Community Partner Spotlight: Supporting Portland’s Latinx Community

Portland’s Latinx community is rich in culture, history, and resilience, with community organizations playing a crucial role in addressing unique needs and challenges. Community Energy Project is proud to serve this community via partnerships with a variety of culturally-specific organizations that offer resources and have a powerful impact on the people they support. In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 – October 15, CEP is highlighting some of our wonderful partners, including Verde, Latino Network, Familias en Acción, El Programa Hispano Católico, Bienestar, and IRCO. Through education, advocacy, and direct services, these groups foster empowerment, promote equity, and ensure that the voices of our vibrant Latinx community are heard and uplifted. Join us in celebrating their work and exploring how they make a lasting impact in our city.

Verde serves communities by building environmental wealth through social enterprise, outreach, and advocacy. Created in 2005, Verde was born in NE Portland’s Cully neighborhood – a neighborhood with more than its share of poverty, and less than its share of environmental assets. Cully is both where Verde does their place-based work and is a symbol of the environmental justice communities Verde advocates for statewide.

Verde lives their mission to build environmental wealth by investing in climate resilience through their profound belief that frontline communities are the most important voices in the climate movement. Their programs in education and engagement are designed to strengthen community voices in decision-making spaces and raise the next generation of climate leaders. Verde believes that communities experiencing the harshest impacts of climate change should be front and center in policy and advocacy. How people live, play, and work in their communities is what environmental wealth seeks to build. Visit Verde’s website for information about their programs.

Latino Network works to positively transform the lives of Latine youth, families, and community. They are a Latino-led education organization grounded in culturally-specific practices and services that lifts up youth and families to reach their full potential. Their work springs from the core belief in Latino community self-determination—that is, the ability of community members to participate meaningfully in the decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families.

Latino Network’s programs provide transformative opportunities, services, and advocacy for youth, families, and communities’ education, leadership, and civic engagement. Latino Network was founded in 1996 by community leaders who grew concerned about the lack of adequate resources to meet the needs of the growing Latino community. Since that time, they have evolved to become an organization that also encompasses transformational programs aimed at educating and empowering Latinos across the Portland metro area, from educational programs to newer programs encompassing youth violence prevention, health and wellness, economic justice, and advocacy. Click here for an overview of Latino Network’s programs.

Familias en Acción’s mission is to strengthen the health and well-being of Latino families and communities in Oregon. Familias en Acción (Familias) was founded in 1998, in response to the need for a culturally specific organization to promote health for Latine communities. Their constituency is primarily Spanish-speaking Latine families and individuals who live in the Portland tri-county regions and some rural communities across the state. Familias’ work includes support services for Latines with chronic conditions; Community Health Worker (CHW) professional development and leadership pathways; and health education around sexual health and HIV/STI prevention, nutrition and food access, and climate resiliency. Click here to learn about the services offered by Familias. 

Familias also hosts the annual Latino Health Equity Conference, a convening of health professionals and community members that includes continuing education opportunities for Traditional Health Workers. The conference provides a forum to focus on individual and community issues addressing health equity through research, program models, and collective learning.

El Programa Hispano Católico began in 1982, when a small group of outreach workers from Catholic Family Services, now Catholic Charities of Oregon (CCO), began to provide services to Latine migrant farmworkers in East Multnomah County. In 2015, with the support of CCO, El Programa Hispano became an independent 501(c)3 organization and was renamed El Programa Hispano Católico (EPHC) with a mission to “Advance racial equity and social justice through the power of our Latine roots, culture and community.” Although EPHC is affiliated with the Catholic Charities Network, a candidate or participant does not need to be a Catholic to work with them or to receive services. Across their programs and services, staff of all faiths or none, work within their framework of respect for their mission, a person’s dignity and the common good.

Today, El Programa Hispano Católico serves about 32,000 individuals annually through their Economic Sustainability, Education, Community Wellness, and Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Survivor Support Programs. Their vision is a thriving Latine Community living to their fullest potential. Click here for more information about the services offered by EPHC. 

Bienestar builds housing, hope, and community for the wellbeing of Latinxs, immigrants, and all families in need. Bienestar was founded in 1981 with a mission to provide quality housing to farmworkers and their families due to substandard living conditions in migrant camps. In the late 70s and early 80s, Bienestar volunteers began to address the need for housing and Latinx community services. The first community built in 1983 by Bienestar with support from concerned residents, churches, and partnering organizations, was Elm Park, located in Forest Grove. Since the development of Elm Park, Bienestar has added eleven other properties to its portfolio, and currently owns and operates 12 affordable multifamily properties for more than 2,000 residents. Today, over 95% of their residents are Latinx, and many are immigrants and/or farmworkers.

Bienestar believes safe, stable and affordable housing is fundamental for the economic wellbeing and reduction of intergenerational poverty in communities of color. Bienestar builds two-, three-, and four-bedroom affordable apartments that are crucial for a family with children. With the help of their trained community leaders – Promotores – their properties have become more than just a place for families to live. They become thriving communities, where families feel safe, seen, supported and heard – allowing residents to focus on building their future and achieving their dreams. Click here for details about Bienestar’s programs. 

Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) serves the holistic needs of Oregon’s immigrants, refugees and mainstream community members. As a community-based organization, IRCO empowers children, youth, families and elders from around the world to build new lives and become self-sufficient by providing more than 200 culturally and linguistically specific social services. IRCO’s mission is to welcome, serve, and empower refugees, immigrants, and people across cultures and generations to reach their full potential. Their vision is to be a leader of community driven, innovative programs delivered by compassionate staff who create equitable services that empower immigrants, refugees and underserved communities. Founded in 1976 by refugees for refugees, IRCO has been serving Oregon’s immigrant and refugee communities for nearly 50 years. Today, IRCO serves tens of thousands of clients annually, with over 50 IRCO access sites across the state.

IRCO offers a wide range of programs including community development, early learning, economic development, employment services, health & wellness, housing support, hunger relief, language services, legal services, refugee resettlement, senior services, survivor services, tax assistance, and youth & academic services. Click here for detailed information about all of IRCO’s programs and services.