FAMILY &
COMMUNITY
WELL-BEING
The goal of Family and Community Well-Being is to provide our clients the tools necessary to live a healthy, self-sufficient, and fulfilling life. We do this by directly interacting with the community, partnering with other organizations, and advocating on our community’s behalf.
By the Numbers
Healthy Communities
To create sustainable health programming that fosters awareness, educates and supports the health and wellness of our Latino and immigrant community.
Health and WELL-Being pillar
Programming within Healthy Communities strengthens family relationships and supports parents by providing culturally appropriate education and enrichment opportunities.
Club de Niños Saludables
Club de Niños Saludables, or Healthy Kids Club, focuses on preventing childhood obesity and promoting lifelong health in a fun and engaging way through nutrition education and physical activity. Activities include Zumba, yoga, healthy cooking demonstrations, and other workshops and activities.
Additional Health and Wellness Strategies
Healthy Communities enriches community health by offering culturally appropriate education, enrichment, and on-site health services. These include community resource and awareness campaigns and distributions, mammogram screenings, flu clinics, Spanish CPR training, and our annual Women’s Health Conference.
Healthy Communities
Social Integration Pillar
Community system support and referrals equips community members with the knowledge and skills required to navigate key systems and foster their connection to the community.
- Access to legal and immigration consultations through partnerships with Dornan Law and Associates and the Law Office of Sylvia Rodriguez.
- Direct 1-1 Support: brief translation and/or interpretation of document(s), SNAP application, Dollar Energy Utility Assistance Program.
- Referral Support: Referrals, community resources connection, and awareness to health care, government, legal, housing, social supports, pantry, and education. Referrals done via Unite US referral system and networking.
- Direct support and referral services are strategically integrated into many Family & Community Well-Being programs to facilitate wrap-around support.
Bilingual Reading PrimeTime
In partnership with Nebraska Humanities, Primetime is a way for families to spend time together reading books, discussing them, and engaging with other families in the community.
For our Community (Civic Engagement)
Ensures our community is civically engaged by practicing their right to vote, building awareness of issues impacting our community, and making sure their voices are heard.
- Voter registration, outreach, and awareness
- Advocacy, Census, and GOTV educational presentations and trainings
Comunidades Fuertes
Comunidades Fuertes, or Strong Communities, bring community members and public representatives together to discuss, connect, and form better relationships through conversations and understanding of public services. Group conversations are held and resources are shared through six sessions with bilingual (Spanish-speaking) representatives from OPD, OFD, City of Omaha, MUD, Immigration attorney, and DHHS.
Cultivate Wellness
Cultivate Wellness is an at-home gardening initiative that empowers urban residents to grow their own fresh produce, fostering food security and self-sufficiency within the community. Through health education, urban gardening training, and access to essential resources, Cultivate Wellness promotes healthy living, strengthens community bonds, and builds resilience.
cuLTIVATE Wellness
Cultivate Wellness is an at-home gardening and health initiative that uses gardening as a catalyst to address comprehensive health and social needs. Trained staff address and improve access to affordable produce in the southeast Omaha community.
They also provide education and training for families and community members to build, grow, and maintain their own culturally appropriate home gardens. See this program’s impact in our Cultivating Community video.
VIEW VIDEO
Siembra Salud Internship program
Siembra Salud interns work alongside the Latino Center’s Cultivate Wellness program delivering health education and hands-on gardening experiences, and are introduced to the multiple facets of the Public Health field. Qualified students may also have the opportunity to become Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA).
Siembra Nebraska provides internships for local high school and college students in urban agriculture, multimedia, business, construction, public health, and more. In the five different internship programs, interns are able to develop leadership skills through on-the-job experience and mentorship opportunities. Click the button to learn more about Siembra Nebraska.
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LCM Health and Innovation Garden
Managed by the Cultivate Wellness program, the LCM Health and Innovation garden is a vibrant hub where hands-on learning, sustainable agriculture, and community connection come together.
In the fall of 2024, the Latino Center of the Midlands unveiled the Siembra Salud Health and Innovation garden at the Dorothy Patach Natural Environmental Area. Under the dedicated care of Latino Center Cultivate Wellness staff, interns, Cultivate Wellness family participants, and dedicated volunteers, the garden has blossomed into a thriving hub of activity.
Together, we’ve transformed this space into a place of learning, connection, and nourishment, where individuals of all ages can experience the joy of growing food and fostering a deeper understanding of our environment.
The garden also serves as a vital source of accessible, healthy produce for Latino Center families. We believe that access to fresh, nutritious food is a fundamental right, and the garden plays a crucial role in promoting food security and well-being within our community.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the garden, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the Latino Center.
Thanks to you all, I knew where to plant my garden. That’s where we began and since then, everything has been perfect about this gardening project.
Blanca Santacruz
Siembra Salud has a lot of benefits for our families, especially those with little resources.
Julia Santiago de Ortiz
