EASTON, Pa. — This November, Easton will host a “Hispanic Resource Day” to assist people in the community one councilman said were “underserved and underrepresented.”
Councilman Frank Pintabone presented the idea for the event, which is set to take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2024, at the Easton Community Center at 901 Washington St., during a press conference hosted at City Hall Wednesday.
Pintabone said Hispanic Resource Day will bring together a collection of agencies to assist the city’s sizable Hispanic population with common issues.
According to Data USA, in 2022, around 23.2% of Easton’s population was composed of citizens with Hispanic heritage.
Mayor Sal Panto Jr. and Pintabone said current estimates show over 30% of the city has Hispanic heritage.
“We want them to understand that they do have a voice, and there are people in the city, in City Hall, that do care, and we want to make sure they're getting the resources they need to live a quality and productive life here in the city of Easton.”Frank Pintabone
“We're going to have immigration attorneys, staffing agencies, medical providers, [groups] offering GED programs, English as a Second Language, and a lot more,” Pintabone said.
“And we want to offer these resources to the Hispanic community. We want them to understand that they do have a voice, and there are people in the city, in City Hall, that do care, and we want to make sure they're getting the resources they need to live a quality and productive life here in the city of Easton.”
City administrators are hoping additional agencies may join the cause, which Pintabone said is centered around “empowering the Hispanic community and helping them with some tools that they might not know that they have access to.”
Panto characterized the event as a great initiative to cater to a burgeoning group of citizens in Easton.
“Hispanics come from 18 different countries, and that's a lot of people who come into our community,” Panto said.
“When I ran in 2008, we were at like 10 percent; today we're over 30 percent, and I just feel that this is wonderful. As a former schoolteacher, this is a wonderful resource to tell people that they have access to these resources.”
Concerns over the safety of attendees due to recent displays of xenophobia across the country were largely dismissed as a problem in Easton, with Pintabone stating the community has been largely supportive of minority populations.
"You have a couple of strange people that just have hate in their heart, unfortunately, but in the city of Easton, and I've been here 45 years, I've never really experienced that,” Pintabone said, adding that while there may be booths to register voters, registration for this voting cycle has closed.
Pintabone concluded the announcement by stating that he hopes Hispanic Resource Day will become an annual event, adding “I’m hoping long after we’re gone, it’s still here to benefit the community.”
