Five years ago, our Health Equity team realized that Latine community members living in Washington County needed better access to health resources. This is how our Promotores de Salud initiative at Adelante Mujeres began. As our staff and volunteers came together last month to celebrate this anniversary, we’ve been reflecting on how the initiative has grown in the past five years and the impact it’s had.

We welcomed a couple of extra special guests to our building today. In early September, Washington County became the first county in Oregon to vaccinate 80% of its adults. To celebrate this accomplishment, and to see the grassroots vaccination efforts in action, Governor Kate Brown and Chair of Washington County, Kathryn Harrington, visited Adelante Mujeres during a mobile vaccination event.

My name is Griselda Hernández García, but I also go by Gray. I am from Mexico. I moved to Oregon back in 2006 at 19 years old with a 2-year-old daughter. I had no family here so it was difficult to start working and learning to drive. At that time, I wanted to return to school but felt like it was impossible since I had to work to support both my little girl and I.

Guest blogger, Kaely Summers, interviews Adelante Mujeres staff about their experiences getting the COVID-19 vaccine and talks about why it’s more important than ever to live in solidarity with one another.

In this unprecedented year, when it feels like communities of color are barely surviving, it’s important to reflect on the moments of good. Despite the circumstances and overwhelming challenges that 2020 brought us all, thanks to allies like you, some pretty amazing things happened at Adelante Mujeres this year.

The Adelante Mujeres Chicas Youth Development Program has been working with students to prepare them for the new adventure they’re about to embark on. The Journey to College workshop series offers bi-weekly workshops on college admissions, financial aid, scholarship writing, and letters of recommendation.

Irma works with children at a school in Beaverton. Due to COVID-19, they closed in April for five straight months, and they don't receive pay during the closures. They re-opened in July, but have to close for fourteen days each time there is a COVID case in the building. That's happened three times since they re-opened in July.

It’s a tough time to be a small business owner, especially a food-based business owner. But thanks to the creation of four Washington County Business Recovery Centers, small business owners based in Washington County are receiving vital support.

“We understand that providing flexible funding is key in allowing Adelante Mujeres to deliver critical resources to our Latinx community.”

Normally, Adelante staff would meet for group cooking sessions and have the opportunity to share ideas, recipes, and tips. But when COVID-19 hit Oregon and in-person classes were no longer a safe option, the Adelante Mujeres team started brainstorming. Eating healthy and access to nutritious food would be more important than ever before. But how would they reach families?

Adelante Mujeres is joining forces with Washington County to become one of four Business Recovery Centers aimed at providing businesses in Washington County, Oregon with COVID-19 relief support.

Adelante Mujeres is currently working to distribute vouchers for families to purchase local foods at farmers markets throughout Washington County. Learn more!

The Oregon Work Relief Fund provides direct cash assistance to immigrant Oregonians who are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are excluded from federal and state safety-nets. Adelante Mujeres is honored to be part of the many culturally-specific organizations who will be supporting community members through this process.

For many people, staying healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic is accomplished by social distancing and working from home. But what about essential workers who can’t stay home — people who have to keep working in order to keep food on their family’s table? This is what Leobardo López and Alma Hernandez are currently facing.

COVID-19 is here. We are sheltering-in-place, our building is closed, and all in-person classes have temporarily come to a halt. But our team (from the comfort of their homes) are working harder than ever to meet the growing need to support the women and families we serve. Here are four ways the Adelante Mujeres team is changing the way they work in order to support families during this crisis.

When we talk about building Latina leaders at Adelante Mujeres, this is a perfect example of what we mean. Elvira participated in our Nourish the Community Program and now she is a strong community leader who now runs a food pantry, providing food to families in need during the current COVID-19 crisis.

Due to increased public health concerns raised by COVID-19, we’ve decided to cancel Fiesta of Hope. We’re sad about this decision but feel it is best to ensure the safety and health of our guests, volunteers, staff and community.