Here to enlighten us, our good friend francis madi shes the regional Outreach Coordinator and mayra alda s deckert, special projects associate at the new York Immigration Coalition. Welcome to you both. Yes, the key to the city event, one of them is happening as we speak, correct . Thats correct. Out in. Queens. Far rockaway. Far rockaway, queens. Thats correct. For those who dont know, the key to the events what is it . Summarize it for me and the goal of it. Go ahead, francis. Sure. So the key to the city, its a group of events that happen in different schools throughout the five boroughs of new york city. Yes. And our coordinator, mayra alda s, is the one that actually gets in touch with the schools, and she brings together legal services, informational opportunities about english classes or anything else that the parents from that particular area are in need of. Okay, mayra, you guys have been doing these for quite some time correct . A few years. Well, the initiative was started back in 2011, thanks to the support of city council and the speaker. And about a year and a half ago, we started incorporating new services. At the beginning, it was just Mexican Consulate, to provide identity documents to the parents of the schools and its nationals. And now its incorporating other services. Yes, thats the reason why we had you back on tiempo, because there are some changes to the key to the city that make it either further outreach, if you will, correct . Yes. Thats correct. The events have like, now we receive people from close to 50 countries have come to our events to receive free legal help and other services. You can make an appointment for your municipal i. D. , the idnyc, sign up your kid for prek, see a Health Navigator services that are important for our community. Im particularly interested with the angle that you Work Together with the consulates. What is it that you learn from them that helps you do your job better . Well, we definitely try to figure out ways in which we can assist the immigrant, the latino communities of new york city, and one way to do that is to bring the consulates, you know, the primary source of information about their countries, to these key to the city events. So, in a way, they also can help us with outreach. Mmhmm. And i know that youve had a long relationship with the good folks from me\xico, the Mexican Consulate. Yeah. But that has branched out now. How many other consulates are you working with . We are working with about 12, 15 consulate not just latin american consulates, but caribbean consulate. Latin america, we have the biggest ones. We have el salvador, we have me\xico, we have ecuador, we have guatemala and dominican republic, and we have a few caribbean consulates. And are the needs of one somewhat different from the needs of another . Is what the good folks from guatemala, do they need is it different from ecuador, from costa rica . And, if so, how . Well, when it comes to, for example, the Legal Assistance, its different because, as we Central America have the temporary protection status tps. Their needs are to renew those tps. Yeah, that documentation. And in the case of perhaps the ecuadorians and the mexicans, they need, you know, to find out if they qualify for other source of relief, perhaps a u visa, a t visa, daca, and just to get a screen for dapa, which will be the new program of president obama. I see you shaking your head yes. Yeah, no, absolutely, because i wanted to mention the important part of the legal services, the tps for certain immigrants and tps being. Temporary protected status. Temporary protected status. And for the recent refugees that have been arriving from Central America, i know that, in the past, key to the city has also offered the opportunity for consultations to see if theyre eligible for any kind of immigration relief, including special immigrant juveniles and u visas. You know, you just popped it into my head, because theres been another influx of refugees coming in children, right . Yes. We saw it, you know, tremendous during the summer i think it was in june and july and then it scaled down quite a bit, and now its picked up again. Is that impacting the services that you provide . Have you seen that already . Absolutely. That just proves that these events need to continue to happen in new york city because there are more people who are in need of these services. Yeah, why did it return, mayra . Do you know . What happened in other countries where suddenly the influx of children started to pick up again . Well, i think this has been happening for awhile. Ups and downs. Its about like until last year that it was like a Huge Movement of the children, but this has been happening for awhile, and we know its just because of the economy, the situation in those countries. Yes. Yeah, theyre looking for opportunity. But were here just to help these children and the communities to get incorporated to the society. Sit tight. Were gonna take a break, and when we come back, well talk a little bit about what you have in my mind there, but, also, i want to talk a little politics because immigration is certainly at the forefront. More on the new initiatives at the new York Immigration Coalition, and still ahead on tiempo, the boy scouts of america westchesterputnam council has a new approach to support hundreds of latino boys. We will tell you about that in a few minutes. [ latin music plays ] join the millions who have already switched. We switched. Who knew Time Warner Cables internet was so fast mom switched. And now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. I switched. So i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. Join the millions who switched to Time Warner Cable. