After eighteen years, a Cache Valley organization that has served the area's Latino population has closed. The non-profit Multicultural Center of Cache Valley reports to have served more than 18,000 individuals and families over the years, providing translation services, financial counseling, education, as well as immigration and legal assistance.
By the end of the month, offices in Logan's Whittier Center will be cleared and doors closed.
Earlier this week, the board of directors voted to dissolve the organization, saying fundraising efforts and attempts to merge operations with other organizations failed.
Created to serve as a family-friendly center to assist newcomers, the Multicultural Center of Cache Valley has experienced years of ups and downs, with directors coming and going and financial support going up and down. The Center faced a public relations challenge after a former director, Leo Bravo, was arrested and sentenced in a sex abuse case involving one of the Center's clients.
In a released statement, board of directors chairperson Blaise Chanson said services for individuals and families of minority backgrounds were helped primarily through local support coming from the Cache Valley Community and that, with the Center's closure, communities in Northern Utah will now be without a way to facilitate programs to help minorities adapt to a Cache Valley and national culture.
