Español
The History of ¡HICA!
In the mid 1990's, the Latino population began to increase dramatically in the metro Birmingham area. Isabel Rubio, a social worker at UAB, and Lisa Theus, Language Services Coordinator at the Jefferson County Department of Health, noticed this increase.
In conversations over the next several months, the same question continued to surface: Who, if anyone, was working with immigrant Latinos to make sure they are supported in transitioning to life in a new country, where language and customs are unfamiliar?
In 1999, several meetings were held to attempt to answer this prevailing question. As a result, ¡HICA! was created as a nonprofit organization that same year to consider concerns in the areas of access to healthcare, education, economic development, legal issues and community outreach.