“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”
- Dolores Huerta
La Cocina, or the Kitchen in English, is the warmest, most inviting, and most nourishing place in our homes. It is also the place where change happens, difficult conversations are had, and where revolutions are born. One of our heroines, Dolores Huerta, would end organizing meetings by saying, “Todas las revoluciones comienzan en La Cocina!” We get it, and feel affirmed by her words.
Our Purpose
To elevate Latine-centered knowledge that heals and transforms the lives and communities of those most impacted by inequity and trauma.
We Envision
Latine communities that thrive, liberated from oppression.
OUR LIVING VALUES: WE ARE THE CHANGE
Our
Liberatory
Stance
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Courage, justice, and integrity are needed to do the work of personal and community transformation.
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Transformation is the ground from which trust, solidarity, and healing emerge and grow.
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Reflection provides the context within which transformation can happen.
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Liberation is an outcome of transformative processes.
Latine-Founded,
Latine-Led,
and Latine-Serving
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Ascribing power to our Latine communities’ inherent capacity to heal and transform is the best way to serve.
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Holding intersecting Latine experiences and identities with dignity and respect is at the heart of our individual and collective transformation(s).
“Equity”
Is Not
A Truism…
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No single source of support can be credited with any person’s liberation.
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Continually ascribing possibility and power to societal systems is deadening to our communities.
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A healthy response to an unhealthy and oppressive environment includes responses that are often pathologized, misunderstood, ignored and invisible to dominant structures, including those that dominate mental healthcare systems.
We Aspire
To Service That
Transforms
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We remain steadfast in our work, constantly monitoring our intentions and resolve to be the change we seek.
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All persons advancing La Cocina’s work are committed to building communities of care. This commitment is both internally facing as well as externally focused and serves as the touchstone on which we build a community of practice that asks not what La Cocina can do for us but what we can do for La Cocina’s impacted communities.
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Service that transforms prevents burnout, generates creativity and laughter, and cultivates proximate leadership.
Innovation
Is Emergent
In Healing Processes
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A nonprofit organization differs from a for-profit entity only in what is done with the profits. Our profits support the innovative work we do in our communities.
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Evolving generative and innovative ways to do business creates sustainability in our communities and a work-life balance for ourselves.
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Strong reflective feedback loops, sustainable funding sources, and a commitment to healing are foundational to a work-life balance and prevent burnout.
Our
Story
Nuestra Historia began in early 2017 when La Cocina’s founder, Dr. Janina Fariñas, and a small group of Colorado State University students became outraged at the mounting unmet need for Spanish-speaking mental health services in Northern Colorado. After the 2016 election, the growing rates of anxiety and depression among immigrant groups were cause for alarm. It was a call to action.
The volunteers and program founder soon turned their concerns into a passionate team of 17+ professionals, including trained psychologists, counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, mentors and educators, and health promotion workers. In its first 10 months, La Cocina served more than 50 immigrant families.
Today, the program has facilitated mental health recovery for more than 1000 Latine families throughout the state of Colorado, and La Cocina’s multidisciplinary teams have grown to include trainers and program leaders building capacities both in communities and professional settings ready to grow and learn La Cocina’s Liberation Psychology applied model of services delivery.
When you give to La Cocina you support the social and emotional needs of Latine immigrants and refugees, including birthing families, infants, children, youths and their families, and individuals whose primary language is Spanish and whose basic needs include healing their hearts and minds from the systemic, and multi-generational impacts of trauma and displacement.
If you seek change that transforms and heals our Latine communities, donate now to La Cocina.