10 years serving Pittsburgh’s Latino community

POLITICS. THE PITTSBURGH ORGANIZATION CASA SAN JOSE IS CELEBRATING TEN YEARS THIS YEAR. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER CARLOS FLORES SHARES HOW, EVEN AFTER TEN YEARS OF HARD WORK. LEADERS THERE SAY THEY ARE JUST GETTING STARTED. CASA SAN JOSE OPENED UP AS A STANDALONE NONPROFIT TEN YEARS AGO, AND SINCE THEN THEY HAVE BEEN HARD AT WORK HELPING FAMILIES ACHIEVE THEIR AMERICAN DREAM. GETTING ADJUSTED TO LIVING IN THE U.S. WAS FAR FROM EASY FOR JANE CLEMENTE. CANADA. MORE THAN ANYTHING, LEAVING MY FAMILY. ALSO, THE CULTURE, THE LANGUAGE I CAME HERE AND KNEW NO ENGLISH. IT WAS VERY HARD. THE FOOD, THE CUSTOMS, TO BE HONEST, EVERYTHING. THAT’S WHEN SHE DISCOVERED CASA SAN JOSE, A NONPROFIT TUCKED AWAY IN PITTSBURGH’S BEECHVIEW NEIGHBORHOOD. THEIR TASK EVERY DAY IS TO HELP PEOPLE LIKE CLEMENTE GET ACCLIMATED TO THEIR NEW LIVES IN PITTSBURGH. BUT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MONICA RUIZ SAYS IT’S MORE THAN THAT. I FEEL LIKE OUR PURPOSE IS NOT JUST TO SIMPLY CONNECT PEOPLE WITH RESOURCES. IT’S TO DO THIS YOUTH PROGRAMING AND ALL THE OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE DO BECAUSE WE DON’T WANT TO SEE LATINOS JUST LIKE SURVIVING. WE WANT TO SEE THEM THRIVING. THIS TEAM HASN’T CHANGED FROM THE EARLY YEARS OF THE ORGANIZATION. WHEN SISTER JANICE VANDENBERG FELT CALLED TO TAKE ON THIS WORK. WE WANT THEM TO THRIVE. WE WANT THEM TO BE A PART OF OUR SOCIETY AND CONTRIBUTE FROM THEIR OWN RICHNESS OF THEIR OWN CULTURE, AS WELL AS LEARNING THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE. MARIE SAYS THE ORGANIZATION HAS GONE FROM SERVING 400 FAMILIES IN 2020 TO AROUND 6000 FAMILIES IN 2024. IT’S WONDERFUL. I LOVE THIS, THIS IS MY PARENTS WERE IMMIGRANTS AND I SAW WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH, AND I SEEN THE THINGS THAT THEY NEEDED. AND TO SEE THAT WE’RE PROVIDING THAT, LITERALLY PROVIDING IT FIRSTHAND HERE IS BEAUTIFUL. THEY ARE NOW IN THE PROCESS OF OPENING A NEW FACILITY TO HELP DEAL WITH THE INFLUX OF PEOPLE WELCOMING THE STRANGER WILL NEVER SEE AN END. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A NEED TO WELCOME THE STRANGER. AND AS FOR CLEMENTE, SHE IS NOW WORKING FOR CASA SAN JOSE AND HELPING PEOPLE THAT WERE IN HER POSITION ACHIEVE THEIR OWN AMERICAN DREAM. I AM MUY BIEN. VERY GOOD. I FEEL HAPPY, I FEEL SATISFIED, I FEEL LIKE I AM DOING SOMETHING FOR OTHERS. THE ORGANIZATION PLANS TO BREAK GROUND ON ITS NEW FACILITY THIS THURSDAY. CARLOS FLORES, PITTSBURGH’S

Pittsburgh nonprofit Casa San Jose celebrates 10 years serving the Hispanic/Latino community

Updated: 1:13 PM EDT Oct 7, 2024

Casa San Jose, based in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, has worked to help hundreds of Hispanics and Latinos get acclimated to the Pittsburgh area.The organization is celebrating 10 years of service in 2024 as a standalone nonprofit, and according to leaders, they are not slowing down.Watch the full story above.

PITTSBURGH —

Casa San Jose, based in Pittsburgh’s Beechview neighborhood, has worked to help hundreds of Hispanics and Latinos get acclimated to the Pittsburgh area.

The organization is celebrating 10 years of service in 2024 as a standalone nonprofit, and according to leaders, they are not slowing down.

Watch the full story above.