By Cristina Maisel

Every day, Carmen Carrasquel walks across the street from her home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to work at the Latino Hispanic American Community Center (LHACC). Nearly three years after first coming to the center as a volunteer, she now helps older adults, supports families and connects community members with resources. A familiar face in the neighborhood, she knows the community well and is known by many of the people who turn to LHACC for support.

Along the way, she has seen firsthand how quickly a medical emergency can happen.

That's why Carrasquel was eager to participate in a Spanish-language CPR/AED training course hosted at LHACC through an American Red Cross Latino Engagement grant. More than two dozen community members completed the class, gaining lifesaving skills and the confidence to use them when it matters most.

For Carrasquel, who regularly works with older adults facing health challenges, the training felt especially relevant.

"I feel more confident in being able to help people in a situation like that," she said.

The training was part of a growing partnership between the Red Cross and LHACC, an organization that strives to serve as a hub for human and social services, bringing together partners and programs to help meet the needs of Harrisburg’s Hispanic community. Over the past several years, Red Cross volunteers have maintained a regular presence at the center, providing free blood pressure screenings, sharing preparedness information and connecting residents with Red Cross services and resources.

Providing the CPR/AED course in Spanish was a natural extension of that partnership. Hispanic and Latino communities can face disproportionate impacts from disasters and health emergencies, making access to information and training in the language people are most comfortable using especially important. By offering lifesaving instruction in Spanish, the Red Cross helps ensure more community members have the knowledge and confidence to act when an emergency occurs.

"It's excellent," Carrasquel said. "There are a lot of people in the Hispanic community who need this kind of knowledge."

Carrasquel believes that knowledge helps strengthen a community she describes as diverse, hardworking and supportive. Originally from Venezuela, she says people from many different countries call Harrisburg home, bringing unique cultures while sharing a commitment to helping one another.

"Sometimes when someone has a problem, people in the community come to support them," she said.

For Red Cross instructor Elizabeth Shannon, the impact of the training was evident throughout the class. Shannon teaches Red Cross Training Services courses in five languages: Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English.

"It's great to see, everyone is very engaged, asking lots of questions," Shannon said. "They haven't had the opportunity to take this training before. Now, they're feeling confident that they can help. I'm grateful for that."

By providing health and preparedness resources in the languages people feel most comfortable in and through trusted community partnerships like the one with LHACC, the Red Cross is helping build safer, healthier and more resilient communities. Every person trained in CPR and AED skills becomes another potential helper, neighbor or caregiver ready to respond when seconds matter. For Carrasquel, the training was more than an opportunity to learn a new skill. It was another way to strengthen the community she serves every day.

Saving lives is at the heart of the Red Cross mission. For over a century, we’ve trained people in first aid, CPR and other lifesaving skills and we continue to address today’s emerging needs. Sign up for a class at redcross.org.