El Centro de la Raza Programs
We seek to address the immediate needs of the children and youth in our community as well as to prepare them for their futures. The José Martí Child Development Center provides bilingual, multicultural curriculum to children ages 1-4 to develop the child's self-awareness, cultural pride, self-esteem and build cognitive development skills. Provides accessible, affordable, quality childcare that nurtures our children using a bilingual, multicultural curriculum. We were the first nationally accredited Spanish-English bilingual child development center on the West Coast.
Seeking to address immediate aspects of human suffering such as hunger, healthcare and homelessness, we provide diverse, bilingual human and emergency services including Homeless Assistance. This program addresses the issue of homelessness by providing comprehensive housing assistance to homeless Latino families, generally limited English proficient and/or immigrants, who are presented with multiple barriers to stable housing. Participants receive case management focused on stabilizing their situations, and finding and maintaining permanent, affordable housing.
El Centro seeks to promote self-sufficiency and empowerment through bilingual education and skill building initiatives, including Homeownership Education and Counseling. This program prepares perspective home buyers with education workshops and one on one coaching for successful long term Homeownership. These workshops cover down-payment assistance, mortgages loan products, recognizing predatory lending, and credit building or rebuilding. This program includes counseling and educational workshops for Pre-Purchase, Investment for Retirement and Foreclosure Avoidance.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
We recently met a woman named Luisa Gonzalez*, who first came to El Centro de la Raza with her three children - ages seven, eight, and fifteen - after having escaped from a dangerous domestic violence situation. As they couldn't safely stay in their home, Luisa and her children slept in their car or with friends and family. Luisa could not afford permanent housing, and looked for help - but because of her eldest child's age, the family was also denied access to a shelter. We worked with Luisa and were able to place her and her children in a stable three-bedroom apartment, where they can rebuild their lives in safety and security. Luisa is currently working on increasing her wages, hours and language skills through our Employment Assistance Program and ESL Classes. Please visit our new webiste to view testimonials and success stories: www.elcentrodelaraza.org.
With your help, El Centro de la Raza will be able to continue building the "Beloved Community." El Centro has been here for 37 years - through times of economic boom and bust - and we know that we will be able to continue to effectively serve our community because our history is rich with the generosity of donors and supporters who make our work possible. With your support, El Centro de la Raza will be able to continue to serve as a voice and a hub for Seattle and Martin Luther King, Jr. County's Latino community, advocate on behalf of our people, provide a means for our participants to be empowered to self-sufficiency, and work to achieve social justice.