They were shocked when about 200 adults - mostly women - and 40 children attended the free event, said Heather Masterton, South Valley Sanctuary executive director.

"We were pretty blown away," she said. "A lot of the staff were crying because it was very overwhelming."

Organizers said they realized they should do more and join together to outreach to the Spanish-speaking community statewide.

On Saturday, organizers once again are coordinating an event - Conference for the Latino Family/ Congreso para la Familia Latina - on domestic violence and sexual abuse at The Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Taylorsville.

After the first Salt Lake City conference, Masterton said volunteers thought they should keep the momentum going about informing the Spanish-speaking community about services and programs to help families dealing with such issues.

So, they created Unidos por el Lenguaje / United by Language, a coalition comprised of representatives from various agencies, schools, churches and law enforcement departments from the Wasatch Front.

No state or county departments are involved as of now, organizers said.

The group is a program of South Valley Sanctuary, a West Jordan domestic violence shelter.

United by Language started meeting monthly in April, after the Utah Legislature passed SB81 - an anti-illegal immigration bill that would, among other things, deny public benefits to undocumented immigrants starting in summer 2009 - because domestic-violence advocates and people had questions about how the bill would impact them.

"There was still a lot of confusion," Masterton said.

The group has begun attending more community events to distribute information about help for families. Some group members also have organized various community workshops in Spanish, she said.

Masterton said she knows the group's public awareness efforts are working. She attributes the South Valley center's increase in service families to the shelter and group. In 2007-08, the center assisted 626 adults and children - a 35 percent increase from the previous year.

Now, group members are organizing the second conference. They hope to eventually have a conference in Spanish about four times a year throughout Utah.

Saturday's event is being put together largely with donations, organizers said. Lunch was donated, volunteers are handling the kids and a company provided the fliers. Workshops will include how domestic violence affects children, abuse and dating and where to go for assistance, organizers said.

Marcela Flores, 59, the sanctuary's community organizer, is coordinating the conference. She hopes the conference empowers families to leave abusive relationships and get help.

Flores, who moved to Utah from Mexico in 1994, said she often shares her experience of being in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship for 38 years. She didn't know about domestic violence issues or that help was available.

"All my life we had problems, but I always had hope he would change," she said. "I lived blind for a lot of years."

jsanchez@sltrib.com

If you go

* What: Conference for the Latino Family/ Congreso para la Familia Latina

* When: Noon-5 p.m. Saturday.

* Where: The Sanderson Community Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 5709 S. 1500 West, Taylorsville.

* What to expect: A free conference in Spanish about domestic violence and sexual abuse and the resources available to families. Free lunch and child care will be provided.

* Ongoing event: United by Language meets from noon to 2 p.m. the third Tuesday of each month at Sanderson Community Center. The public is welcome and meetings are in Spanish. For information about the event or group, call South Valley Sanctuary at 255-1095.