Multigenerational immigrant family at a workshop table — grandmother holding a transit map, father writing in a workbook, daughter translating between them, all laughing

847

families through our doors since 2021

Next Session

March 8, 2026

10 seats remaining

🇺🇸🇪🇸EN · ES

Spring Sessions Open · March – June 2026

Your Family Already Has Everything It Needs. We Just Open Doors.

A living-room classroom where immigrant families learn to read lease agreements, navigate parent-teacher conferences, and order confidently at the pharmacy counter — all in the same Saturday session.

Download Program Guide

🌿Free for all families

🗓️Saturdays, 9am–1pm

👨‍👩‍👧All ages welcome

Family Stories

Three families. Three doors. One Saturday changed everything.

Mexican mother and teenage daughter sitting together at a table, looking at papers, warm natural light

The Reyes Family

Oaxaca, Mexico · Arrived 2023

Sofía Reyes had been signing papers for two years without fully understanding them. The lease. The school enrollment forms. The insurance card. She signed because not signing felt worse than not knowing.

"The facilitator read the lease out loud, line by line. When she got to the part about the security deposit, I finally understood why we'd never gotten ours back."

✦

Three weeks later, Sofía sent a certified letter to her former landlord. She got $1,400 back.

Vietnamese elderly couple at a community center table, grandfather smiling while holding a document

Minh & Lan Nguyen

Da Nang, Vietnam · Arrived 2022

Minh's father came on a family reunification visa at 71. He spent his first eight months in the US mostly in the apartment, afraid to take the bus alone. The transit map might as well have been a foreign language — because to him, it was.

"My father took the bus to the pharmacy by himself on a Tuesday. He called me from the parking lot. He was crying. I was crying. We were both just crying."

✦

Minh's father now leads the Thursday afternoon walking group for seniors from the program.

Young West African woman in her mid-twenties, seated at a workshop table with papers spread out, focused expression

Amara Diallo

Conakry, Guinea · Arrived 2024

Amara aged out of refugee resettlement support at 21 with a Medicaid card she'd never used and a deductible she couldn't define. Her caseworker had moved on. The 1-800 number put her on hold for 47 minutes before disconnecting.

"No one had ever explained what a deductible actually was. Not in French, not in English. At Puente, someone drew it on a napkin. I finally understood."

✦

Amara made her first preventive care appointment. She brought her cousin to the next session.

The Program

Eight sessions. One arc. From arrival to belonging.

Each session builds on the last. Families can join at any point in the cycle and stay through the full arc.

01Foundation

Arrival Basics

ID documents, bank accounts, neighborhood maps, and how to call 311.

02Legal Literacy

Housing Rights

Reading a lease line by line. Security deposits, repairs, and tenant rights.

03Education

School Navigation

Parent-teacher conferences, IEP meetings, school calendars, and advocacy.

04Healthcare

Health Insurance

Deductibles, copays, in-network providers, and how to use Medicaid.

05Healthcare

Pharmacy & Prescriptions

Ordering confidently, generic vs. brand, and prescription assistance programs.

06Mobility

Public Transit

Bus routes, fare cards, trip planning apps, and getting around independently.

07Financial

Work & Taxes

Pay stubs, W-2 forms, ITIN filing, and free tax preparation resources.

08Civic

Community Leadership

Connecting with neighbors, volunteering, and becoming a community resource.

Upcoming Saturdays

Spring 2026

Sat, Mar 8

Sessions 01–02

10 left

Sat, Mar 22

Sessions 03–04

14 left

Sat, Apr 5

Sessions 05–06

18 left

Sat, Apr 19

Sessions 07–08

20 left

Sat, May 3

Sessions 01–02

22 left

Sat, May 17

Sessions 03–04

22 left

Meet the Facilitators

Every facilitator has sat where you are sitting now.

Latina woman in her forties, warm smile, natural light, professional but approachable

Rosa Castellanos

Spanish · English

Lead Facilitator · Housing & Legal Literacy

"I came here from Guadalajara at 28 with two suitcases and a lease I didn't understand. I spent three years figuring out what everyone else seemed to already know. I became a facilitator so no family has to figure it out alone."

Housing RightsArrival Basics

Vietnamese-American man in his thirties, thoughtful expression, community center background

Thien Nguyen

Vietnamese · English

Facilitator · Healthcare Navigation

"My parents arrived as refugees in 1994. They never once asked a doctor a question — not because they didn't have questions, but because they didn't know they were allowed to. I teach the healthcare sessions because everyone is allowed to ask."

Health InsurancePharmacy & Prescriptions

West African woman in her late twenties, bright eyes, seated at a workshop table

Fatou Balde

French · Wolof · English

Facilitator · Financial & Civic Life

"I aged out of resettlement support at 21 and spent a year doing everything wrong because no one told me how things worked here. Now I run the financial literacy sessions. My favorite moment is watching someone understand their pay stub for the first time."

Work & TaxesCommunity Leadership

Know these systems? Teach them.

We're always looking for bilingual facilitators with lived experience.

Become a Facilitator

Registration

There's a seat at the table with your family's name on it.

Sessions are held every other Saturday from 9am to 1pm. Breakfast is provided. Children are welcome. Interpreters are available in Spanish, Vietnamese, French, and Somali.

☕

Coffee and breakfast provided

Arrive at 8:45 to settle in.

🧒

Children welcome at all sessions

Activities available for ages 4–12.

🌐

Interpretation in 4 languages

Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Somali.

📁

Take-home folder every session

Your name is already on it.

Need to discuss it at home first?

Download the Program Guide — available in English and Spanish — and we'll follow up gently before the next session fills.

Reserve Your Family's Seats

Four questions. Less than two minutes.