Gottheimer hosts Hispanic Heritage Month roundtable with North Jersey community leaders
BERGENFIELD, N.J. (Bergen County) — U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer recently hosted a Hispanic Heritage Month roundtable in Bergenfield, bringing together North Jersey community leaders and advocates to discuss issues facing Hispanic and Latino families.
The roundtable included community leaders, educators, local and county officials, faith leaders, veterans advocates and workforce professionals.
“It’s this diversity of Hispanic and Latino cultures, honestly, that makes North Jersey strong and such a vibrant place to live, work, and raise a family,” Gottheimer said. “If we work together to lift one another up and highlight the diversity that gives us our strength, in the greatest country in the world, our best days will always be ahead of us.”
Participants discussed access to affordable and culturally competent health care and mental health care, rising costs and housing affordability, community safety, concerns about immigration enforcement, language barriers and barriers to education, according to Gottheimer’s office.
More than 151,000 people in New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District are part of the Hispanic and Latino community, according to Gottheimer’s office. The district includes communities such as Hackensack, Englewood and Bergenfield.
The roundtable was held during National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 each year and recognizes the cultures and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans.
The observance began as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 and was expanded to a monthlong period in 1988.
Gottheimer represents New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties.
