ACLAMO, Manna launch partnership to serve Latino households

Spanishlanguage case managers available

LANSDALE >> ACLAMO and Manna on Main Street, two community nonprofits based in Montgomery County, have launched a strategic partnership to provide critical services and meet basic needs for Latino households in the greater North Penn region.

The goal is to connect Latino households to resources and referrals in areas such as food, healthcare, public benefits, education, workforce development, and emergency rental and utility assistance.

ACLAMO and Manna held an open house on Sept. 6 at North Penn Commons, a renowned multiuse facility at 606 E. Main St. in Lansdale. Staff from ACLAMO and Manna were available to provide information about their services, including orientation to Manna’s Market, which provides groceries, and Manna’s Kitchen, which provides meals.

Manna is one of four founding nonprofit partners of North Penn Commons, along with Advanced Living Communities, the North Penn YMCA and The PEAK Center. An ACLAMO case manager who speaks Spanish and English is available for appointments on Tuesdays and Thursdays at North Penn Commons. Local residents may schedule an appointment by calling (484) 685-6013 or visiting aclamo.org/contact. There are no walk-up appointments.

“ACLAMO is very excited to open our new home in Lansdale and to work with Manna, an established partner in the area,” said Nelly Jimenez-Arevalo, executive director and CEO of ACLAMO.

“Our new location is key to continue providing support in Lansdale and the surrounding community. We are going to help navigate healthcare support, social services, benefits acquisition and food access to ensure the community has access to essential services,” she said.

Funding for ACLAMO and Manna’s partnership is provided in part by the VNA Foundation of Greater North Penn, which also funded a rapid community needs assessment conducted by ACLAMO prior to the partnership launch.

The assessment, which surveyed 26 households in Lansdale and surrounding areas of North Penn from December 2021 to February 2022, led to several important findings among those households:

— high COVID-19 vaccination and testing rates in the Latino community in the greater North Penn region,

— high rate of chronic disease in the Latino community, and

— economic and emotional impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic that still persist.

Specifically, more than half (54 percent) of respondents stated they have skipped a meal in the past year because they didn’t have enough money to get food.

In response to the survey findings, the ACLAMOManna partnership is meant to connect households to a variety of services and basic needs that are hard to access for Spanish-speaking and migrant communities, including healthcare services and emergency food resources. Staff will implement outreach to increase awareness of what ACLAMO and Manna offer.

“Manna is excited to work with such a trusted partner like ACLAMO to reach our Latino neighbors in need,” said Suzan Neiger Gould, executive director of Manna.

“This partnership is a critical part of our building a diverse, equitable, inclusive organization that increases access, dignity and community. By working with ACLAMO to connect Latino households to the resources they need, including emergency meals and groceries at Manna, we are taking yet another essential step toward creating a North Penn where no one is hungry,” she said.

ACLAMO is a nonprofit community service organization that provides educational programs, social services, and access to health and wellness programs to Latinos and other community members to empower them to fully achieve their life potential. Manna on Main Street is committed to ending hunger in the North Penn region by providing food, fulfilling social service and education needs, and conducting community outreach. Through a food pantry and soup kitchen, emergency financial aid, counseling and referrals, and education opportunities, we serve those in need with the hope “that everyone might be fed.”