ACLAMO: Acción Comunitaria en Marcha

ACLAMO is an organization that provides vital programs to Latinos and other community members to empower them to fully achieve their life potential. ACLAMO’s work transforming the lives of our community with, by, and in the community is at the heart of our social justice work. Our services are provided through a bilingual bicultural modality taking into account issues our community may face when accessing services.  

The specific problem we are addressing is the lack of support and guidance for Latinos and immigrants in our community regarding civic life. Latinos, like many immigrants disengage from civic life for several valid reasons.  

First, negative experiences and traumas experienced in their country of origin are carried with them to the United States. This is further compounded by complex and often negative relationships with local authorities and elected officials. Thus, many decide to protect themselves and their families so as to not draw attention or create what is believed to be unnecessary risk.  

Second, the necessity provide for oneself takes priority. Due to the many obstacles which exist within our community the focus remains on surviving today. Lack of education, English competency, and access to information and services creates further barriers to civic life.   

Third, considering these experiences describe above, many feel civic life is not for them. Regardless of their immigration status or knowledge of issues, many in our community neither feel it is appropriate for them to be involved in American civic life or that they are represented and thus capable of effecting real change through the existing systems which they perceive as designed for others, by others, and without them. This leads to apathy regarding the efficacy of collective action and civic life at any level.  

There are of course strong advocates, some of whom were involved in collective action in their home countries, and who work with ACLAMO in our advocacy efforts, but the majority are not informed or engaged in this way. Even more pointedly, very few see a path to change or potential career paths in organizing, government, or elected office. This further exasperates the issue of representation and access. After the last US Census the Latino population is likely the largest, and as a result the most underrepresented, minority group in Pennsylvania.  

According to the Migration Policy Institute there were 81,000 immigrants in Montgomery County which accounts for 13.9% of the population. Of these, 35.2% were limited English proficient meaning that they have a limited ability to read, speak, write or understand English.  

In addition to language barriers, immigrants face other challenges. According to a report by the Welcoming Center, 23.9% of immigrants in Montgomery County live in poverty, compared to 6.5% of the native-born population. 

While ACLAMO’s focuses on Montgomery County and SE Pennsylvania the issue is much larger across Pennsylvania support and representation in the halls of power are lacking if not altogether absent. Nearly all of the more than one million Latinos in Pennsylvania are affected by this issue. 

ACLAMO’s innovative idea for positively impacting the world is to build upon our existing youth mentorship and career development program as well as our adult workforce development program to create a pipeline for our community. Our ACLAMO: Acción Comunitaria en Marcha program would provide support and guidance for the Latino and immigrant population of our region as they navigate challenges of adapting to a new environment. This will be achieved in three stages. First, the dissemination of information about civic life, how to be involved at various levels, and information about what is going on at the local, state, and national level. This will take place in our youth education programs, our young adult ADELANTE program, and our adult education programs. Second, the cultivation and collaboration with participants who are desirous to be involved. Paralleling our health Promotores group, ACLAMO will organize those we have engaged in local and state advocacy efforts to provide direct project-based learning experiences with collective action and policy. Third, as an extension of our career readiness and workforce development efforts ACLAMO will provide support and onramps or direct placement for participants into careers related to civic engagement, organizing, and government office such as with our local elected officials, senators, and representatives. Additionally, as our programs have an emphasis on STEAM learning, the integration of data analysis and vital technologies ranging from graphic design to CRM and other data tools utilized in canvassing, campaigning, and organizing will be prioritized to provide hard skills to support the overarching goals of the program. 

The program is designed to be highly personalized based on meeting the needs of the mentee. We will conduct an assessment to understand their goals, challenges and needs. Based on this assessment we will match the mentee with a mentor who has relevant experience and expertise to offer guidance and support.  

This program woks by matching mentees and mentors who have relevant experience and can offer the guidance and support they need. Our staff is also bilingual allowing our mentees the unique opportunity to communicate in their native language. We provide all our services through our bilingual, bicultural modality taking into account each program participant’s unique needs and individual backgrounds while providing core essential services. Mentors will receive training on effective mentoring practices, cultural sensitivity and working with immigrant populations. 

Throughout the program our mentors can offer practical assistance for the other elements of their lives that would otherwise serve as barriers to participant engagement. Our mentors can also provide emotional support, help build social networks and guidance to access job opportunities. By pairing immigrants with experienced mentors, exposing participants to career paths through workshops, project-based learning, and field trips, we hope to help them overcome barriers, gain access to information and career opportunities and become more integrated into our local community. We believe that our mentorship program can make a significant impact on the lives of immigrants, helping them to achieve their goals and become more engaged in the community. 

