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After five years of providing bilingual mental health services to Springfield residents, the Latino Counseling Center has purchased a building in the city's downtown.
President and CEO Jonathan Alicea said the agency is also keeping its smaller location, as well as a presence in the Springfield Public Schools. But it can now offer expanded services with the $900,000 building.
"It's not just about inaugurating a new facility. It's about inaugurating in a new era of compassion, understanding and healing," he said.
Alicea was joined by many of the agency's 78 employees as well as local and state officials in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday.
Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield and state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, all highlighted the significance of providing "culturally sensitive" care.
"Cultural sensitivity is very important," Sarno said. "Understanding that can help you open a door to assist someone and maybe close a door on the challenges that individual is facing."
Gomez, who recently underwent a kidney transplant, said having access to mental health services was crucial.
"It's no secret that I went through a great ordeal. If it wasn't for my mental health community and if it wasn't for my spiritual community and also the people that love me — my wife and my children — [that is] how to make these breakthroughs, is making sure that family, friends...that we are all in this together," he said.
Alicea first arrived to Springfield from Puerto Rico 12 years. Already a mental health counselor at the time, he had aspirations of earning his master's degree in clinical work and helping people in the Latino community access mental health services, he said.
In 2018 he teamed up with his wife, Maria Silva, who serves as the chief financial officer for the agency, and began offering clinical services to families arriving from Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
"This was all about helping people coming from Maria. Little did we know we were going to serve a lot more people than that. More people were knocking on our door and we [realized] we aren't just serving Latinos anymore," she said. "We knew we needed to open and be wider because we're a bigger community."
The agency works with children and adults and recently partnered with MassHealth to run the Children's Behavioral Health Initiative, which helps connect children and their families with mental and behavioral health services.
Alicea said the main objective of the counseling center is to provide culturally sensitive mental health care for people in Spanish and English.
"We want to bring down the stigmas around mental health ensuring that seeking help is seen as a sign of strength, not a weakness," he said. "This organization is more than just a building. It's a symbol of hope, resilience and the wavering believe that a healthier community starts with caring for one another," he said.
