Local non-profit provides Head Start program and extensive resources for a growing community

CALDWELL, ID — The Community Council of Idaho is one of the largest Hispanic non-profit agencies serving the Idaho community and they have been serving for more than half a century, offering services from Weiser to Idaho Falls.

Antonio Madera is the assistant director of communication for the Community Council of Idaho. “We offer our Head Start program which is the one that we’re most famous for,” said Madera. “We have employee training, we have affordable housing we have clinics and our fairly new program, immigration services.”

Last year nearly 20 thousand people took advantage of the council’s resources, like emergency utility assistance, food boxes, and G.E.D. and ESL classes.

“We’ll have parents that come into our head starts and that parent needs help with utility bills,” Madera said. “So then we refer them to our employment and training office, which has what we call community resource centers there. They have access to quite a bit of help.”

The non-profit’s Head Start program is for students as young as a few months to 5 years old. The program gives parents who are farmers or work in agriculture a safe and affordable place to send their children.

“Our centers are proud to say that we teach kids bilingual education, and we teach the parent nutrition and educational nutrition,” says Dulce Sanchez, Social Media Specialist for the Council.

If English isn’t your first language and you’re in need of assistance don’t worry. The staff is filled with people who can translate and help.

“There’s so many I guess you can say Latinos but low-income farm working people that need help,” says Antonio Madera. “I like the fact that we are big enough that we can help everyone that comes to us.”