LYNN — The North Shore Latino Business Association recently reopened its doors after an 11-week closure for renovations providing a fresh look for the organization, which seeks to aid Latino businesses organize and thrive.
Since Frances Martinez first opened NSLBA, Lynn’s first independently owned and operated Latino business center in 2011, the organization has expanded, helping 651 local businesses, 94 percent from the City of Lynn.
Martinez said that her organization will never turn down a business that needs help, and if she does not have the resources to help, she will find them.
“At this point as of today, we have signed up 651 members, not only from the City of Lynn, but I’m gonna say 90 to 94 percent are from the City of Lynn. And when I say the City of Lynn, I’m not only talking about Latinos, I can talk about the true diversity that we have in the city,” Martinez said. “I have people that don’t even speak Spanish or English, and they still come to us. If we can speak to them, we will draw it just to give them that sense of [the fact that] we’re here to help when I never say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t help you.’ If I don’t have a way to help them, I’ll look for them.”
Martinez said that during the pandemic, her organization provided statewide support for businesses in need, helping them navigate restrictions, rent, financial upkeep, and safety concerns.
“We were able to provide workshops for them to learn how to go about conducting a business during the pandemic, how do I pay my bills? Close down?” Martinez said. “With the medical field, we also were able to provide information to all those businesses on how to train their staff members to make sure that they keep themselves safe as well, to provide safety security to their clients. I mean, everything that you can name it, we were there.”
At the peak of the pandemic, the NSLBA helped local businesses secure over $3 million in grants and funding.
“During the peak of the pandemic, people were able to see us as that number one organization that will help me no matter if I was a member or not,” Martinez said.
Jessica Martinez, who works for the NSLBA, said that the renovated office represents the space that the City of Lynn deserves.
“It took a little longer than we expected it to, but now it’s already done. And it’s actually coming together. And now we have our space, the word guy, compared to before the space has improved a lot. The colors, it’s just everything is coming together,” she said. “It’s a representation of what the community deserves, as well.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
