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Crisis Line: 651.772.1611
 Believing that Latina strength is a primary building block for community development and change, we organized a collaborative in 1999 to engage Latinas in achieving their goals and fulfilling their dreams. Led by Latinas from the community, the group--including Latino and mainstream agencies--launched Fuerza Unida.
After listening to the stories of 169 Latinas in the community, the planning group created an agenda and then an action plan to support Latinas in reaching their goals. The group emphasized that solutions would result from mobilizing everyone to live as a community, rather than simply creating programs; the community would be designed around the goals and aspirations of its members.
Their objectives were that all Latinas:
- are able to have their basic needs met
- feel support for maintaining a strong family and raising healthy children
- have the opportunity to create and participate in interpersonal and community connections
- have the opportunity to develop their strengths and skills
- are supported in following their dreams.
They also articulated a goal that all agencies work together to provide support and resources for the issues that Latinas and their families care about.
An Advisory Committee of Latinas from the community met regularly to expand on this Latina agenda and participate in its implementation. The purpose of the group was to ensure that Fuerza Unida stayed true to the needs of community women, promoted their strengths, created support systems, and moved leadership for critical efforts into the community community's hands.
Fuerza Unida was shaped by Latina realities. We hope you'll read on to learn about one of the initiatives that resulted from Fuerza Unida--our Information and Resource Center.
During 2003 another "phase" of Fuerza Unida was launched. Ramsey County (St. Paul and other communities) engaged Casa de Esperanza to assist them in their work with Latino communities. So we conducted another listening project on St. Paul's East Side: we trained Latina volunteers who then interviewed 109 Latinas. Casa de Esperanza will use the information from the women to implement Fuerza Unida on the East Side in the coming months.
Information and Resource Center
During the Fuerza Unida listening process, community women expressed a desire for a community locale where basic information and resources would be available. ...Read More
If you wish to contact us about:
Fuerza Unida and other community initiatives . . . write us at ourwork@casadeesperanza.org
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