Mecklenburg County’s Latino population has grown by nearly 60,000 people in the past 10 years, according to the 2020 census. A large part of that growth has come from U.S.-born Latinos. This population growth presents both an array of new opportunities as well as shifting needs as more Latinos are born in the United States.
Martin Plascencia. Photo courtesy of the County of Orange.
“The pandemic has only deepened language access issues,” said Chairman Andrew Do, who authored the County’s Language Access Policy last April. “Now more than ever, we must reach every community and neighborhood in Orange County.”
Nearly half of Orange County adults (46 percent) speak a language other than English at home, according to the 2019-2020 Orange County Community Indicators Report, with a quarter of the overall population native Spanish speakers.
In an effort to directly reach our Spanish-speaking communities, the County brought on board a prominent figure in the Latino community.
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Orange County has hired Martin Plascencia to lead its Spanish-language communications and outreach efforts. (OC Supervisor s Press Photo)
ORANGE COUNTY, CA Orange County CEO Communications Department has hired Martin Plascencia to lead its Spanish-language communications and outreach efforts that have thus far flailed in reaching a broad part of our community. On Wednesday, the OC Health Care Agency announced the Othena website is now available in Spanish, with other languages to follow.
For the past month, Plascencia has worked with the county to set a plan for outreach into the Latino community of Orange County. His first goal is to translate the problematic Othena registration app into Spanish to be read and understood.