Puentes de Salud

Wellness - Puentes' wellness programs support community members in maintaining social, physical and mental well-being. Through our medical- legal partnership, attorneys help families access the legal tools they need to lead stable and healthy lives. Via our promotora program, a dedicated group of community members serve as community health workers to increase our reach into the community and to tackle important health issues outside the clinic. Our behavioral health services aim to provide the community with evidence-based approaches to empowerment and social issues. Our art and culture initiatives support cultural exploration and revitalization through various forms of art, focusing on weekly programming and long-term, participatory art projects that build community, inspire reflection, and provide healing and cultural connection for children and adults alike. Finally, our food access programs support community members who are experiencing food insecurity.

Puentes hacia el futuro is predicated upon the well evidenced fact that education is inextricably tied to the health of individuals and communities. The mission of Puentes hacia el futuro is to improve the educational achievement of children in the south philadelphia latino immigrant community, in order to improve long-term health outcomes, as well as to provide support in the context of extremely limited educational resources. By listening closely to the needs and wishes of community stakeholders, we deliver high impact, culturally sensitive educational enrichment programs. As an official community partner of southwark school in south philadelphia, we provide five programs to this student population: after school tutoring and mentorship, kindergarten in-class support, an adolescent empowerment group, a computer coding program, and a summer literacy enrichment camp.

Clinic operations-the organization developed a 7,000 square-foot clinic where, in keeping with an emphasis on prevention as well as cure, half the space was devoted to clinical services and half to education that includes nutritional advice, literacy tutoring and sex education.