Members of Westchester's Hispanic Advisory Board say they want to better understand how to serve their community, which is why they launched a Community Needs survey in 2024.

It's the first assessment of its kind in 20 years, according to County Executive Ken Jenkins.

"Our Hispanic population in Westchester, at the time when we did this survey, was somewhere around 80,000 people. Now it's 260,000 people in Westchester County, so it was important for us to do this work," Jenkins says.

Advisory board liaison Martha Lopez says over 1,700 Hispanic residents responded to the latest survey.

One of the biggest concerns raised was the lack of affordable housing.

"As we go to the community and talk to the people, in general, that is the very first thing that people tell us - affordable housing. So, it was not a surprise that we did the survey and one of the issues was affordable housing," Lopez says.

Jenkins says he values the recommendations listed in the assessment and pledges to act on them.

"Between myself and County Executive George Latimer, we've done over 6,500 housing units in Westchester County for affordable housing and we know we still have a lot more work to do," Jenkins says.

That's why Cindy Gago, from Westchester Residential Opportunities, says her nonprofit is focused on connecting the community to housing opportunities.

"We do the marketing for affordable housing in sales and rentals. Our agency also provides, in Spanish, other services like foreclosure prevention, first-time home buying, education and eviction prevention.

Although 39% of Hispanic residents in Westchester are homeowners, according to data sent from the nonprofit, Realtor Alex Baez says buying a home can be life-changing.

"It feels good to see more Latinos buying homes, cause you're building wealth for your family," Baez says.

To learn more about the other topics discussed in the survey, click here.