March 14, 2000

Apartment manager courts tenants - in Spanish

EVERETT (AP) -- Nora Thomas didn't see herself reflected when she walked through the hallways of the Shiloh Village Apartments. She didn't hear the familiar bubble of syllables, which marks her native tongue, or smell the spicy fragrance of chicken en mole.

"When I first came here, I didn't see a lot of Hispanic families," said Thomas, the manager of Shiloh Village, a 210-unit apartment complex in Everett.

Thomas, who grew up in San Diego and is Hispanic, decided to change the look of the complex by adding some new faces.

She knew word of mouth wouldn't fill vacant apartments with Hispanic residents, but that the printed word still has power.

With the owner's permission, Thomas placed an apartment rental ad in The Herald. It was an ad like all the others, giving the name of the complex, a list of prices and who to contact -- except it was in Spanish.

"I did it to reach out to the Hispanic community," Thomas said. "And if I knew Ukrainian or Vietnamese, I'd put ads in those languages too."

As a result, eight Hispanic families contacted Thomas and rented apartments.

The ad caught Robles' eye. It caught the attention of Refugio Zesati and Heleodoro Marroquin, each of whom now rents at the complex.

"The other apartment ads were only in English," said Robles, who is learning English.

A California woman, who planned to move to the Everett area, saw the ad after a friend mailed her a copy of the newspaper, and went to Thomas first. She rented an apartment.

Thomas and others of Hispanic origin make up about 11 percent of the state's population. In Snohomish County, Hispanics number about 17,000, or 3 percent of the population. By 2020, the county's Hispanic population is expected to more than double.

Families need a place to live and to shop.

Alix Mendez opened El Mercadito grocery store in Lynnwood five years ago. The business is growing, said her daughter, Elena, 16.

The store features an international mix of food and flavorings.

"We have different spices," Elena said. "We have menudo mix, a soup made of pork and corn. We sell cilantro in dried balls to use for flavoring, and annato, a spice, which adds color to your rice."

There are Hispanic grocery stores in Everett, some not far from Shiloh Village. Someone who only speaks Spanish will find someone there to converse with.

But finding a place to live is difficult.

Snohomish County is undergoing a housing crunch, and people looking for housing are apt to have a difficult time, especially if their English skills are limited, said Ricky Bates, administrative services manager with Snohomish County Housing.

The next step after locating an apartment, finding someone to help a Hispanic family get settled into the community, can prove a little more difficult then a trip to the neighborhood tienda, the store, if family members don't speak much English.

Which is why Thomas goes over the apartment's move-in packet with her Spanish-speaking residents in their own language. If asked, she will make the calls to hook up their telephone service, or contact the Snohomish County Public Utility District or the local school principal.

"When they find somebody who speaks Spanish, it's really a relief," Thomas said.

When Thomas is away from her desk, assistant manager Jessica Daley, who speaks some Spanish, takes what information she can from Spanish-speaking visitors and asks them to return when Thomas is back in the office.

"Pregunten por Nora," Daley tells them: "Ask for Nora."