DALLAS — According to U.S. Census data, the Hispanic population in Texas increased by more than 200,000 between 2022 to 2023.

Hispanic Americans also made up 71% of the overall growth in the country, the Census also reports. The increase is mainly from births and migration.

The growth of the Hispanic community in Texas has led county and state agencies to add bilingual resources.

In Dallas, Dr. Philip Huang, director for Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS), noticed the need for resources in Spanish during the pandemic.

DCHHS said in a news release that more than 60% of overall COVID-19 cases in July 2020 involved infected Hispanic residents. The release also said the highest number of non-hospitalized patients were Hispanic, compared to other ethnicities.

“A lot of the family structures where the households lived in multigenerational families...were some of the factors that we identified why in particular the Hispanic community was hard hit,” Dr. Huang explained.

A study by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found that in the summer of 2020, Hispanic populations began to experience disproportionately high rates of the COVID-19. The study also found that Hispanic people were more likely than white clients to have a COVID-19-related hospitalization, ICU admission or in-hospital death.

Seeing the need for more resources for Spanish-speaking communities, Huang worked to ensure information released in the county was available in Spanish. U.S. Census data released in the summer of 2024 shows that 41% of Dallas County is Hispanic. Data also shows that more than 60,000 Dallas County residents are limited English speakers.

Huang worked to ensure his staff is reflective of the community. He hired public information officer Christian Grisales in 2020.

Grisales — who is bilingual in English and Spanish — works to ensure information is not only translated but that residents are aware of the resources his office provides.

“Many of our resources are free to the community,” Grisales said. “That’s why we are doubling down our efforts to reach those people.”

DCHHS provides free air conditioners, home loan counseling and energy assistance. That’s in addition to vaccines, health fairs and more.

“Public health means improving the quality of life,” Grisales said.

DCHHS is working to remove any barriers that may stop people from learning about or taking advantage of the programs the county offers.

“When we think about public health, it’s a collective effort,” Grisales said. “If the local government is doing everything we can to service the community, then we are reaching our goal.”