Chicanos Por La Causa

A PROMISE OF OPPORTUNITY

Samantha Bravo

Samantha loves volunteering and the positive effect it has on her life. She is the recipient of a Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) matching scholarship. Volunteering is an aspect of that scholarship and she says, "Volunteering at the Carl Hayden Community Center has helped me connect with my community and has been given me back much more than I have given."

"My parents have been through so much lately, including cuts in pay and work furloughs. We were so financially strapped that the thought of paying my college tuition was an added burden on an already stressful situation." That was until she found out about the CPLC matching scholarship fund. After obtaining the scholarship, Samantha was able to attend Glendale Community College and concentrate on her music studies.

Samantha, who works part-time, also volunteers to teach children how to dance Ballet Florclorico, a colorful interpretation of Mexican folk dances. "I love teaching the kids about the beauty of our culture and it's an extension of my love for music and creative expression."

This busy student credits her parents with her hard work ethic. "They are my role models: I know that through hard work, anything and everything is possible and the CPLC scholarship has put me on the road to one day receiving a PhD in music!" There is no doubt that Samantha will continue to dance her way to success.

CPLC / NALCAB NSP II Consortium
Public Notice & Invitation for Public Comment
Regarding a Federal Grant Amendment Request

The CPLC / NALCAB NSP2 National Consortium was awarded $137,107,133 in federal funding to revitalize neighborhoods in (8) states and the District of Columbia that have been negatively impacted by foreclosures & abandonded properties. The initial award enabled the CPLC / NALCAB National Consortium to operate in a specified target area that included 331 census tracts.

The CPLC / NALCAB National Consortium has prepared an amendment request that will be submitted to the U.S. Dept of Housing & Urban Development in order to add an additional 25 census tracts to our original target area.

Immigration 

At Chicanos Por La Causa Family Immigration Services,They  strive to provide affordable and comprehensive case management in various immigration procedures. CPLC staff is fully trained in immigration laws & procedures and can provide the support necessary to ensure that the needs of every individual case are met. CPLC Family Immigration Services Program has been serving the Somerton community since 1978 and since 2010 in Phoenix, Arizona.

staff is bilingual (English and Spanish) and the services we provide are fee-based. Chicanos Por La Causa Family Immigration Services does not receive any federal or state funding to subsidize any fees and therefore,  CPLC is funded by the same clients they represent.

staff is ready to manage all immigration and citizenship cases during our business hours:

In Phoenix:  Monday - Thursday  9:00 AM - 11:30 AM, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM

In Somerton:  Monday - Thursday  8:30 AM - 5:00 PM 

No appointment is necessary for the majority of the services offered and consultation fee is $25.00 in Phoenix and $10.00 in Somerton.

CPLC Centro De La Familia

The program provides outpatient behavioral health services to a myriad of families, adults, children, and adolescents.  Clients receive the following services: psychiatric evaluations, medication management, counseling services, marriage and family counseling, group counseling and case management for children and adults. 

CPLC LUCES (Latinos Unidos Contra El Sida/ Latinos United Against AIDS) program has provided HIV supportive services to hundreds of people living with HIV/AIDS. It also provides HIV education/resources to thousands of at-risk Latinos in Maricopa and Pinal Counties. The services offered include;

Case Management- The provision of resources for basic needs. This includes but not limited to access to Primary Medical Care, Medications, Medication Adherence, Alternative and Complimentary Therapies, Nutrition, Home Health, Legal Services, Transportation, Mental Health, Substance Abuse Services, Housing, Psychosocial Support, Emergency Financial Assistance and Food Boxes.

Mental Health- Psychological and psychiatric treatment and counseling services. Services include individual and group counseling. A Spanish speaking HIV support group is conducted on weekly basis for newly diagnosed or established HIV consumers.

Substance Abuse- The provision of treatment and/or counseling to address substance abuse issues including alcohol, legal and illegal drugs that are provided in an outpatient or referrals for residential service setting.

Psychosocial Support- A peer focused service in which consumers and their family members are able to obtain by a non-licensed behavioral health tech is able to provide peer support and resources.

Outreach- Bilingual, multi-cultural, street based outreach is performed in high risk areas in which predominately Latinos gather. Group presentations are performed for agencies, hospitals or individuals having access to high risk populations. This is to inform individuals of HIV services and resources as well and facilitating the receipt of an HIV antibody test. People are identified through this effort that are HIV positive that are newly diagnosed or not receiving Primary Medical Care and linking these individuals into care.

Parenting Arizona (PA) prevents child abuse and neglect through parent education, community collaboration, and multicultural family support.  Parenting Arizona, formerly Parents Anonymous, was founded in 1970 and is now a program of Chicanos Por La Causa (CPLC) and operates as a separate and unique 501(c)3.

Parenting Arizona offers the following services in nine centers and multiple in-home sites throughout the entire state.

Multicultural Focus- all of our programs provide culturally relevant services designed to meet the needs of Latino and Native American families in urban, rural, and reservation settings. A majority of our staff are both bicultural and bilingual. This allows them to provide the service in a way that the family can readily accept it.