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. Youll also get unlimited calling to the us, mexico canada, china, and now india. Call today. I switched. Now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. For 89. 99 a month youll get tv, internet and phone. And if you call now, theres no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their one hour appointment window. Switch to Time Warner Cable today. And now, for a limited time, you could get a 300 reward card. Welcome back to tiempo. Weve been talking this morning new York Immigration Coalition about the key to the city events. The initiative has them partnering with the consulates and legalService Providers to help out immigrant new yorkers. Francis madi, the regional Outreach Coordinator, mayra alda s deckert, Community Engagement coordinator at the new York Immigration Coalition theyre here helping us out. I cant let you go without asking you about the pope, but more specifically about what he had to say regarding immigration, and take it the next step. Has his words impacted people who have come to your organization, workers . Run with it from there. Absolutely. The popes visit was significant to our organization as an immigrantserving organization, given that the message that he shared across the different places that he visited when in the United States was that we needed to support immigrants. I mean, you saw, when he first visited barack obama, that he mentioned that he, too, was the son of immigrants. Yes. Once again mentioned the importance of helping strangers and others and supporting them. Im trying to picture the reaction at your offices. Did you guys stand up and cheer and clap . It mustve been a standing ovation. Yes, absolutely. And many of our staff actually attended the mass that was held at Madison Square garden. They went to central park. I mean, it was huge for all of us and to be able to share that with our immigrant communities because hes such an important faith leader. Yes. And in a way, were currently going through an antiimmigrant rhetoric through these republican president ial hopefuls, and now, thanks to the popes visit, we are finally channeling the way that immigration is being talked about. Mmhmm. The key to the city event happening now far rockaway. Goes till. 1 00 . 1 00, so if youre watching, you still have time to go. Where is it . Location . Its in Public School 253, 1307 central avenue. Okay, and youve already got the next one planned. Am i correct . Which is when and where . We do. The next one will be october 25th in the bronx, in Public School 244. Okay, and, again, give me two or three of the top services that you offer that are most taken advantage of by people who show up to these events. I think the biggest one, its obviously the legal help, the Legal Assistance thanks to our partnership with the new york Legal Assistance group and the identity documents from the Mexican Consulate or other consulate. And i would be remiss not to point out to remind people what to bring if theyre going to see you. Yes. Its very important because you save a lot of legwork if you come prepared, right . Absolutely. Tell me. Bring documents that you think are important when you go see a lawyer. Por ejemplo. You know, you bring your passport, you bring if you have a birth certificate, a matri cula consular we call it, the consular i. D. S. Bring any document that you think will be necessary to go see a lawyer. Mmhmm. If you have doctors records of your kids just to prove how long youve been here. That goes a long way. I mean, and the Service Providers love it when you show up prepared. Yes. Well, we do have a system where we have the nyic is training communitybased organizations on how to be navigators. So the navigators will be the first stop where you go, and they will check your documents and then get you ready to go see a lawyer. And it goes without saying, but well say it anyway the services are provided in english and spanish. English, spanish, and the language, depending on the neighborhood we are and the needs of the school and the parents, we bring in volunteers to speak the language that you need. The key to the city, but you also have a National Conference coming up that you wanted to remind people about. Tell me. Yes, yes, we have the National Immigrant integration conference, which is happening which is what . Its a National Conference that brings together more than 34 organizations nationwide. Conference happening, for the first time in new york city, so we are very excited. Were expecting over a thousand people. Youre hosting. Yes, were hosting it, as well. And so its a big deal for us as new york state, but also as a way to bring