ABRIENDO PUERTAS, INC.
Neighborhood Resource Center
MADRINAS/PADRINOS PROGRAM
The Madrinas/Padrinos Program at Abriendo Puertas, Inc. was born out of the
necessity of connecting the families in the community with the professionals at
the Neighborhood Resource Center to insure that the families were receiving the
services they needed. In the predominantly immigrant community of East Little
Havana it was found that many barriers to services needed to be overcome and that
often times these barriers caused families reluctance in seeking assistance.
Abriendo Puertas does not charge for services, but instead contracts with service
recipients to volunteer time at the Center in exchange for services. Many of
these volunteers brought or referred their neighbors to the Center and wanted to
help the professionals on the Family Support staff help their neighbors. Thus was
born EQUIPO or Neighborhood Team. In the EQUIPO model, these trained community
volunteers work with families in need and staff to help the family out of crisis
and on to the road to self-sufficiency.
In order to achieve effectiveness, these volunteers are trained so that they
understand how to help families and how to interact with the staff and other agencies
working with the family. The Madrinos/Padrinos training is completed in three stages.
In Stage I, the trainees undergo two days of classroom instruction that includes,
client confidentiality, family dynamics, leadership training, health prevention,
health promotion, basic recognition of symptoms of depression and other mental
health disorders, child abuse and neglect, community outreach, domestic violence
and documenting their work with a family. In Stage II, the trainees get field
experience by working in the community with a Senior Madrina/Padrino. Here they
practice completing family assessments, learn to make good observations about the
family's home life and develop a trusting relationship with a family. They refer
families to the Center or come with them so that they can enroll and begin receiving
assistance from staff or participating in the services provided at the Center.
Stage III includes an additional two days of training with staff and gives the
trainees an opportunity to discuss situations they encountered in the field.
Additional information and training is provided on how to handle situations
involving domestic violence, substance abuse and child maltreatment as well as
developing a case plan, follow-up services and how to involve the family and other
service providers in developing a case plan.
The Abriendo Puertas, Inc., Neighborhood Resource Center enrolls families, not
individuals. During the screening and intake process, data is gathered on all
members of the household. If the family is in crisis, they are referred to the
Family Support staff. Here, staff looks at both the strength and weaknesses of a
family. For families in crisis, they are given the opportunity to be assigned a
Madrina/Padrino to help them navigate through the process of receiving the services
they need. Often, because the Madrina/Padrino has had to seek these services,
they know what to do and where to go or they know when and how to ask staff for
information and referral. There are many families who initially will only come to
the Center with the Madrina/Padrino that they have come to know as a result of
community outreach. Families that come to the center may be walk-ins, referred by
other agencies, or seek services because of a Madrina/Padrino.
The Madrinas/Padrinos are an integral part of the EQUIPO team. These volunteers
or "natural helpers" are always willing to accept the challenges posed by each
family in their work to help families out of crisis and on the road to self-sufficiency.
Additional information about this program can be obtained by contacting:
Rosa Pizzi, Executive Director
Abriendo Puertas, Inc.
1401 SW 1st Street (1st Floor)
Miami, FL 33135
Phone: (305) 649-6449
Or Frank Pascual, Community Facilitator
Phone: 305-377-5006
Back to list of Treasures from the Field.