Resource guide helps residents find businesses, organizations that cater to their cultural, ethnic needs
Contact
Jeff Danna
Communications Manager
jeff@dbqfoundation.org
563.588.2700
For immediate release
DUBUQUE, Iowa — When Enoc Sanchez moved to Dubuque from New York City, he found himself in a place that posed new challenges. Dubuque's geography, culture and support network differed from New York’s, making it difficult for Sanchez to find goods and services that catered to him as a newcomer and Latino.
“Coming from New York City, I was used to having everything at my fingertips, within a short walking distance,” says Sanchez, who moved to Dubuque to attend Emmaus Bible College. “I had to learn everything through word of mouth and trusted friends. Luckily, I had plenty of help from my college. I can only imagine what it would’ve been like trying to find places without my college’s assistance.”
The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, in partnership with Greater Dubuque Development Corp. and with financial support from the John Deere Foundation, created the newest version of the Dubuque Cultural Resource Guide for people like Sanchez who can struggle to find businesses and services that meet their unique cultural or ethnic needs. Listings range from salons where workers specialize in Black hair to grocery stores that carry dietary staples of Dubuque’s Latino community.
View the guide on the web or download a PDF
While the guide was created for both newcomers and longtime residents, it can be particularly helpful to people who have recently moved to Dubuque and have few social and family connections. The guide comes in English and Spanish language versions to help bridge language barriers that can separate residents from the goods and services they are seeking.
“The Cultural Resource Guide is one more tool that helps make our community welcoming to and inclusive of people from many different backgrounds,” says Clara Lopez Ortiz, equity coordinator for the Community Foundation, which facilitates the Inclusive Dubuque network.
Anyone can browse the guide online at inclusivedbq.org/dubuque-cultural-resource-guide and also download both the English and Spanish language versions for easy printing. The print edition of the guide will be updated quarterly, and the online version will be updated as needed.
“We understand that there might be businesses, organizations or services we missed,” Lopez Ortiz says. “We welcome anyone who wants to suggest listings for the guide to contact us.”
The Community Foundation also wants to explore translation into other languages spoken in the community.
“We encourage anyone who has relationships with people who could benefit from the guide to download the PDF and print and distribute as many copies as needed,” Lopez Ortiz says.
One of those people who will share the guide is Gisella Aitken-Shadle, district adult education and literacy development director at Northeast Iowa Community College.
"The Cultural Resource Guide is a great tool for those in Dubuque who work with our community's diverse population, because they can turn to it for a helpful guide to the city's services,” she says. “Now that this guide is in Spanish, more community members will be able to use it, empowering them to be their own advocates by knowing where to look for support services."
For residents like Sanchez, the guide has the potential to make a big difference in their daily lives.
“This guide will help bridge the gap for newcomers to Dubuque as it grows and as its citizens have access to more and more each year,” he says.
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