Services center helps immigrant families thrive
The Learning and Loving Education Center is one of the few places in the Bay Area that offers women food, health care, job training, computer classes and more
MORGAN HILL >> Five-month-old Naomi cooed and smiled in the arms of a friendly employee as the baby’s mother, Sandra Morales, took a literacy test in a classroom nearby. Soon, the baby was fast asleep in a crib in the hallway, a familiar sight at this homey place on Church Street where thousands of immigrant women like Morales have found a second home and a place to thrive.
The Learning and Loving Education Center, now in its 25th year, is one of the few places in the Bay Area devoted solely to underserved immigrant women and their children, teaching them critical professional and life skills as they integrate into their communities. For many women living on the fringes of Silicon Valley, it’s the only avenue to obtain resources crucial to their success in this country.
“There are no second-class people here,” said executive director Christa Hanson. “Everybody is equal, everybody is loved, everybody is encouraged. Everybody gets an opportunity to learn whatever programs we can provide.”
The organization takes a holistic approach, offering a myriad of social and health services to hundreds of low-income immigrant women in the region for a yearly $70 fee. The services include free meals and clothing, computer and English literacy courses, job skills training, nutrition classes, and academic and marriage counseling.
Immigrants from the Philippines, Russia and the Middle East and older women looking to learn new skills have diversified the organization’s client base in recent years. The center, which enrolls about 150 women annually, also has added a course on how to get a job and a prep course for women looking to become U.S. citizens.
The center is seeking $10,000 in donations for the English literacy program and to purchase upgraded software, flash drives and new chairs for its computer lab. The computer program, which includes lessons using Microsoft programs such as Excel, Word and QuickBooks and navigating the internet, provides essential skills for all the women, especially as they pursue jobs or higher education, according to staff.
“It’s important because if you don’t
know how to use a computer, you’re left out of everything,” said Barbara Estrada-Reyes, who started off as a student at the center in 1999 and now teaches a computer class.
“The majority of them have never had any computer training,” she said. “They’re still fearful of (computers) because they feel like if they touch them, they’ll break them. So little by little they’ve come here and learned. It helps them feel confident and secure.”
The nonprofit doesn’t turn anyone away, even those who can’t pay the yearly fee. But that generosity comes at a cost: In most years, the center finds itself scrambling to stay afloat, relying on donations and volunteers. Recently, Presentation High School and St. Christopher School in San Jose donated iPads to the center.
“So much of it is leveraged by the goodness of the community, by people who give to us,” said board member Jim Yinger. “We’re not state of the art. We’re dealing with people’s generosity. And that’s what we will continue to bank on.
“Our goal is to make sure we have enough income each year to keep going,” he said. “By the grace of God and other people, we’ve managed to do that for 25 years. Yet we teeter all the time on the precipice of not being able to continue.”
When break time rolled around on a recent Tuesday, the women spilled out of their small classrooms and into the hallway, a vibrant gathering place where they rifled through donated bread, clothing and books and sipped fresh coffee. They snacked on Chex cereal, jam and bread, tamales and cookies ahead of their next session. Some visited their children in the center’s day care, where staff members care for them while their mothers are in class.
Naomi was reunited with her mom, who joined the center in September. An immigrant from Guatemala with three children, Morales said she had stayed at home to care for her baby. Then a friend told her to look up the Learning and Loving Education Center on Facebook. Bringing her daughter to class has made all the difference for the 36-year-old.
“When she sleeps, I can place her in the crib,” she said. “And when she wakes up, she’s usually in class playing.”
At the center, the women have formed a tight-knit community where everyone is supported, she said.
“We don’t have to worry about anything,” Morales said. “Whatever we need, they always try to see how they can help.”