Healthy Communities

As a child, I loved to listen to my Abuelita tell me beautiful stories about her childhood in Mexico in the 1920s. Her words painted pictures of a time and place I could only imagine. When she was diagnosed with dementia and could no longer share her stories, it broke my heart. That loss became my inspiration to create the Latino Alzheimer’s and Memory Disorder Alliance (LAMDA) in 2008, a Chicago-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting Latinos living with memory disorders and the caregivers who stand by their side.

In the beginning, we had nothing. Our budget was zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. I was working full-time as a multicultural outreach manager at a local hospital. After my hospital shifts ended at 5 pm, my second shift would begin: writing curriculums and proposals and planning workshops. I’d often work until 2 or 3 in the morning. The hospital was an incredible partner in those early years, providing space for support groups and educational workshops. 

“When we were at our most vulnerable, RDF stepped up and believed in us.”

Our first big moment came with a Spanish-language conference for caregivers. People warned me not to expect much turnout, saying we’d be lucky to get 40 attendees. By 8 am on the day of the event, we had more than 400. That was when I realized just how big the need was—and how important this work could be. 

After seven years, with steady support from grants and foundations, I was finally able to dedicate myself fully to LAMDA. But the journey hasn’t always been smooth. One year, a critical funding gap threatened our ability to stay afloat. That’s when UnidosUS introduced us to RDF.  

I reached out to RDF, and they responded immediately. They provided us with a $10,000 emergency loan and told us we didn’t have to pay it back. It was a lifeline that helped us cover our bills and keep going. Then, when the pandemic hit in 2020 and funding became uncertain again, RDF stepped up with another $25,000 loan to help us make payroll and continue serving our community.

Today, LAMDA has grown into an organization with a $1.5 million annual budget, but I’ll never forget those early days when we struggled to survive. When we were at our most vulnerable, RDF stepped up and believed in us. 

When I think about healthcare in our community, two challenges have always stood out: access and affordability. Before Esperanza Health Centers came to Brighton Park, the historically Latino community in southwest Chicago, the neighborhood was essentially a healthcare desert. Families who only spoke Spanish struggled to find quality medical care, and were often forced to travel across the entire city just to see a doctor.

In 2017, we saw an opportunity to change that. We identified three acres of land and envisioned building on them a comprehensive health center that could truly serve the community's needs.

But turning that vision into reality wasn't simple. We didn’t own any of our buildings, which meant we had very little collateral. The financing hurdles we faced could have easily derailed our dream. And that's exactly where RDF stepped in.

They didn't just provide us with a loan; they became true collaborators in our mission to provide healthcare with dignity. RDF helped us secure affordable financing through new market tax credits – a government program that brings private investment into communities like ours. These credits made it possible to fund our project when traditional financing would have fallen short.

By 2019, we opened our first phase with 30 exam rooms, a pharmacy, and social service partnerships — and the community's response was overwhelming. Within just one year, we had completely filled our space, demonstrating the profound healthcare needs in the neighborhood. RDF stood beside us once again, providing additional financing that allowed us to expand with 36 more exam rooms, a café, a senior center, a vibrant community garden, and a playground for kids.

Today, Esperanza serves 62,000 patients a year, with 100 physicians and nurse practitioners who all speak fluent Spanish. We've even launched a family medicine residency program, ensuring we're not just treating patients today, but training the healthcare leaders of tomorrow. And our sliding-fee scale means no one is ever turned away because of financial constraints.

Healthcare is about so much more than medical treatment – it's about understanding, respect, and truly seeing people. Every exam room, every conversation in Spanish, every fresh vegetable from our garden embodies our commitment to holistic wellness. RDF has never just been a lender to us. They are partners who go the extra mile, and who understand and share our vision for serving the Latino community.

Founded in 1977 by a small group of Puerto Rican activists, El Congreso de Latinos Unidos began with a mission to address the serious health challenges in Philadelphia’s Fairhill neighborhood, often called the "Latino heart" of the city. Early programs tackled urgent needs such as drug and alcohol recovery and HIV services, laying the groundwork for what would become a comprehensive social services organization. Today, El Congreso has grown into a $27 million operation, offering a wide range of services in health, education, family support, housing, and employment.

Health remains at the center of it all. In 2011, we partnered with Philadelphia’s Public Health Management Corporation, one of the largest and most comprehensive public health nonprofits in the region, to open a small clinic, and in 2022, we moved that clinic into our social service building. Alongside, we added an on-site pharmacy. Now, folks can come in for a primary health care appointment, pick up their medication before they go home, access housing support on our fourth floor — or walk across the street for education or employment services. It’s a comprehensive one-stop shop designed to meet the diverse needs of the community we serve. In fiscal year 2024 alone, we treated nearly 3,500 patients, with our staff conducting more than 18,000 office visits. 