Our target population is immigrants in the Montgomery County community who are facing challenges related to education, career development and social interactions. We hope to target families with children, families and individuals who identify as Latino and/or Hispanic, housing-insecure individuals and families, low-income families and individuals, undocumented or mixed-status families, and English Language Learners. 85% of our clients identify as Latino, 10% identify as Black and/or African American, 3% identify as Caucasian, 1% identify as Asian and 1% identify as other. Our target location is Montgomery County, specific key residential neighborhoods in Norristown.  

Specifically, we are working with immigrants who are underserved and may not have access to the resources and support they need to succeed. Many of the immigrants we work with are limited English proficient meaning they have a limited ability to read, write, speak, or understand the language. This barrier can make it exceptionally challenging to access education and career opportunities and can contribute to social isolation.  

Additionally, many immigrants in the Montgomery County community face economic challenges and may live in poverty or have limited access to resources. They may also face discrimination and other forms of social exclusion which can make it difficult to be a part of the local community.  

Our mentorship program is designed to address these needs by providing personalized guidance and support to immigrants in the community. By matching them with experienced mentors who can offer guidance and support, we hope to help them overcome language barriers, gain access to education and career opportunities and become an integral part of our local community.  

Through the mentorship program we aim to help immigrants set and achieve goals that will improve their lives and communities. By helping immigrants achieve these goals, we hope to improve their quality of life and contribute to the overall well-being of the Montgomery County community.  

ACLAMO is the right organization to deliver this mentorship program to the target population for several reasons. First, we have a deep understanding of the challenges facing immigrants in Montgomery County as we have been working with this population for over 45 years. Our staff are representative of the communities that we serve which enables us to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services that meet the specific needs of our clients. . Many of our staff are also immigrants which allows them to relate to our program participants on a new level. Majority of our staff are bilingual in English and Spanish which allows them to communicate with program participants in their native language. Many of our staff also live in the community which allows them a unique perspective and relatedness to the people that they serve.  

Our team is led by experienced professionals that are dedicated to serving immigrants and underserved communities. Our Executive Director and CEO Nelly Jimenez-Arevalo is a respected community leader who has been recognized for her advocacy and leadership in the field of immigrant rights. As an immigrant herself, she has a deeper understanding of the challenges facing immigrants in the Montgomery County community and is committed to addressing these needs through innovative and effective programs. 

Our Senior Director of Development and Communications is a former campaign manager, Deputy Director of Pennsylvania Voice, and currently serving as an elected municipal official with nearly 20 years of community organizing and political experience advocating for immigrant rights, language access, environmental justice, and educational equity at the local, state, and federal level. 

To ensure that our programs are responsive to the needs of the community we serve, we regularly engage in community outreach and feedback. We conduct focus groups and surveys to gain a better understanding of the needs and experiences of program participants. 

We want to continue to develop our mentorship program in response to the identified needs of our clients and was designed in collaboration with community partners and stakeholders. We engaged in a through Community Needs Assessment in 2022 which included conducting surveys of 126 community members to identify the specific challenges facing the immigrant population in the Montgomery County community. 

As we develop the program we continue to engage with our clients and community partners to gather feedback and make adjustments to the program as needed. We regularly collect data on program outcomes and use this information to guide program improvements and make sure our program is having the intended impact.  

Overall, our experience serving immigrants in the community, our commitment to culturally and linguistically appropriate services and our community-driven approach make ACLAMO the organization to deliver this mentorship program to the target population. We are deeply invested in the success of our clients and are committed to working collaboratively within the community to ensure that are programs are effective, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of the population that we serve. 

We are applying to Solve to diversify our funding opportunities and allow us and for sustainable funding for our Mentoring Program. We hope to address market barriers in terms of competition for funding among other non-profits and limited funding opportunities. This funding opportunity could provide much needed resources to support the immigrant community, enabling us to compete more effectively for future funding opportunities. 

There are civic engagement organizations, there are Latino serving political advocacy and organizing organizations, but there is no one in Pennsylvania or to our knowledge in the country with the same holistic approach to the individual that provides the support and stewards a participant from first contact to achieving engagement and event a new career or elected office in the way that our program will. There is especially no such thing or even anything similar to the program in Montgomery County or the surrounding region and nothing that specifically focuses on Latinos and immigrants in the region. 

The program would be a game changer for civic life in our region. Representation matters and you can not be what you do not see. It would change the jobs market and the way in which we communicate about civic life while interjecting a whole generation of informed and skilled Latino and immigrant workers into the market.

Increased information in the community, increased engagement, and most importantly the placement of members of our communities at the tables, in the positions, and in the offices where they can effect change so they can in turn support the community needs and amplify their perspectives. 

ACLAMO has a significant data collection process at all stages of a program. We are launching an even more robust system with Apricot this year.