Eastgate Regional Council of Governments. She said when she was growing up on the city's North Side and attending The Rayen School, the idea of a Latina's becoming an engineer was ludicrous.
She persevered and wants other young girls to do the same.
"Education cures ignorance," Reyes-Chapman said. She said her father encouraged her to go to college and get an education "if you want a good job," she recalled his saying.
Torres said LUNA's logo -- a new moon rising over a horizon -- reflects the organization's mission, which is "to provide a single network to support and advocate social issues affecting Latin women." She is YACAC's director of planning and development and is the former assistant director for YACAC's Head Start program.
LUNA also wants to work with parents to help them realize the opportunities out there for their girls.
"A lot of parents don't know how to get the necessary resources -- grants, scholarships -- to continue their children's education. That's what we want to do," said Rivera, who is with Home Savings and Loan and acts as a translator for whoever in the Hispanic community needs help with learning about the services HS & amp;L provides. She also works with OCCHA and serves on various community committees.
Because LUNA stresses the importance of education, it plans to encourage and make sure Latins run for school board positions, said Wilson, who is Trumbull County president of the League of Women Voters and who also serves on the OCCHA and Mexican Society executive committees.
ebrown@vindy.com
XFor more information on LUNA, contact Montes at (330) 793-0352.