Fiesta Family Services Overview

Supporting services direct, information, referral to partner agencies, case management, interpretation/translation, home visits and general support to individuals and families to meet basic needs for food, housing, health services, education and employment. 

Education and support groups Parent/caregiver-led Círculo de Padres/Círculo de Niños programs aim to strengthen families with children ages 0-5 to prevent child abuse and neglect. Through weekly in-person and virtual meetings held in Spanish, parents/caregivers develop leadership and parenting skills and build social connections. While parents attend their meetings, children engage in learning activities that build their social skills and prepare them for kindergarten. 

Seeds of Unity is a weekly in-person and virtual tutoring and academic support program that helps students in grades K-12 be prepared and successful in school. In collaboration with UNC, Semillas mobilizes university students and other community volunteers to offer private reading, writing, and math tutoring. Parents work with tutors to help their children learn. 

The Empowered Youth Program (JUVE) prepares youth for college, develops academic and leadership skills, and prepares youth/young adults to enter the workforce. High school seniors, juniors, and college freshmen and sophomores and their parents participate in a year-long cohort that helps them navigate educational systems, explore career options, and develop employable skills. 

Apex Immigration Services helps immigrants and refugees who fall under federal poverty guidelines build a better life for themselves and their families by enabling them to live and work in the United States as legal permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Staff educate the general public and potential clients on immigration matters and assist them in filing applications for immigration benefits, including legal permanent residence.

Under the direction of the Director of Community Outreach and Mobilization and with the support of community volunteers and partner agencies in public health, healthcare and social support, Fiesta improves community health and supports equitable health outcomes. 

Promoting Health and Wellness mobilizes trusted lay leaders and community health workers to help improve individual and community health, promote healthy lifestyles, prevent chronic diseases among Hispanics/Latinos, and connect with health services. Staff organize workshops, health fairs, and other activities focused on mental wellness, child/adolescent health, and men's health. 

Fiesta Family Services increases awareness and capacity of the Hispanic community to prioritize their healing from the trauma of structural exclusion and exercise their power to influence change.

Racial Healing Circles are community gatherings designed to foster individual and collective awareness of the historical and ongoing impact of racism and exclusion on Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, Latino, and other communities of color. Facilitators guide groups through the healing process, encouraging inner transformation that extends to community healing. 

These circles provide a safe space for participants to identify and address personal and collective wounds, fostering healing and reinforcing their identities. By promoting deep and empathetic conversations, these circles empower people to become agents of change in building inclusive communities.

Healing Parenting 

Healing Parenting is a cohort-based learning program designed to help parents raise their children in a family environment characterized by harmony, understanding, effective communication, and holistic well-being. Through healing emotional wounds from the past and acquiring new skills, parents will be better equipped with tools and techniques to care for their physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental health. 

Each cohort offers eight weekly virtual group sessions focused on specific modules/lessons. Sessions will last between one and a half to two hours. Additionally, an in-person retreat is held on-site on the Saturday following the eighth session. Each cohort includes two individual sessions with each family and the facilitator: one at the beginning to understand the family's challenges, and one at the end to reflect on the family's progress and evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

Fiesta focuses on the lived experiences of immigrant families and mobilizes government and community leaders to address the systemic and structural inequalities that affect their health and quality of life. 

Food safety in Montgomery County: Work with a team to raise awareness about food insecurity among communities of color and facilitate conversations for joint planning with community and county leaders.

Justice in housing matters: collaboration with Habitat for Humanity and other partner organizations to prevent the displacement of Shangri-La Mobile Home Park residents. 

Immigrant rights: collaboration with Apex Immigration Services to provide affordable legal assistance to immigrant families on their path to citizenship and educate them about immigrant rights and mobilize communities to confront harmful anti-immigrant legislation or policies. 

Language Access Initiative: Collaboration with the City of Apex to inform its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, starting with language access for Spanish-speaking members of the community.

Voter participation: Nonpartisan outreach to educate, encourage, and assist people in registering to vote.