With the idea of having a deeper and comprehensive understanding of how the Latino communities in Red Wing live under a rather though political environment, a group of leaders were called by Hispanic Outreach (HO) to discuss the best ways in which business leaders, political representatives, police leaders, and community members and leaders could collaborate in facilitating better conditions among members of the different Latino communities who live in the city. 

HO invited the Hispanic Advocacy and Community Empowerment through Research – HACER to participate in the organization and facilitation of meetings with the purpose of gathering information to develop a new survey: “Being Latino in Red Wing: Perspectives and expectations during difficult times.” This survey will complement the recent research of Wilder Research (Hispanic/Latino Needs Assessment Survey). HACER gathered a group of people who represented the leaders in Red Wing and asked them to participate in the design of the survey. The survey was intended to be useful in answering specific questions on security, health care access, safety, labor and housing as the community could perceive them within a series of elements that have to be attended. The questions also represent intervenient variables in defining how well those communities of Latinos fit in Red Wing and its mainstream population. 

The Questionnaire was designed considering different areas of interest, and trying to avoid repetitions from the previous survey conducted by Wilder Research. Once the questionnaires were finished, and the households of Latino families were identified, HO organized a group of people to administer the survey door-by-door along the city in July. In total, 108 individuals completed the survey, and all of them consider themselves as Latinos or Hispanics. The number of women outweigh the number of men in almost 1.6 times. Participant’s age ranged from 18 and 56 years, with most respondents being between 32 and 38 years old. Median ages by sex were 36 years for men, and 36 for women.