Padres Unidos Np

Padres Unidos' commitment to all families is to cultivate growth. Since 1999, Padres Unidos has been serving low-income families in Orange County through a variety of child, youth, and family services. Our mission is to foster self-sufficiency and responsibility for education among families, believing that “Successful Families Build Successful Communities.” Based on this philosophy, Padres Unidos aims to engage families not just in their children’s lives but also in the community, building protective assets, nurturing vibrant neighborhoods, and empowering residents. In order to bring culturally and linguistically appropriate services to families in low-income communities, Padres Unidos offers a spectrum of programs, designed to help parents engage in their child’s education, development, and community.

In 1999, Padres Unidos began serving families in Orange County as “Healthy Tomorrows,” through the Orange County Social Services Agency. This partnership enabled us to develop a successful model of parent education and engagement, meeting the needs of the low-income community we serve. At the height of the recession, we saw our County funding disappear but remained committed to providing our programs to at-risk children and families. In 2011, we became an independent 501(c)3, continuing to partner with families, school, districts, other nonprofits, and Chapman University to implement a holistic approach to community development. Through our integrated continuum of early engagement, parenting classes, and volunteer/community worker training, we help families go from beneficiaries to empowered workers and volunteers serving their neighborhood. Our model increases school readiness and decreases likelihood of child abuse/neglect, gang involvement, welfare needs, and cyclical poverty; it also creates a multi-generation culture of volunteering and community engagement and improves relationships among community members, the school system, the child welfare system, and other stakeholders. Padres Unidos is not just about helping a single student or even a single family, but engaging the entire community in building better neighborhoods and better futures.

In 2024–2025, Padres Unidos proudly served over 10,000 participants through our diverse Outreach, Support, and Education modules—each one rooted in our enduring commitment to strengthening families and cultivating thriving communities.
This year, we deepened our impact through meaningful collaborations and timely responses to the needs of our communities. We extended our family strengthening work to Youth Challenge Academies, and proudly joined forces with the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) and Sunburst Youth Academy to deliver trauma-informed, culturally responsive presentations that supported students and families navigating adversity.
At a time when shifting political and immigration policies heightened fear and anxiety for many Orange County families, Padres Unidos responded with urgency and compassion. We launched Love Circles—safe spaces for connection and healing—immediately following the changes brought by the new administration. These spaces became vital touchpoints for community members experiencing isolation, trauma, and uncertainty.
Furthering our mission to empower and uplift, we also strengthened our educational pathways. In partnership with Santiago Canyon College, we proudly expanded the Padres Unidos Community Worker Award Program to reach additional community colleges—creating more opportunities for local leaders to be trained, equipped, and mobilized to serve.
As we reflect on the past year, we remain humbled by the trust of our communities and energized by the resilience we witness daily. Padres Unidos continues to stand as a beacon of hope, advocacy, and connection—because we believe that Successful Families Build Successful Communities.

Padres Unidos – Rooted in Love, Driven by Community
The current political climate and rapidly shifting immigration policies have had a profound and destabilizing effect on many of the families we serve in Orange County. Increased immigration enforcement, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and fear of family separation have caused families—especially those with undocumented or mixed-status members—to isolate themselves within their homes. This climate of fear has led to a cascade of unmet basic needs and urgent gaps in community support.
As families remain hidden in fear, they are increasingly disconnected from essential resources, leading to significant deficits in economic stability, housing security, access to food, infant supplies like diapers, and critical mental health support. These challenges are not isolated but interconnected—contributing to chronic stress, anxiety, and long-term impacts on family wellness.
In response, Padres Unidos has expanded our Love Circles—compassionate, culturally responsive safe spaces where families can speak freely, without fear, and direct the conversation toward their most pressing concerns. These spaces have become a cornerstone of healing, trust-building, and community-led resource navigation.
At the same time, we are witnessing a growing need among our local school districts and community partners. Due to the loss of federal funding and staffing shortages, many districts are struggling to provide adequate outreach and support to families—particularly those most impacted by socio-political instability. Padres Unidos is increasingly called upon to bridge this gap through education, mental health-informed programming, and culturally grounded community engagement.
To meet these growing and urgent needs, Padres Unidos must continue to strengthen and expand our infrastructure, partnerships, and services. Our commitment to walking alongside our families—grounded in trust, compassion, and cultural humility—remains unwavering. But we cannot do it alone. Now, more than ever, the community needs Padres Unidos.

Padres Unidos offers our programming throughout Orange County in Santa Ana, Anaheim, San Juan Capistrano, Los Alamitos, Orange, Costa Mesa, Garden Grove, Dana Point, and Lake Forest. 

Grounded in Community, Guided by Love
At Padres Unidos, we believe that Successful Families Build Successful Communities. This belief has never been more critical than now, as our communities face intensified fear, instability, and disconnection brought on by today’s political climate and evolving immigration policies. These realities have deeply impacted the families we serve—many of whom are choosing isolation over engagement out of concern for their safety and well-being. The ripple effects are evident in housing insecurity, job loss, limited access to basic resources like food and diapers, and rising mental health challenges.
In the face of these challenges, Padres Unidos remains steadfast. We continue to respond with culturally rooted, family-driven solutions, including our Love Circles—safe spaces where families lead the conversation and reclaim their agency in shaping the support they need. These community-led models reflect the heart of who we are and why we exist.
Because of our belief that Successful Families Build Successful Communities, four key principles continue to guide the future of Padres Unidos:
1. Solutions to community needs must be designed and embraced by the community itself.
2. Parents are the first teachers for our children and must be actively engaged in their futures.
3. Learning is a lifelong process, and each of us is responsible for attaining and effectively using that knowledge to ensure the well-being of our family and community.
4. Community success depends on public systems and private initiatives truly working together with clear communication and mutual support to achieve collective impact.
As Executive Director of Padres Unidos, my greatest responsibility—and challenge—has been to ensure that every program we offer is built upon these principles. In a time of urgency and uncertainty, they anchor us to what matters most: trust, dignity, and the wisdom of the families we serve.
Our goal is to continue cultivating partnerships and seizing every opportunity to walk alongside the schools, communities, parents, children, teens, volunteers, and staff who cross our path. Together, and only together, can we continue to foster the kind of community where every family not only survives—but thrives.