WASHINGTON — A D.C. health center started by Salvadoran immigrants for Latinx immigrants is still serving that community 40 years later.
La Clinica del Pueblo has become as integral to D.C.'s Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods as the cobblestones that line the streets.
It was started by Salvadoran immigrants and U.S. health advocates in 1983 in response to the influx of people fleeing wars in Central America.
They needed help accessing healthcare. This year mark's the community health center's 40th anniversary.
“I just think that the work that we do is wonderful," Claudia Guevara said.
She benefitted from that work when she was just one-year-old.
"We were facing homelessness, and my mother became part of the women violence group. And they connected us to resources and services, in medical and things, so that she was able to go to school," Guevara said. "She actually worked cleaning at La Clinica. And that working, that prompted me to work in public health."
Guevara has worked at multiple health centers but is now on staff at La Clinica.
Taking care of their health can be the last thought for immigrants who are just trying to survive in a new country with a foreign language -- so a resource like La Clinica is invaluable.
Rosa Altamirano moved from Nicaragua in 2007, got connected with La Clinica, and now also works there as a Health Promotion Senior Coordinator.
"Right away, I felt at home," Altamirano said in Spanish. "I felt it was a space that I could better myself and support my community through my abilities as a health worker.”
The center helps people manage and prevent HIV, offers mental health services, counsels women experiencing violence, and more.
“It’s not easy coming to this country," Health Educator and Navigator, Sandra Baron said. "It takes us a lot of work. It’s not easy to find a place where they can help me -- in my language --and be able to navigate a system that we don't know… So being in an institution like La Clinica del Pueblo, fills me with satisfaction."
Executive Director Catalina Sol said the organization is founded on the principle that health is a human right.
"So, while we celebrate our Latino identity, we very much view ourselves as part of a human community, and a community that integrates people from many different walks of life and celebrating our diversity and how we all belong to the region," she said. "And each of our contributions make it stronger.”
Altamirano said "es un honor" to be able to give back to her community -- and she hopes the clinic will be able to continue that tradition for at least another 40 years.
La Clinica also has a community center and school-based program in Prince George’s County.
To celebrate their 40th anniversary, they’re hosting a Fiesta Del Barrio Saturday, Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. right outside their Mount Pleasant center.