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Mission: Strengthening the Hispanic family by promoting self-sufficiency.

For 27 years, social workers, educators, and trained volunteers at Centro de la Familia de Utah have helped thousands of Latino families bridge language and cultural barriers to become self-sufficient and lead meaningful lives in Utah communities. Centro de la Familia’s social services and educational programs provide opportunities for Latinos to learn life skills that promote self-sufficiency. In times of crisis, staff members link families with emergency resources.

Centro de la Familia originally incorporated in 1975 as the Institute of Human Resource Development (IHRD), and has its roots in the early years of the Chicano movement in Utah. (The name was changed to Centro de la Familia de Utah in 1994.) The agency’s mission, “to strengthen the Hispanic family by promoting self-sufficiency,” has remained constant since that time. Centro de la Familia defines self-sufficiency as the development of the necessary abilities to understand the world and function within it in the pursuit of a meaningful life.

Although other helping agencies seek to serve Latino families, many lack Spanish-speaking staff, and of those with Spanish-speaking staff, few have the experience necessary to confidently navigate Latino cultural norms. Bicultural competency, or the ability to function as an insider in another individual’s native culture, is the key to Centro de la Familia’s capacity to help Latino families move from poverty and crisis to self-sufficiency and success.

Through the years, federal, state, and local funding has allowed Centro de la Familia de Utah to serve the community through a myriad of social services programs. Currently, the agency administers five programs that strengthen Hispanic families and promote self-sufficiency:

Head Start. The extensive Head Start program serves the families of migrant and seasonal farm workers in Utah and other low-income families.

Nuevo Día (New Day). Nuevo Día is a life-skills, substance abuse prevention program that targets Salt Lake County Latino youth ages nine to 12 and their parents.

Family Literacy. The Family Literacy program functions within the Head Start and Nuevo Día programs to develop literacy skills as the foundation of self-sufficiency.

Avon Breast Care Program. The Avon Breast Care Program includes breast care education and cancer screening for Hispanic women.

La Puerta Abierta (The Open Door). La Puerta Abierta is a humanitarian services program offering crisis intervention, information and referral, case management, and life-skills training to Utah Latinos who do not yet have the language proficiency or cultural knowledge to utilize problem-solving resources in the community.