But even as Congreso has grown, there have been obstacles. Back in 2015, we found ourselves in a tough financial position. Faced with the need to pay a hefty property tax bill, we turned to RDF for help. Their fast support ensured we could navigate that difficult moment without compromising our mission.

Now, with backing from RDF’s Comunidad Sana Fund, we are preparing to take our healthcare services to the next level. Thanks to their grant funding, we are beginning to explore how to create a sustainable behavioral health program that is bilingual, bicultural, and truly meets the needs of our community. We are also identifying gaps in specialty care and  assessing the capital investment needed to fill them. This research marks the start of a new chapter for El Congreso, and it's an exciting one. There is a vast need here. With RDF’s support, we are rising to meet it.  

Mountain Park’s story began in 1984, with a single doctor in a small clinic on Phoenix’s south side. Today, we’ve grown into an organization with 10 locations and 1,300 employees, serving about 115,000 people annually. But our mission remains the same: creating access in a healthcare system that often leaves too many behind.

Phoenix’s geography helps tell part of this story. The city is built around a river that’s dry most of the time but floods during heavy rains, historically cutting the south side off from the rest of Phoenix. Fifty years ago, a small community hospital recognized this divide and opened a clinic in this underserved area, along with an urgent care center next door. Over time, however, the urgent care fell into disrepair. In early 2024, we purchased that aging building with a bold vision: restore it as a modern healthcare facility. 

Thanks to RDF, that vision is finally becoming a reality. With their help, we secured resources to transform the space into a state-of-the-art medical center. We named it the Jesse Owens Clinic, honoring the legendary athlete who spent his later years advocating for better healthcare access in south Phoenix.

Once completed, our facility will have three interconnected buildings housing women’s health, pediatrics and dentistry, and adult medicine. While we already offer these services, the new space will allow us to deliver care more efficiently and provide a more welcoming environment for our patients. RDF’s support even extended to helping us secure federal funding for a solar power installation, an investment that will reduce our energy costs and pay for itself within 10 years—a testament to their commitment to sustainability.

Our relationship with RDF runs deep. As an Unidos affiliate, we’d partnered with them before — in 2023 they helped us refinance one of our other clinics in Tempe — and we know that they truly understand community health. Their South Phoenix offices and strong community connections just make them an ideal partner for us.

At every step, RDF has connected us to the right resources to bring our vision to life. Thanks to them, we’re not just building a clinic—we’re building the foundation for a healthier, stronger community.

When Tiburcio Vasquez Health Centers started in 1971, we were operating out of three trailers donated by the city of Union City, California, in the San Francisco Bay area. It was literally just a bunch of volunteer doctors and activists who parked those trailers in the middle of a street and began offering health services to migrant workers. Not long after, Southern Pacific Railroad gave us a piece of land a few blocks away, providing the space we needed to imagine something more permanent.

For the next 12 years, we operated out of those trailers, doing everything we could to meet the tremendous need for health care in our community. In 1983, we finally opened our first clinic in a proper building. It was a huge step forward, but it quickly became clear that one clinic wasn’t enough—we hit capacity almost immediately. That’s when we started exploring how to expand into other areas of the county.

But finding financing for that expansion was a real challenge. A lot of our patients are uninsured or underinsured, so most of our revenue comes from Medicare and Medicaid, with a significant portion from grants. Those funding sources can be unpredictable, which made it especially difficult to find a lender willing to support our growth.

That’s where RDF came in. They were able to look beyond the balance sheet and saw the importance of our mission, working with us to figure out a way to make it happen. While we’ve always been wise stewards of our resources — successfully doing this since 1971! — we needed a partner who truly understood our work and could see past a typical transaction. RDF did exactly that. Their financing allowed us to open our second clinic in 2004, in Hayward, CA, and then our third in 2013, in San Leandro, CA.

Today, we have grown into a much more comprehensive health system. We operate nine primary care clinics, eight school-based mental health service sites, and one behavioral health site. In addition to primary care, we offer specialized services like optometry and podiatry. We’ve also embraced innovation with digital clinics and mobile units, including a mobile dental clinic to reach patients where they are. 

As we’ve grown, new opportunities have opened up for us. What makes working with RDF so meaningful is their deep understanding of both our needs as a clinic and the Latino population we serve. Having a partner that truly gets what we do and prioritizes our community makes it so much easier to expand our reach and deliver care where it’s needed most.