#LetsMakeASEEN is an occasional piece for the SEEN column that highlights small organizations making a big impact.
What do you do when you see someone who looks different from you? Do you embrace the unknown or do you cross the street? Monica Ruiz, executive director of Casa San Jose, hopes you’ll stay on your original path and learn to embrace other cultures and perspectives, including those of Pittsburgh’s growing Latino community.
Casa San Jose began five years ago under the guidance of Sister Janice Vanderneck. Originally from Indiana, Pa., the Catholic nun had lived in the Amazon for many years, working with indigenous peoples. When she returned to Pittsburgh, she saw a need for more resources for Latino residents and began her work at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brookline. The organization started small with just two employees; Ms. Ruiz was an intern.
“Sister always said that the person leading this organization should be of Latino descent. It was never her goal to remain at the helm.”
After Ms. Ruiz completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work at the University of Pittsburgh, she became executive director and the organization moved to Beechview. “I realized that we had no resources here. We needed to lay a foundation. I didn’t want to put Band-Aids on broken bones. I wanted to focus on the systems to support our individuals.”
Education became a major component of Casa San Jose’s mission.
“A lot of people in Beechview have never left their community or have seen anyone that looks different from them,” said Ms. Ruiz. “They turn on the news or read in the paper that brown people are here to harm you, so education is key to stopping those kinds of reactions.”
She noted that there is only one Spanish-speaking pediatrician in Allegheny County, but knowing the language is only the beginning. “He remains the only bi-cultural pediatrician in the county. “Bi-cultural and bilingual are not the same thing,” said Ms. Ruiz. “You may understand the language but still treat the child without the context of their cultural upbringing. It’s important that people can be empathetic to experiences outside their own.”
Seeing bus stop signs in different languages, having documents available in different languages — these are things that can help immigrant communities access resources and assimilate into new environments, Ms. Ruiz said.
“Our vision for Casa San Jose from the beginning has been to provide a space of welcome for Latino immigrants,” said Sister Vanderneck, noting that casa means home. “From the start, I have found animosity toward a particular subset of Latinos with whom we work and that would be undocumented Latinos.”
She said asylum seekers, who are in a different category, also face discrimination. She and others at Casa San Jose worry that fewer immigrants will move to the Pittsburgh region due to the efforts of the Trump administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
“ICE is creating chaos all of the time,” said Ms. Ruiz. “Immigration laws aren’t going to change. They are hard to change, but what has changed is interpretation and enforcement. Morally speaking, we shouldn’t be tearing apart families or detaining people for no reason. It happens here every day. If you are that outraged about what is going on at our border, be upset about what is happening right in your backyard.”
Casa San Jose staff try not to get involved in politics. “But I’ll always be a brown woman,” Ms. Ruiz said. “How do you separate that? I try to stay on a moral pathway as a devout Catholic. I just wish that people would understand we are not here to cause any harm.”
She also notes that the only population growing in Pittsburgh is the immigrant population.
“Our businesses are making the communities thrive. These people are just like your grandparents and great-grandparents. They have wishes and dreams. They are really just here to work hard and see their families thrive.”
“We understand the factors in their countries of origin that drive them to immigrate and we understand the importance of experiencing a welcome and a receptive community in this country if they, and most importantly, their children, are going to do well,” added Sister Vanderneck. “Fear, isolation and invisibility are not factors that respect human dignity,” she added.
Ms. Ruiz has several goals for the organization.
“I want Casa to grow to provide more services like a free store and a food bank with culturally appropriate foods,” she said. “Some of our friends and neighbors come here without a single item. Their children need an after-school space to get help with homework and have a snack. I want to create a place where moms can come in and sell food and drink coffee. Anyone you ask, they don’t want charity. They want to learn how to become self-sufficient and play a positive role in their community.”
Though Beechview has more young people than most Pittsburgh neighborhoods, it does not have a recreation center. For Ms. Ruiz, that’s a place to start.
“There is a pride in this community. Listen to the people that live here. You hear a lot of sad stories, but you see the determination and resilience. Yes, people are afraid of the unknown. But, if you get out of your comfort zone and be with people who are different from you, you might be surprised at how much you have in common.
“Let’s just treat one another with respect and kindness. It’s the little things that make others feel so welcome.”
First Published: January 13, 2020, 3:00 p.m.
