We Create New Journeys
Caminar Latino – Latinos United for Peace and Equity is a national trailblazer that carries out its mission by creating safe spaces for each family member to begin their journey towards non-violence and by centering the Latino experience into social change efforts nationally that will transform the social conditions that give rise to violence. Caminar Latino operates in Atlanta and it is Georgia’s first and only comprehensive domestic violence intervention program for Latino families. Latinos United for Peace and Equity, Caminar Latino’s national counterpart, engages in public policy, systems change, and research at the intersection of gender-based violence and Latino identity. In addition, LUPE offers capacity building, training, and technical assistance to other nonprofit organizations, advocates in the field, government agencies, and businesses.
Mission
Caminar Latino – Latinos United for Peace and Equity creates opportunities for Latino families to transform their lives and communities and works to change the social conditions that give rise to violence.
Vision
Latinos live in healthy families, united communities, and a just society.
Values
Our Core Values are at the heart of everything we do, and we seek to live up to them in every decision we make, from the way we create a work culture to the way we carry out our mission with individuals, communities, and systems.
Safety
We believe safety goes beyond physical safety. It includes being free from physical, sexual, and emotional fear and harm in one’s home, workplace, and environments. Our culture, experiences, and histories influence how safety is perceived and understood. What is safe for one person or family may not be feasible or useful for another person or family. We believe safety is not a temporary respite, but involves a wide range of concrete, trauma-informed, culturally responsive approaches and relationships.
Community-Driven
We believe people are experts in their own lives and should define their experience and that communities should champion progress in their own way. We embrace the philosophy of “nothing about us, without us” by centering the lived expertise of those most impacted to effect change in our homes, workplace, and institutions.
Transformational
We believe to be transformational we must identify and resist structural racism, engage in collective problem-solving and decision-making, and intentionally facilitate a more deliberate sharing of power as an explicit part of our work.
Integrity
We believe integrity is the foundation for honesty, transparency, respect, and trust. Integrity literally means having “wholeness” of character and as such aspire to operate in this wholeness of character in all our actions and relationships.
Mutuality
We believe we are part of a network of mutuality where what impacts one of us, impacts us all. We engage in reciprocal relationships between program participants, community members, colleagues, and society at large that are interdependent, resist superior and subordinate relationships, and recognize the positive, interactive ways we can each learn from each other.
Caminar Latino or “Latino Journey” is Georgia’s first and only comprehensive domestic-violence intervention program for Latino families. Latinos United for Peace Equity merged with Caminar Latino in 2018 to become its national arm. Caminar Latino and Latinos United for Peace and Equity carry out its mission by creating spaces for each family member to begin their journey towards safety and by centering the Latino experience into social change efforts in Atlanta, across the country and internationally to transform the social conditions that give rise to violence.