all these different immigration advocates to figure out ways in that we can integrate immigrants into the thread of american society. Is it a brainstorming session, francis . I mean, do you learn things from other organizations, whether they be in san francisco, santa fe, wherever . Absolutely. I mean, thats one of the main things, to bring together all these different advocates so they can talk about what has worked in their own states and how we can improve the conditions in their states or even in new york state. And sometimes what hasnt worked, right . Yeah, absolutely, what hasnt worked. Yeah. Were gonna be having different panels including health, immigration advocacy and rights. We have a philanthropy. Arts. The arts and media. So if anyone is interested in attending, they can always go to our website and find out how to register. And it helps you ultimately do your job better i would think, right . Yeah. And provide services in a better way. Our goal is to, you know, empower our community and to integrate. And sometimes meeting with your colleagues is a good way to un placer. Thank you guys very much. Good luck with the key to the city. Thats great. Coming up next on tiempo, the boy scouts of america westchesterputnam council celebrates hispanic heritage month in a big way, with major support to hundreds of latino boys. The details when tiempo comes [ latin music plays ] im sigourney weaver, and new york is my home. Theres no place like it in the world. Like our state parks. The adirondacks are my favorite. For hiking, fishing, camping, you name it. Niagara falls is the oldest state park, but visiting it never gets old. The readers of a National Newspaper voted letchworth the 1 state park in america. Watkins glen, 3. New york state parks are a gift. Plan your vacation at iloveny. Com. The boy scouts of america is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with more than 2. 4 million youth members and nearly 1 million adult volunteers. It helps children become leaders and role models. During hispanic heritage month, the westchesterputnam council of the boy scouts plans to support hundreds of latino boys by expanding their programs to various schools in westchester. And here this morning to tell us about this Program Expansion patrick coviello and Rocio Guerrero from the westchesterputnam council of boy scouts of america and jose torres, mi primo not really leader of troop 2005, El Centro Hispano in white plains. Good to have all of you here. Youre doing this largely because of the explosive growth, i would assume, of the latino population in westchester and putnam counties . Thats correct. The westchesterputnam council has been involved in scouting for almost a hundred years, since the beginning of the program. And one of our commitments is that we reach out to all young people who want to be part of scouting and gain from the development that they participate in, the outdoor fun, the excitement. Yep. One of the markets that we feel we havent reached out to appropriately in recent years is the latino community. Throw some numbers at me. I mean, how much growth have you seen specifically within that demographic . So we currently have almost 10,000 youth members. We have about 800 latino youth members involved. Wow. Our goal, though, is to more than double that over the next year and a half, and so that was the instigation of the Latino Initiative to make sure that we have that kind of growth happening. Rocio, talk to me about one or two of the initiatives that are designed to try and get more latinos involved. Yes. We actually we would like to in westchester. So we are projecting that, and for that, we started this year. We launch our program with an Hispanic Initiative event. Yes. And this attract a group of hispanics that they were very interested, and they are working and creating new troops, new groups with us. Are there particular challenges to try and lure latinos to boy scouts . Yes. What are those challenges, and how do you overcome them . Well, the first challenge that we have is that we need a lot of volunteers to create the troops and to get parents involved. So, for parents, its very difficult, sometimes because they are very busy, sometimes because there is not a volunteerism culture in the hispanic culture. So its very difficult for us to say like, okay, i volunteer. Im going to take care of it, i can do it all, and i will be the leader. So, in that case, i really have to talk to the parents, work with them, meet with them, and show them the benefits of the program. I see jose nodding his head cause hes the guy thats got to try to get you know, its a challenge, right, to get parents to come on board. What do they often tell you as to reasons why they cant help out . Well, about the boy scouts, from the beginning, its very difficult. For me, it was difficult because that was my first time to be a boy scout leader. [indistinct] after passing the time, i learned more, also with the help with the parent. Thats helped a lot. So, how many years are you involved now . 