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HHC Celebrates 30 Years

For more than 30 years, the Hispanic Health Council has been a pillar of Hartford’s large Latino community, improving health, promoting social justice and building healthier communities.

On Oct. 21, the council plans to celebrate its proud heritage with a reception in its building at 175 Main Street, at the crossroads of the city’s downtown business district and Park Street, the hub of Hispanic life in Hartford. The event is from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The public is invited.

The Hispanic Health Council was born in 1978, but its roots took hold some years earlier, when 8-month-old Rosa Maria Rivera died in the back of police car on the way to a city hospital. Her mother spoke no English and had already sought care for her sick baby at two other city hospitals before the child’s condition became critical. The death certificate said the baby died of dehydration, but activists say that discrimination and a language barrier contributed to the little girl’s death.

The tragedy illuminated widespread barriers to healthcare experienced by Hartford’s growing Latino population and the Hispanic Health Council was born.

Today, Latinos, mostly Puerto Ricans but a growing number from other parts of the Caribbean and Central and South America, account for 40 percent of Hartford’s population. The Hispanic Health Council provides service and advocacy that is grounded in research and infused with the spirit of social justice and activism that led to its founding.

From its flagship Comadrona pregnancy support program to diabetes peer counseling, breastfeeding support, nutrition assistance and education and HIV/AIDS prevention programs, the Hispanic Health Council’s programs have been developed to meet community needs and tested to make sure they work. For more information and to RSVP, please click here.
To learn more about our history click here.