Hispanic Heritage Month
Hispanic Heritage Month (HHM) takes place September 15 to October 15 every year as a time to recognize and celebrate the many contributions, diverse cultures, and extensive histories of the American Latino community.
Beginning in 1968, Hispanic Heritage Month was originally observed as “Hispanic Heritage Week”, but it was later extended to a month in 1988. Since then, HHM has been celebrated nationwide through festivals, art shows, conferences, community gatherings, and much more. The month also celebrates the independence days of several Latin American countries, including: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua on September 15th, Mexico on September 16th, and Chile on September 18th. They also include holidays that recognize Hispanic contributions such as Virgin Islands-Puerto Rico Friendship Day that is celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Latino population, currently 62.1 million people, is 23% of the U.S. population. Puget Sound Welcome Back Center is happy to serve this growing audience, we say ¡Bienvenidos! our door is open to you.
It is important for us to celebrate Hispanic people as they are welcome in our program, not forgetting that the Welcome Back Initiative was founded by Dr. José Ramón Fernández Peña in 2001 in partnership between San Francisco State University and City College. of San Francisco with the intent of connecting the untapped pool of immigrant health professionals residing in California and the need for a health workforce that better reflects the linguistic and cultural diversity of our State. Since then, the Initiative has grown to become a national network of 11 centers in 9 states.
