She was an undocumented and uninsured kid in Phoenix. Now she's helped thousands like her
Maria Valenzuela starts her days with two cups of home-brewed coffee sipped in front of her laptop, which showcases stickers of famous Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and the word "esperança," which means "hope" in Portuguese.
The latter is also the name of the nonprofit where she has done health-related outreach serving tens of thousands of Latino people in Arizona since 1999.
Valenzuela's goal is to end the cycle of poverty that many experience, especially within the migrant community.
As a child migrant herself, the daughter of a single mother who crossed the border with a visitor visa in 1979 from San Miguelito, Sonora, Mexico, she has firsthand experience with the immigration system. She said she arrived in Tucson at the age of 7.
"I think there are generations, younger than I am, who feel empowered to make some changes or start a movement, where in the past there was so much fear put upon us that we couldn't make those changes because nothing positive would come out of that," Valenzuela said. "And even now, it takes a lot."
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Esperança works with the Latino community to provide health education and resources that helps individuals prevent and avoid disease. They offer a nutrition program, meditation classes, a "Stove to Table" meal delivery service, oral health classes, a diabetes education program and more.
Valenzuela also often travels internationally to be an interpreter and determine if programs could be implemented in one of the five countries Esperança serves: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Mozambique and Nicaragua.
'I had already understood ... what it's like not having medical insurance'
Valenzuela remembers helping her mother fill out checks, at 7 years old, with no understanding of what she was writing. She needed to help her mother because she couldn't speak or write in English fluently. She had to translate everything, whether it was bank calls, car dealership communications, school applications, or even errands to the store. Now, she thinks she thinks her childhood role gave her the ability to be open to any situation.
She also remembers struggling to get health care as an uninsured and undocumented child. Valenzuela's mother hesitated to seek medical attention because of her legal status. They would be denied services, turned away due to lack of insurance, and even unable to get to free clinics because of lack of transportation.
"Having the ability to be accessible to the families in order for me to help them out, getting them in the door with clinics, or help them understand the importance of prevention was very critical for me," Valenzuela said. "I had already understood, myself, at such a young age, what it's like not having medical insurance."
At 14, she volunteered at Wesley Community Center, a nonprofit in Phoenix where she first discovered her talent for helping others.
There, she remembers helping an immigrant woman who also had a daughter, and realizing that her natural ability to translate English into Spanish enabled her to help the woman.
A few years after high school, she landed a job at the nonprofit Tempe Community Action Agency and has worked in the nonprofit sector since.
She later became a U.S. citizen, but said she still sees herself and her mother in the migrant families she works with.
More Faces of Arizona:
Supporting indigenous youth: She became the resource she needed when she was a teen growing up in Fort Defiance
Pandemic assistance: Phoenix woman was integral to multimillion-dollar COVID-19 relief effort on Navajo Nation
Integral to nonprofit's work with Latino community
Valezuela estimates she has helped more than 40,000 people since 2000 while working for Esperança.
Several colleagues said they see Valenzuela as a pillar of the relationship they have with the Latino community.
"She always treats us like a part of the team," said a colleague, Jazmín Hernandez. "I think that is one good characteristic of being a leader. That you need to include all of the members of your team in the decisions."
When COVID-19 hit last year, Valenzuela quickly came up with solutions, such as livestreaming on Facebook to stay in touch with the community and address their concerns, and collaborating with the Cesar Chavez Foundation to provide meals to senior citizens in subsidized housing.
Valeria Lopez, community health educator for Esperanca, remembered when an older woman who was in need of social interaction during the pandemic sobbed when she saw Esperança staff and thanked them for all of the assistance they provide.
"She has a lot of experience so she is very aware of the community, their needs, so she helps give me guidance," said Alexia Vega, a community health educator who works closely with Valenzuela.
Reach the reporter at Ivana.Venema-Nunez@gannett.com or at 480-291-2226.
This story is part of the Faces of Arizona series. For years, people in Arizona’s diverse communities have said they don’t see themselves reflected in the newspaper, and that they want to see more good news about their people. These profiles are a step in that direction. Have feedback or ideas on who we should cover? Send them to editor Kaila White at kaila.white@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Faces of Arizona: Maria Valenzuela has helped thousands live healthier
