NEWPORT – Keiry Lopez has always had a passion for helping her community. Now, she’s helping from inside City Hall.
“Estoy muy feliz de poderles ayudar,” Lopez said. “Estoy aquí para mejorar las cosas y para hacer que estas sean facilidades para usted y para las personas que trabajamos en city hall. No tengan miedo de venir. Estamos aquí para ayudarlos y para lo que necesiten.”
Translated to English, Lopez said, “I am very happy to be able to help you. I am here to improve things and to make these facilities easier for you and for the people who work at city hall. Don’t be afraid to come. We are here to assist you with whatever you need."
The Newport Daily News asked Lopez to give a message to the community in Spanish to include in the article, as her fluency in Spanish and English is critical to how she will tackle her new role as city hall’s first community liaison. She took the opportunity to say that she’s happy to be able to help residents, that she is here to improve things for residents and those working at city hall, and that residents shouldn’t be afraid to visit as everyone is there to help with whatever residents need.
“There’s never a silly question,” Lopez elaborated in English. “I’m just a phone call away for anything they need. They can just call, email me, walk in, I’m happy to help.”
While a growing portion of Newport’s population speaks Spanish as their primary language, few of those who work at City Hall speak it themselves. This is partially why Lopez was hired, to bridge that gap between City Hall and the people it serves.
“Everyday, I see like 10 people walking in needing help with translations, and it's great that I’m there to help them,” Lopez said. “You can see the relief on their faces when they find someone that speaks Spanish. I know a lot of people who don’t speak English feel scared even walking into city hall.”
She also has a working knowledge of Portuguese. Among the many roles she will undertake through this new position is actively listening and responding to resident concerns and questions, whether it be in-person or online. A lot of this work will be done through the city’s online See, Click, Fix portal, called “Report It! Newport,” which allows residents to report issues from graffiti to street flooding.
Her first name, pronounced like “Katie,” hints at her origins in Guatemala, although she has been a part of the Newport community since her father brought their family to live in the city 13 years ago. Prior to arriving at City Hall, Lopez already had experience working for the community through Newport Community School’s work at Thompson Middle School.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping others, so I knew this would be a good fit for me,” Lopez said.
In addition to monitoring Report It! Newport, Lopez is planning to set up in-person community office hours where residents can chat in person about whatever concerns they would like the city to address. These office hours will be held in locations around the city to make them more accessible to those not able to get to City Hall, although the specific locations for where they will be held have not yet been determined.
Lopez can be reached through her work email, klopez@cityofnewport.com, as well as through her office phone, 401-845-5335. She has an office in City Hall that residents can visit as well, although its location in the building may change in the coming weeks. She said those who don’t feel comfortable making public reports on the Report It! Newport portal can also come by her office and write down what they would like to report, which she can then refer to the correct department.
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