La Liga, also known as The Spanish Action League of Onondaga County, is a nonprofit humanitarian agency located in Syracuse, New York. The agency serves Oswego, Cayuga Madison, Cortland, and Onondaga counties. La Liga aims to empower communities by creating avenues that breed self-sufficiency. Through education, opportunities and economic development the society prospers as a whole. Although La Liga aims to serve all members of the community, the programs are designed to serve Hispanic households with low-to-moderate incomes. La Liga offers services in different areas: language services, youth leadership and development, health and wellness, and housing and careers.
Established in 1969, La Liga has been a proponent of positive change in a community that faces experiential, economic, educational, cultural, and linguistic barriers. La Liga was created to offer comprehensive services to the Hispanic community and to address the specific needs arising from cultural and language barriers. In various ways, La Liga strives to bridge cultural, experiential, and linguistic gaps. The bicultural, bilingual staff work to promote economic development, education, and opportunities that allow people to acculturate and allows the community to prosper as a whole.
The Spanish Action League of Onondaga County is an affiliate of Acacia Network, a top Latino integrated care nonprofit organization in the United States. Acacia has a combined experience of more than sixty years and has demonstrated the capacity to scale comprehensive, high-quality services in society, benefiting thousands of vulnerable residents. Acacia Network provides society, from seniors to children, a pathway to primary and behavioral healthcare, empowerment, and housing. The Integrated care network has offices in New York, Puerto Rico, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, and Florida. Acacia Network’s mission is realized through 3 main service delivery systems: Housing, Primary Health Care, and Behavioral Health Care.
The educational experience for Hispanics in America is one featuring many disadvantages. Several Hispanic students start their formal schooling without the social and economic resources that most of the students benefit from, and learning institutions are often not well equipped to compensate for such kinds of disparities. For Hispanics, these challenges often stem from their parents’ socioeconomic and immigrant status and inadequate knowledge regarding the United States education system. As they go through the education system, their weak relationships with teachers and inadequate school resources contribute to undermining their academic success. These challenges continue to grow and play a major role in the low rates of college degree attainment and high school graduation. These factors also greatly reduce opportunities for stable employment.
Most parents and children will agree that in today’s world obtaining a college degree is necessary for finding meaningful and stable work. This attitude is reflected in the expectations that young individuals have for themselves and parents hold for their kids. High educational expectations among young people are prevalent across all ethnic and racial groups regardless of the social and economic resources. Although children and parents share high educational objectives, their aspirations do not always translate to post-secondary matriculation. This is particularly true for Hispanic high school students, most of whom’s parents have not had the opportunity to attend college.