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Nontraditional
Leadership Many of our staff are “BTDT’s”—Been There, Done That—previously incarcerated or otherwise familiar with life on the street—but they have now chosen a life of service to the community. These staff members act as “nontraditional leaders” or role models for our youth. We provide our youth with opportunities to speak publicly and meet other nontraditional leaders including international youth activists and well known figures including Harry Belafonte, a supporter of our project, actor Danny Glover, and actor Danny Trejo (see picture on right). |
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La
Plazita Gardens La Plazita Gardens is where ideas, practices and opportunity thrive. LPG is a place where Traditional culture,spirituality and horticulture come together. LPG serves as a wildlife habitat. La Plazita Gardens is also a certified organic farm located in the heart of Albuquerque’s South Valley. LPG runs year-round production with a wide range of vegetable and fruit varieties. We are a founding member of the Agri-Cultura Network and through this collaboration our food is featured in many restaurants and local grocery stores and is also a part of the public school's menu. The gardens provide direct financial assistance to La Plazita Institute and offer a valuable learning space for the institutes programming. We focus on healthy food, social and economic justice, and land reclamation while also providing the opportunity for the community to reconnect to its agricultural heritage. School tours and projects are available. |
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Traditional Healing Programs
La Plazita institute works in collaboration with
Kapulli Toecalli Ollin (Sacred House of Energy). We offer traditional
healing services to all our clients and staff. Some of the treatments
offered are reiki, acupuncture, acu- detox, sobadas, and limpias.
Our traditional healing program brings together men, women and
families who are affirming, reconnecting and remembering the traditional
ancestral methods in which people empower their own healing. Woohokihi La Plazita Institute's Wookihi Cultural Program reintroduces Native American urban families and Incarcerated Native American populations to their cultural traditions and practices. Some of the weekly services we provide are Lakhota and Nahuatl language services, Inipi ceremonies, talking circles, rites of passage and immersion in our traditional Lifeways program. We also offer training on traditional farming of the Southwest, and culturally relevant "Pathways" navigation.Traditional Lifeways services include job skills training at our Silkscreen, and traditional crafts including beading, quilling, and silversmithing. |
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Making a Change Programs T/S MAC are meetings where youth come together from various backgrounds and neighborhoods and have “traditional” circle meetings. These meetings are ritualized and abide by an initiation of confidentiality, with other understanding principles such as: “No set trippin, all barrios are welcome.” “No Rata, whats said here stays here.” “Ganas, everybody puts in work.” Because of these ritualized principles, participants have a safe place to talk about their lives such as family, gang participation, drug use, and more. LPI becomes a safe place for the youth to express themselves with no unintended consequences, because like the youth all LPI and JDC staff also goes through the initiation processes. LPI believes that it is imperative that everyone follows the codes of initiation in order to instill honor and trust with the youth and staff. P-MAC is a space where community members have a safe place to talk about community needs, where institutions and community come together for dialogue and where the community can attend educational workshops on topics like profiling, health, immigration & other.
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Pathways
These organizations recognized the need of a community lead program that allowed for access of social and community services to underserved populations. La Plazita Institute works with people that have been turned away from or are uninformed of programs in the areas of medical services, education, housing, food, childcare, legal, behavioral health, child support, domestic violence, employment, medical debt, substance abuse, transportation, and many other resources. The main goal of the Pathways promotores is to teach each client on how to navigate these services in order to create community leaders and aid their families, friends and neighbors regardless of race, socioeconomic or immigration status. |
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Silkscreen/Silversmithing
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We provide our youth and their families with ongoing support in times of crisis—whether the need is spiritual, physical, or emotion. Your support makes this work possible.
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