Welcome from the CEO
On behalf of the Board of Directors, staff, and families of Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe, Welcome! ¡Bienvenidos!
Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe (La Fe) is a social-justice organization whose roots run deeply and proudly into one of our nation’s most historic Chicano communities. The year was 1967 — the height of the nation’s Civil Rights Movement. It was here in El Paso, Texas’ Segundo Barrio that a group of passionate grassroots activists — most of whom were single mothers and grandmothers — united and mobilized to launch a people’s uprising against the poverty, crime, social ills, and gangs that were destroying their community.
The Mothers of La Fe, our founders, dreamed of a better world for their children. They understood that when children and their families are empowered — when their worlds come alive with quality education, economic development, affordable and superb health care, dignified housing, and vibrant arts and culture — nothing can stop them.
From within a one-room, slum apartment — armed with little more than their determination and a small band of volunteers — our founders put their dream into action. Against all odds, they established a nonprofit of their own to bring their community closer to a better tomorrow.
Today, their dream has grown far beyond the streets of Segundo Barrio. It has become the Southwest’s leading Federally Qualified Health Center and one of the nation’s most respected social-justice nonprofits. La Fe is now a network of seven, state-of-the-art community-health centers, multiple community-service sites, the Southwest’s largest comprehensive HIV/ AIDS treatment and resources facility, a dual-language charter school, and other community programs serving El Paso County’s families.
La Fe’s growing network includes a child and adolescent wellness complex in the heart of Segundo Barrio that unites traditional health care with arts, technology, and culture. San Antonio, Texas is home to our Research, Policy, and Education Center — an information resource on the massive economic, social, and political impact of the nation’s fast-rising Latino population.
La Fe is here to continuously improve the quality of life of El Paso’s families — especially our low-income community members, the uninsured, and the medically underserved — all while keeping our community’s dignity, traditions, and cultural values at heart. Our founders — those brave, community activists who dared to dream — their children, and the generations yet to come deserve nothing less.
Being a part of the La Fe family has been one my life’s greatest blessings. As a teen Segundo Barrio activist, I witnessed the birth and growth of our founders’ dream. Now, as La Fe’s CEO, it is my honor to welcome you to our home and invite you to meet the proud members of our medical and dental teams, our technology personnel and administrators, our artists and educators, our social workers, and community-service professionals. Each of them is a living realization of La Fe’s commitment to our community’s struggle and our belief in the power of social justice.
“La Salud De La Comunidad Es La Fe!”
Salvador Balcorta, MSSW Chief Executive Officer, Centro De Salud Familiar La Fe