Imagine being handed an incomprehensible form covered with bubbles and lines.

That’s what it feels like to be a non-native English speaker applying for social services.

From KidCare for single mothers to BenefitsCheckup for senior citizens, programs available to the Evanston community are not utilized by many immigrants because they do not know how to fill out application forms.

“Language barriers pose a serious problem for the Latino and immigrant community in Evanston,” said Aracely Canchola, an outreach specialist in Evanston. “Not being able to understand the language is not the only problem. Even immigrants that speak English do not know how to fill the forms out” or they do not know that they are eligible for services.

To break down these barriers, Canchola and the Bilingual Service Providers Exchange sponsored a workshop Friday at the Evanston Civic Center to teach social service workers, educators and leaders of community groups about public benefits available to Latinos and immigrants.

“The Latino population has been doubling in Evanston every 10 years,” said Canchola, who works with many Latino immigrants and founded the annual workshop four years ago.

This year’s workshop focused on making residents and social workers more aware of free public programs that could be useful for the Latino community.

“Social workers always refer the cases to me,” Canchola said. “If they have the information, then they can help the residents directly.”

Participant Brina Auguste, a prevention case manager at Connections for the Homeless, 2010 Dewey Ave., said a big part of her job is referring people to the correct agencies, and the program familiarized her with new options.

“If we can’t help them, then there might be someone else who can,” she said.

More then 35 professionals attended the three-and-one-half-hour workshop.

Veronica Archundia, a community liaison for KidCare, said many mothers are eligible for help but cannot complete the appropriate paperwork.

KidCare helps single mothers during and after pregnancy by funding medical expenses.

Deidre Givens-Mason, intake administrator at the Illinois Department of Health and Human Services, said when people take advantage of the programs, the financial aid can help families become employed and self-sufficient.

John Spears, outreach specialist at the Illinois Department of Public Aid, said he has seen success in the Health Benefits for Workers with Disabilities program, which provides medical care for employees with disabilities.

When disabled people are employed, Spears said, their medical bills can be cut in half because working distracts them from depression and isolation.

Mary Ennis, senior advocate at North Shore Senior Center, said many new public aid programs can be accessed online, with information available in Spanish. One program, BenefitsCheckup, is an online screening service available to people who are over age 60 or disabled.

Auguste said she felt she had a better idea of the details of the programs, especially the newer ones she had never heard of before.

“Things are constantly changing,” she said. “It’s good for me to keep up.”