We are very proud of our 34 young adults from Compton, Pacoima and South LA who received college scholarships. This year, two of El Nido college scholarship recipients graduated with bachelor’s degrees, and one of our recipients is in his second year Ph.D. program at UC Santa Cruz. Many of these recipients grew up in environments...Continue Reading
A guide for teenage parents Young people share their experiences about what it is like to have a baby at an early age A guide for teenage parentsPablo Alarcón and his wife Dulce Espinoza are parents of two children, one of 4 years and another of 4 months. (Jacqueline García) BY: JACQUELINE GARCÍA APRIL 24,...Continue Reading
“El Nido offers you hope and faith even when you may not be able to have it on your own. I am grateful. I am blessed to be an El Nido alumnus” Xiomara discovered El Nido Family Centers at a critical time in her life. “I was 16 years old, still in high school, and...Continue Reading
“The best thing I can do, as Ghandi said, is to be the change you want to see in the world” Joe C. was raised in the San Fernando Valley along with a younger brother and two sisters. Growing up, Joe was not a troubled kid, but he was a graffiti artist, and in high...Continue Reading
“I just want to thank El Nido for changing my life” Anderne found El Nido Family Centers through her husband, who spotted a sign for El Nido’s Early Head Start program outside her doctor’s office. He signed up their third daughter for the program on the spot. “My life has never been the same since.”...Continue Reading
“El Nido is a lifeline. The staff and volunteers of El Nido have a sincere concern and love for their clients and they have a vested interest in their lives” Regina P. has devoted her life to giving back to her community. She has worked for a southern California city for more than three decades...Continue Reading
“All of my goals have been accomplished, because as a teen parent El Nido Family Centers taught me how to set goals and boundaries for myself, how to be a great mother, how to apply for a job, and how to give back to my community.” When Zuly was just 13, she found herself living...Continue Reading
“El Nido saved my life and I think it probably saved my mother’s life too” Dr. Tessa W., a doctor of educational psychology, has spent much of her professional career empowering individuals, and women in particular. The author of four books, Tessa was teaching women how to “lean in” long before Sheryl Sandberg. In addition...Continue Reading
“El Nido can change a person’s perspective, creating positive images for a life that feels good” Robert and his younger brother grew up in the Pacoima barrio where drugs were everywhere and gangs were a constant threat. When Robert was thirteen, a friend who was in El Nido Family Centers’ Gang Reduction Youth Development (GRYD)...Continue Reading
“No matter how bumpy the road, you have to get up and keep trying because everyone has a purpose in life; you just have to find out what it is and then pursue it” Felicia G. was first introduced to El Nido Family Centers at the age of 16, shortly after she’d given birth to...Continue Reading
