We Provide a Community Leadership Network
Asheville en Espanol is a network of Latinx leaders working together for the thriving of Latinx people in Asheville, WNC, and beyond. We connect our people to make visible our lives and contributions to our community. We organize cultural celebrations and share resources in our communities. We work as change agents to strengthen our communities, share our gifts, and support equitable access. We support Latinx leaders to help make a difference in the community. We train and organize scores of Latinx people who are community leaders across WNC. Leaders have worked to connect their neighbors to resources; advocated in schools, healthcare, and government institutions; created events and activities to support the flourishing of Latinx people and sharing our gifts as members of the WNC community.
Community leaders have also led relief efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizing neighborhood community distributions to share resources, information, PPE, and vaccination events directly in the community. Through these neighborhood distribution hubs, we have shared over 5 million pounds of food, 350,000 diapers, vaccinated hundreds of people, and shared resources for children to learn and grow. After launching a 7 day (14 hours a day) emergency food operation when ICE was raiding our communities, we began a new initiative to build community power and defense systems in neighborhoods where our people feel at home. We are mobilizing leaders in their home communities who know their rights. We are learning about community resources including health and legal support, and practicing sharing their skills and support in their neighborhood. We want everyone to know that they are strong leaders and that they are the ones they have been waiting for. These leaders share information about rights and resources with others that they know. Deeply in the culture of our people is the ethic of sharing. We are unleashing the power of our community, our leadership and our cultural values to keep our community safe and build the kind of world we long to see.