Community Based Parent Education - Classes are offered for the entire family, including children, adolescents, teen parents, extended family members, and adoptive and foster parents. The parent education classes can be life changing for the members as they learn positive and collaborative methods to best deal with their children.

In-Home Family Support Services - Parenting skill training in families' homes includes Family Preservation; family preservation provides families with support to improve the quality of their lives.  Services are individualized to meet the needs of a particular family. The staff working in this program are creative and flexible to ensure the needs of the families are met.

Healthy Families -  Healthy Families is an internationally recognized program that has been proven to reduce child abuse in the families involved.  Healthy Families is operated in 40 states within the United States and three countries.  It is an intensive support program for at-risk families with newborns through the age of five. Healthy families is a federally run program with very specific curriculum for meeting the needs of the family serves.

School Based Programs - Community partnerships with various schools provide educational support services for parents and their children. Parenting Arizona maintains collaborative relationships with various schools where we maintain resource rooms.  Additionally, we run an evidence-based program called FAST, which brings families and schools together. The FAST program teaches specific skills which help families improves the quality of their lives and consequently reduce child abuse.

Volunteer Services - The Special Friends program trains and manages volunteers to work with children placed in the CPS system. The Special Friends program is critically important in the state of Arizona as it provides mentors for children who live in foster homes and group homes.  The children we serve in this program would otherwise have no significant adults in their life.

Community Outreach - Speakers provide information and training regarding child abuse prevention, parenting techniques and community resources. This outreach is accomplished through various local community fairs, school event's and health fairs. Additionally, PA managers are actively involved in various coalitions and cooperative partnerships in their local regions. These cooperative relationships significantly improve our networking and marketing of our services.

Prestamos, CDFI, LLC

Provides economic opportunities for small and emerging small businesses in Arizona, by providing loans along with technical assistance.   The following loan programs are offered: SBA Microloan Program addresses the problems encountered by small business entrepreneurs seeking financing within the range of $2,000 to $50,000 and Small Business Loans from $50,000 to $250,000.
Prestamos also provides commercial real estate loans from $500,000 to $3,000,000.

Thomas Espinoza/CPLC Scholarship to Arizona State University

This scholarship program began in 1998 designed to assist students in need of financial support to complete their undergraduate degree.  To date, more than 900 scholarships have been awarded, with a value of more than $3,300,000.

The scholarships provide a tuition waver to Arizona State University students who are committed to helping others. CPLC and its partnering sponsors are dedicated to empowering future community leaders who are interested in developing innovative strategies to improve the communities of Arizona.

History

CPLC Community Schools is a non-profit charter holder for Hiaki High School and Toltecalli High School.  CPLC Community Schools is an affiliate of Chicanos Por La Causa, Inc., (CPLC) a statewide non-profit Community Development Corporation. CPLC is a progressive community based organization that is recognized locally, nationally, and internationally as a model for unified human and economic development. CPLC, as the parent advocacy organization of CPLC Community Schools, builds proactive alliances, unifies borders, and empowers the community.

In 1995, the leadership of CPLC, under the direction of Lorraine Lee, Executive Vice President, had a vision of creating a high school to advance CPLC’s educational goal of increasing educational achievement and graduation rates, developing leadership, promoting civic participation, and increasing college entrance and graduation among Latino youth. A school model was then developed that integrated cultural education and community service into the core curricula to advance their goal. We have 2 high schools serving the Tucson area: Toltecalli High School (“House of Beauty”) and Hiaki High School, established in partnership with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe.

Philosophy

value community focused education (CFE) that integrates the knowledge base of the local community to create a contextual perspective for new learning to occur.  The elements of a community based education are:
 
1) Recognition and use of predominant language of the community to provide a lingustic context for instruction.
 
2) Pedagogy in which teaching strategies contextualize the learning experiences from the perspective of those served.
 
3) Curriculum which stresses the importance of the cultural context of the community served and values and celebrates the visual arts, legends, oral histories, and fundamental beliefs of the community.
 
4) Strong community participation (including parents, elders, other community resources) in educating children and evident in the curriculum, planning, and operation of school/community activities. 
 
5) Knowledge and use of the social and political mores of the community.
 
6)  A strong desire of all stakeholders to improve the outcomes of the community through problem solving and action research.

 In 2004, the CPLC Career Development Institute was established and is dedicated to bringing together members of the corporate community, business leaders and Latino and Non-Latino managers to accelerate their upward growth and development by providing culturally relevant management training.

In order to succeed and move into upper management, Latinos need a continuous learning process that is not taught in business schools or other traditional educational institutions. To reach their chosen career, Latinos must often overcome barriers that are ambiguous and hidden in order to gain a competitive advantage in the workplace. The institute focuses on Latino culture and the advantages and challenges that include such things as organizational cultures, management styles, relationship building, stereotyping, unwritten work rules and expectations, informal networks, information gaps, office politics, alignment and work behaviors. Too often, Latinos recognize these areas of difference too late and unknowingly damage their entry into upper management.

The Institute provides practical advice and instructional guidance to help Latinos understand the factors needed for success and hurdle their way through their careers by creating their own roadmap for management growth and development.