10 year. 10 years youve been doing it. Yep, id say so. And does it help when latino parents and latino boys see a latino leader . Yes, a lot. Yeah, because they have the confidence to come to you, ask question, and you can answer to them in spanish. Yeah, and you do. And they like it. Sometimes they have a question in english, and they dont got the right answer. Yes, and they dont understand. Now that they had a spanish leader, they are more free to come to you to explain. And to communicate. Communicate, yeah. Tell me about the time capsule. So im gonna let rocio talk about that in a minute, but i just wanted to kind of point out an important aspect of having rocio as our scoutreach director is that she also is representative of the community and, in particular, is able to relate to the 25 to 40yearold moms who are really the ones that we know are making the decisions about what activities their boys should be in. And so were thrilled that we have the opportunity to hire someone with her skill level to be able to reach out into the different communities. And has it paid off some dividends already . Absolutely. And that has to do with our launch that were gonna have next week, and ill let her talk about that. You got about 30 seconds. Tell me about the time capsule quickly. Well, what were gonna do is were gonna have a time capsule with 200 eagle scout patches. Eagle scouts. So were gonna place the patches in the time capsule, and the idea is that we are going to seal that during the event, during the ceremony, and in 10 years, we are going to reopen the capsule. So, for that time, we hope that all these children that are going to join our program in this year through the afterschool that were going to do in port chester, they will become eagle scouts. So they are going to get their eagle scout at that moment. Which cements a commitment, right . Yes. Yeah, for a long period of time. And im gonna interrupt here because weve got to go to a commercial break, but eagle scouting is the pinnacle, correct . Thats the highest you get when it comes to scouting. Sit tight. Were gonna talk more with the boy scouts of america westchesterputnam council about the new initiatives they have to try to get more latinos involved [ latin music plays ] here in vineland, home of progresso, we love all kinds of chicken soups. But just one kind of chicken. White breast meat chicken every time. So if youre not going to make your own chicken soup tonight, do what we do. Make it progresso. Here in vineland, home of progresso, we figured out how to get rich ingredients like bacon into 22 light soups, so if you want 100 calories or less per serving without giving up rich flavor welcome back to tiempo. We have been talking this morning about a new Hispanic Initiative by the boy scouts of america westchesterputnam council. Patrick coviello, Rocio Guerrero from the westchesterputnam council of boy scouts of america, theyre here with us. Jose torres, leader of troop 2005, El Centro Hispano in white plains thank you for being here. All right, give me the sales pitch. I mean, parents are watching at home. They got the kids by their side. Why should they get involved in scouting . So, every parent, regardless of their background, wants their son to grow up to be a good man. Scouting has been doing that, helping young men to become great citizens, for over a hundred years, through the scout oath and the scout law and the values, the life skills, that they take with them throughout their entire lives, the opportunities that they have to go in the outdoors and experience new things that they never had, and the bottom line is the fun. cause, so far, i havent found any kid that wants to join developed. Yeah, because its fun. I mean, and you do fun stuff. Right. My, oh my. I remem i was a webelos many years ago. I think, in white plains. Tell me about it. What is that . On the 9th, is it . Yes, october 9th. Were gonna have a breakfast, and this is to celebrate the hispanic heritage month. Okay. And we are honoring three of our greatest contributors to our program. Its Isabel Villar from El Centro Hispano, mo acevedo from troop 400, port chester, and the Carver Center for the afterschool program. Isabel buena gente. Shes been a guest here on tiempo before, in white plains. 10 years now, right, in scouting. How is jose torres a better person as a result of scouting . How be a better person . Well, how have you changed . It changed me a lot. It changed me to meet more parent, more scout. I learned from them a lot. You learned from them . Oh, yeah, sure. They help me to continue fighting. Yeah. Yeah, im sure yeah, its not just about you teaching them. Sometimes its them teaching you. Sometimes theyre teaching you, and thats good. Also, for the programs, we had the camp, the [indistinct] come in november. For november 9th theres always something going on for sure. What the name . October 17th. October yes. Sit tight. Im gonna wrap it up here. The boy scouts of america westchesterputnam council timecapsule event, that happens october 9th at the crowne plaza hotel. For more information the website, wpcbsa. Org. Un placer. Thank you guys very much. Before we go, how about this . Our good friends at goya foods recently announced the lets give to kids campaign, all to raise funds for the maestro cares foundation, founded by that guy latin pop superstar marc anthony