Community Partner : Esperanza Center Peer Mentor : Michael Vidal Site Supervisor : Wardi Donnelly
What is the Esperanza Center ?
The Esperanza Center is a comprehensive resource center whose mission is to welcome immigrants by offering hope , compassionate services , and the power to improve their lives .
Developed a comprehensive resource and volunteer guide to reduce training burdens and ease volunteer integration Assisted 25 + patients daily with appointment needs , resource referral , and community integration Organized and completed over 150 patient files to ensure patient access to specialist care
My summer with Esperanza Center has been both routine and extraordinary . Every day remains functionally the same : I call patients , set appointments , and help staff . “ Hola . Soy Michael . Llamando desde la clinica del Centro Esperanza .” Without fail , the words pass my tongue with little effort . But this routine is misleading . At any given moment , the clinic offers a new opportunity to listen , help , and learn .
Every day , I connected with people . Despite the quantity , each call remained distinct from the other . The diversity of patients ’ stories and experiences are enough for its own reflection ! And this resulted in learning about Baltimore ’ s immigrant community from those within the community . Immigrants are forced silent by the laws of our country , and Esperanza Center provides them space to speak . From this , I learned the fear , struggle , and burdens but also the joy , kindness , and compassion of Baltimore ' s immigrant community . I am most grateful for learning from patient and staff on their experiences . Of course , the learning process came with help . The staff at Esperanza Center committed their time to guide me with consistent and compassionate support . Each person taught me a new perspective into what it means to be a community member . And in between these moments , we shared conversations , jokes , and ideas that made the time feel limitless . With constant , bidirectional feedback , we created new systems at the clinic for lasting and sustainable impact .
Overall , the summer changed how I think of impact . I started with grandiose ideas of my impact . But that is unrealistic and ignorant . The clinic spent years developing their work and relationship in Baltimore -- and I just graduated university . Instead , I noticed true impact is in the smaller and / or sustainable acts . Answering missed calls to alleviate the workload of staff gives them the opportunity to help others . Creating a volunteer guide allows the clinic to train volunteers without needed constant oversite and time . Helping someone find life-saving healthcare is the biggest impact -- and I helped Esperanza Center do this many times and ways . I hope to take these lessons into my community and career .
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