Arriba Center

Causes: Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations, Human Services

Mission: ARRIBA Center is responding to the high rate of unemployment among disabled Latinos in the District of Columbia. This segment of the Hispanic community needs employability skills training. This training must be delivered in Spanish and must take into account the challenges resulting from sever disabilities. The ARRIBA workforce development program called ARRIBA Center Training the Disabled for Employment Adjustment and Reintegration (ACTDEAR) is the only program in DC that successfully serves this need. ARRIBA primarily serves a community of Hispanic individuals with severe and chronic disabilities in Washington, DC, age 14 and above. While firm statistics on disabilities among Latinos living in the District aren't available, based on the Centers for Disease Control's statistic that 22% of the overall US population live with a disability, there are likely over 10,000 Latinos in the District with at least one disability. The unemployment rate among the multicultural disabled is as high as 80 percent. For a broad range of reasons (e.g., cultural adjustment, language barriers, transportation difficulties, and limited job search skills), many of these people have difficulty accessing social, rehabilitation, and employment services. Nearly all ARRBA clients live in economically marginalized census tracts. Their average income is between $9,000 and $10,000 per year when they enter the ARRIBA program. About half of ARRIBA Center's clients are male and half female. They represent all Hispanic nationalities residing in the District of Columbia.