COVINGTON — In a recent call to the Hispanic Resource Center here, the man asked executive director Gilberto Esparza where to turn, after three girls robbed him of $5,000 that he kept in his Newport home.

        Yet another caller wanted to know where to cash the five paychecks he had accumulated, while others inquired about medical, legal or employment issues.

        Through word of mouth, Northern Kentucky Hispanics have learned to call Gilberto Esparza's hot line whenever they need help in resolving a language or cultural problem.

        Now Mr. Esparza hopes to make it easier to get that help with the recent opening of the nonprofit Hispanic Resource Center at 104 E. 7th St. in Covington.

        The mission of the center is to foster community acceptance, understanding and integration of the Hispanic community in Northern Kentucky.

        “My vision for the center is as a lighthouse,” Mr. Esparza said. “If we can't help them, we want to send the people where the services are.”

        Besides serving as an information clearinghouse and a free referral service, by the end of the month the center will offer free classes in Spanish and English as a second language (ESL). Visitors also will be able to learn basic computer skills with the help of computers donated by Toyota.

        Language classes are especially important, because the lure of plentiful jobs has drawn many Hispanics to the Tristate before they have time to learn English, Mr. Esparza said.

        Largely because of those jobs, the Tristate's Hispanic population more than doubled during the past decade, with the Census placing the number in the eight counties now at 22,000.

        In an orientation program that Mr. Esparza offers, he tells Hispanic newcomers how to deal with police and other authority figures, and he explains the basics of insuring a motor vehicle and getting a new driver's license once permanent residency is established.

        Mr. Esparza also advises Hispanics, who often tend to be too trusting and carry large sums of cash, on the importance of banking paychecks.

        “As we get questions, we'll open up a dialogue on whatever they want to know about,” Mr. Esparza said.

        In Cincinnati's Carthage neighborhood, Su Casa has served similar needs since 1998. In southwestern Ohio, Hispanics tend to live in Cincinnati's Price Hill, Winton Place and South Fairmount neighborhoods, as well as the cities of Hamilton and Norwood.

        Northern Kentucky has seen similar concentrations of Spanish-speaking residents, especially in Boone County, where the Hispanic population increased 435 percent during the past decade.

        Northern Kentucky's new Hispanic Resource Center will supplement the efforts of the Centro de Amistad, or Center of Friendship, that opened in January just a few blocks away.

        “I think it's great,” Sister Juana Mendez, a pastoral associate to the Hispanic community through the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, said of the new Hispanic Resource Center. “There is plenty of need here.”

        Evidence of the area's booming Hispanic population can be found everywhere.

        • In the past three years, a number of Tristate churches have begun offering services or Masses in Spanish.

        • In Boone County, where 2 percent of the population is Hispanic, the county school system routinely tests new students' mastery of English.

        • And at police agencies throughout the Tristate, more officers are learning how to speak “survival Spanish,” or basic phrases needed to do their jobs in a region with a fast-growing Hispanic population.

        “An increasing number of Hispanic defendants that we're seeing are unable to defend themselves, mostly because of the language and cultural barriers on how they respond to authority,” said Bryan Burlew, a Florence defense lawyer.

        Mr. Burlew said some Spanish-speaking people have gone to jail for not having vehicle insurance when they had an insurance card, but the police officer didn't know how to ask for it, and the person stopped didn't understand the officer.

        Hispanic residents also may find themselves nodding in agreement when questioned by authority figures, just to be polite, he said. “It can get them into trouble when they appear to be admitting to something they didn't do.”

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