The Arlington County government has made a push to provide more information to Spanish-speaking residents, the largest minority group in the county.
Serena Ingre-Martinez, who serves as the county’s liaison for the area’s Spanish-language media, said that in recent months efforts to translate news releases and other information on county activities have increased.
“We’re beginning to do a little more,” she told The Examiner. “We try to translate what’s most applicable. The goal is to communicate as much as we can to citizens who are still in the process of learning to speak residents’ English.”
The county’s effort comes at a time when many Hispanics have left the county because of increased costs of living. The county has seen the number of Hispanics living in the county decrease dramatically in recent years.
Ingre-Martinez said that despite these losses, the county’s Hispanic population is still large and needs better information from the county. Two years ago, the county asked her to join its staff to reach out to that community.
Since then, the county has revamped its Spanish-language Web site and frequently provides press releases in both Spanish and English. For example, this month, the county has posted five press releases on its Web site, two of which are also in Spanish.
“Arlington wants to stay a diverse and inclusive community,” Ingre-Martinez said. “It’s a very progressive county.”
