Programs
Steven and his family illustrate how Direct Services lead to Community-Building, which leads to empowered residents working together toward long-term change.
Direct Services
“What’s my favorite thing to do after school?
Come to Unidos.”
We start with Direct Services not only because these services are needed, but also because change happens in relationships and these services allow us to build trust. With limited expendable income, families in our community lack access to extra-curricular activities that have a proven connection to academic performance, expanding children’s potential and exposing them to new skills. Working with children and youth, we help fill gaps in the areas of education and enrichment activities.
Current Programs include: Elementary Homework Help, Youth Study Hour, Summer Day Camps and a faith-based weekly program, Unidos Youth.
We also develop partnerships with other local groups to help increase kids’ access to valuable experiences like Ballet classes, Technology classes, Agriculture, Chess and Horseback Riding.
These are just a few examples. We stay flexible so that we can leverage new opportunities for community benefit.
Community-Building
And these direct services lead to more relationships in the community so that TOGETHER we can strengthen the social fabric, both residents and their partners.
City-wide events like Día del Niño (the Day of the Child) and Fiesta Mexicana are opportunities to bring the neighborhood together and celebrate Mexican-American culture. (95% of residents in the Capistrano Villas identify themselves as having Mexican heritage.)
At Parent Panels, staff from public schools come learn from moms in our neighborhood to help bridge that gap.
At weekly adult education workshops, adults learn about rotating topics taught by professional partners, so they can bring that information back to their friends and neighbors.
The Unidos Christmas Store provides a little financial boost to our neighbors each December by offering Christmas gifts at half price, not just for selected families but for the whole community.
Resident-Led Initiatives
And with that social fabric strengthened, more residents want to get involved to work together, looking upstream from the challenges they face to seek long-term solutions.
Unidos believes that every person made in God’s image has a right to an opinion, to expression and to be an active agent of change in their community. We facilitate resident empowerment and open up spaces for our neighbors to shine.
Read more here about the current priorities of Resident Leaders.
We believe in collaboration! One agency, one school, one family, one church cannot make lasting, systemic comprehensive change alone. We need cross-sector collaboration where we each do what we do best and leverage our connections for community benefit. The Intersections Initiative funded the launch of the South Orange County For All (SOC4A). Unidos participates in this collaborative and we are currently working on a project together to address the housing instability of our neighborhood of focus.
