4. Bilingual Health Access Program

The program is administered by OLA in partnership with the Department of Human Services’ Income Maintenance Administration. The goal (for OLA and DHS) is to provide language-minority residents of the District with information and help in applying for public assistance programs (e.g., Medicaid, food stamps).

5. Latino Gang and Youth Violence Prevention Program

The tragic gang-related events of 2003 that occured in Columbia Heights and Mt. Pleasant brought together government, community leaders, and community residents of Ward 1 to create a quick response to: (1) dissipate the violence, (2) build additional capacity to the existing collaborations with the police and other city agencies, and (3) create mechanisms for Latino youth to become involved in positive and productive activities. OLA was designated as a critical and active partner in the creation and monitoring of a program. To this end, OLA administers $400,000 annually for the design and operation of the Latino Gang Youth Violence Prevention Program – a collaborative of youth-focused community organizations.

The Latino Gang Prevention grant is combined with another OLA-funded program (PRO-Urban) to further enhances mechanisms for youth to become active in positive and productive activities. PRO-Urban is funded with an additional $400,000 to run a summer program that supports youth involvement, service learning, and employment.