The need for therapists, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists is greater than ever. Under unrelenting pressure from the pandemic and inflation, wildfires and gun violence, racism and war, our communities are crying out for help.
Fortunately, we have two local leaders who are determined to move mountains. Aaron Ortiz, Executive Director of La Familia, and Manuel Jiménez, Regional Director of La Familia, are dedicated to bringing much-needed mental health services and solutions to our underserved communities. Under his leadership, La Familia partners with the community to provide free, high-quality support services to low-income residents in the communities they serve.
Manuel Jimenez Jr., MA, LMFT
In August 2022, La Familia Central Valley was made possible by the merger between La Familia and First Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (First Behavioral). While the Turlock-based nonprofit has only been around since July 2020 (created by the Legacy Health Endowment), they have stepped up to serve the mental health needs of the Central Valley during an especially critical time.
Ortiz and Jiménez continue to work tirelessly to ensure mental health care is never out of reach for community members in the Central Valley. Offering linguistically appropriate and culturally relevant services has been a priority with the hiring of bilingual and multilingual physicians. To reduce challenges with transportation and increase ease of access, they have partnered with local school districts to provide on-site school counseling services, offer telehealth visits, and make psychiatry services available for medication management. . Consideration of these characteristics exemplifies the team’s commitment to high-quality care that is accessible to all who seek it, especially those who often face barriers related to financial, transportation, and language limitations.
La Familia is making a tremendous impact in our communities by offering mental health services in schools, a place where children are already congregating, it makes sense. It affects substance use disorders, school violence and other social problems. However, many rural school districts have barely a school nurse and no mental health therapist. Jiménez and Ortiz are paving the way for mental health services in our rural communities with evidence-based results.
ortiz has dedicated his career to helping youth, adults, and families in the San Francisco Bay Area by providing accessible public health, education, workforce development, youth development, mental health, family preservation, and culturally competent programs. His career began at La Familia, where he worked from 1992 to 1997 as a youth mentor. Ortiz also served on the La Familia board for 14 years and was president of the board for two years. He pursued other jobs from 1997 to 2014 and became the Executive Director of La Familia in July 2014. Ortiz went on to finalize the merger of East Bay Community Services, an organization he had founded, and La Familia, which strengthened the outreach and everyone’s services. programs Since Ortiz became CEO of La Familia, he has successfully transformed La Familia from a small-sized community-based organization (CBO) to a full-fledged CBO for five times the agency’s budget over four years at a 200 staff.
Jimenez Jr., MA, LMFT, began his career leading a group to help people with substance abuse issues and veterans battling PTSD. When he realized that the group was proving successful and making a difference in their lives, he enrolled at Santa Clara University. After graduation, he worked at the Santa Cruz County Children’s Mental Health Department before directing community health programs for El Dorado County. Later in his career, he became director of behavioral health in Alameda County, where he would retire and start a private practice in Turlock after realizing there was a barrier to accessing mental health providers. .
Legacy Health Endowment invests in individuals and nonprofit organizations. We want to make sure that all the youth of the Central Valley not only have the same access to education, but also the same access to health care. And that’s the critical impact that we hope to have with regard to behavioral health because we know that your first teachers are your parents.
We are working hard to expand more services to children and adolescents. Through the work of Ortiz, Jiménez and her team, we have noticed more Hispanic families encouraging children to talk to a mental health provider and we know we are making a difference in their lives. We want to create more access because of an unmet need, especially in the Latino community. Many of the parents we work with are first-generation immigrants who don’t have the resources and work one or two jobs. As much as we want to help children, it is essential to work with parents and family members who are suffering in silence. Everything has a direct impact on the whole family.
Ortiz and Jiménez are making a difference in the lives of children, adolescents and adults on a daily basis. His leadership is invaluable. His inspiration is contagious. I am proud to honor two fantastic healthcare heroes.
— Jeffrey Lewis is President and CEO of the Legacy Health Endowment and EMC Health Foundation. The opinions expressed are their own.
