PODER en Comunidad
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Advocacy Center:
Meeting Community Where It Is: A Partnership That Opens Doors to Possibility
On Chicago’s Southwest Side, education has long felt like a promise just out of reach.
For many immigrant adults, earning a GED is a goal shaped by real barriers, language access, unfamiliar systems, demanding work schedules, and interrupted schooling. In the early days of PODER HQ, community surveys made clear that GED and High School Equivalency (HSE) access was a top priority. Community members told us again and again: “I want to finish school, but I don’t know where to start.”
At PODER, we listened. And we knew that building pathways to prosperity meant meeting people where they are, not asking them to navigate systems that weren’t designed for them.
That belief led to a powerful partnership with Richard J. Daley College.
What began as conversations grounded in trust and shared values grew into a new model for adult education. Daley College brought academic rigor and credentialed instruction. PODER brought deep community relationships, cultural competence, and experience supporting adult learners in Spanish.
Together, we asked a simple but transformative question:
What if earning a GED could happen right inside the community?
The result is Spanish-language GED classes offered on site at PODER HQ. A familiar, trusted space where learners feel safe, supported, and seen. This partnership is also piloting an innovative off-site adult education model, supported by the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) and Area Planning Council (APC) 508, allowing one institution already serving the community to act as a trusted extension of another. New data-sharing agreements and clear work plans ensure coordinated support and progress tracking without duplication.
Behind every enrollment is a story:
a parent modeling perseverance,
a worker seeking stability,
a community member reclaiming a dream once put on hold.
This work would not be possible without the leadership of Claudia Moreno, Department Manager of Adult Education, along with Dave Breedlove and Teresa Guia at Daley College, whose partnership helped turn vision into reality.
By bringing education into the heart of the Southwest Side, PODER and Daley College are restoring confidence, expanding opportunity, and reminding our neighbors that their goals are valid and achievable.
Because when education is accessible, belonging grows.
And when belonging grows, futures change.
Community Partner Spotlight
Healing, Support, and Stability, All in One Place
Every day, immigrant families on Chicago’s Southwest Side walk through PODER’s doors carrying more than paperwork or career goals. They carry fear, exhaustion, hope, and resilience, often all at once.
Under the weight of heightened stress, uncertainty, and trauma in the current political climate, the emotional toll on families has grown. So has the responsibility of the staff who stand beside them.
This quarter, PODER deepened its commitment to whole-family care through a powerful partnership with Centro Sanar, strengthening our vision of PODER as a true one-stop community hub for healing, growth, and opportunity.
Through a series of professional development workshops, Centro Sanar created intentional space for PODER staff to build emotional resilience, practice self-care, and gain practical tools for navigating high-stress and crisis situations. One core training, Intervention and Stabilization in a Crisis, equipped staff to recognize emotional distress, validate lived experiences, remind individuals of their inherent strengths, and respond with calm, compassionate accompaniment. Just as importantly, it invited staff to reflect on their own emotional well-being and boundaries.
For Member Advisor Jose Luis Servin, the impact was immediate, strengthening his ability to provide mindful, informed, and compassionate support to individuals experiencing emotional crises. For others, the training struck an even deeper chord.
Member Advisor Margarita Zuniga shared:
As PODER continues to serve families navigating fear, instability, and complex life challenges, this partnership ensures that care doesn’t stop at services, it extends to how we show up for one another. A grounded, supported team can meet community members with steadiness, dignity, and humanity, even in moments of deep vulnerability.
The partnership goes beyond staff training. Centro Sanar is now on-site at PODER HQ, providing FREE mental health services to our members and the broader community. By bringing care directly into a trusted, familiar space, we remove barriers, reduce stigma, and meet people exactly where they are.
PODER HQ is more than a building, it is a community anchor. By opening our doors to trusted partners like Centro Sanar, we are building an ecosystem of support where families can access education, workforce pathways, and mental health care under one roof.
If your organization is interested in offering on-site services, workshops, or resources that respond to real community needs, we invite you to connect with us and explore what partnership could look like.
Together, partnerships like this ensure that our community is not just served, but supported, seen, and cared for.
Alumni Spotlight
Becoming Beyond the Expected: Lizbeth's Journey of Persistence and Possibility
For Lizbeth Aranda, prosperity didn’t begin with a job offer.
It began with being seen.
At 32 years old, after years of steady work as a phlebotomist, Lizbeth faced an unexpected layoff that forced her to confront a difficult question many working adults quietly carry: Is it too late to start over?
Like so many immigrants and first-generation professionals, Lizbeth wasn’t lacking work ethic, intelligence, or ambition. What she needed was a bridge, between where she had been and where she knew she could go.
She found that bridge through PODER.
While attending a job fair at Daley College, Lizbeth learned about PODER’s Unidos in Finance program. What started as a practical search for financial stability quickly became something deeper: a space where her experience mattered, her goals were taken seriously, and her potential was actively nurtured.
Through the Summer 2025 cohort, Lizbeth gained more than technical skills. She gained confidence. She gained language to advocate for herself. She gained a community that believed in her ability to thrive in a field where Latinos remain underrepresented.
The path wasn’t instant. When a job offer didn’t come right away, Lizbeth didn’t stop. With coaching and encouragement from PODER staff, she refined her résumé, sharpened her interview skills, and stayed rooted in the belief that she belonged in this new professional chapter.
That belief, combined with persistence, paid off.
Today, Lizbeth works full-time as an Associate Banker with Chase Bank at the Brighton Park branch, just minutes from her home in West Lawn. She is building a career with stability, growth, and proximity to the community that shaped her.
Lizbeth’s journey reminds us that empowerment is not about possibility; it’s about access, trust, and opportunity. When people are given the tools, support, and affirmation they deserve, they don’t just find jobs. They redefine what’s possible for themselves and their families.
At PODER, we believe belonging is the foundation of becoming. Lizbeth’s story is living proof that when people are supported with dignity and intention, prosperity follows.
What's Happening at PODER?
Take the Next Step with Us
At PODER, meaningful change happens when people choose to move forward together. Every action, big or small, helps strengthen our community and deepen the sense of belonging we are building every day.
Whether you’re stepping in as a volunteer, investing through a donation, partnering with us, or staying connected to our work, your involvement fuels opportunity, dignity, and collective power.
Each step matters. Each connection counts.
Let’s keep moving forward, together. Let’s keep building, together. Let’s keep becoming, together.