“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
“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
“El Nido saved my life” Last year, Kathy P., proudly added a fourth Emmy to her mantle. She won her first three Emmys as well as a Peabody Award, a Columbia duPont Award, and two Golden Mike Awards for her work directing local newscasts and high-profile trials over the past three decades, including covering the...Continue Reading
Young mothers receive motivation – El Nido Family Centers in LA offers therapeutic help and encourages them towards academic achievements La Opinion, by: JACQUELINE GARCÍA MAY 12, 2018 Evelyn Balbuena was just 16 when she found out she was pregnant. She was afraid, not only because she had to face motherhood at a very young age,...Continue Reading
“My own father never hugged me. I grew up thinking he didn’t even like me.” “But after taking classes at El Nido, I realized he just didn’t know how to do certain things. In El Nido’s ‘Building Stronger Families‘ program, we learn why we need to do certain things as fathers. The relationship I want...Continue Reading
El Nido alumna, Kenia Pech, is the perfect example of “paying it forward.” As a teen parent in high school, Kenia was referred to El Nido Family Centers, where she received the constant support and counseling that enabled her to graduate near the top of her class. After enrolling at Cal State Long Beach, Kenia...Continue Reading
With more interested participants than we could take in the first year, the Mentorship program matched up forty-seven 11th and 12th grade El Nido clients in the South Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley regions with students from California State University of Los Angeles and California State University of Northridge for a period of six months. The goal was for mentors...Continue Reading
