What started off as a group of parents in Danbury advocating for educational equity for their children has now grown into a non-profit organization that opened its sixth community center in New Britain this past weekend.
Maria Matos and Lucas Pimentel have been in the advocacy trenches for quite a while.
“My partner, Lucas Pimentel and myself, we were just volunteer parents that saw that there was a need for equality of education,” Matos said, “and our kids weren't receiving that.”
Matos said her daughter often had to tutor and assist her high school peers who didn’t speak English because they did not get the assistance they needed in the classroom.
She also said many parents didn’t speak English, making it difficult for them to advocate for their children’s needs.
“The kids are not receiving the information that they're supposed to receive in school. What are we going to do?” Matos asked. “And that's where LEAD was born.”
Latinos for Educational Advocacy and Diversity, or LEAD, was established in 2021. Matos is the organization’s Vice President and Chief Programs Officer. Her partner, Lucas Pimentel, is the CEO. The non-profit offers a wide variety of programming, services, and resources for local Latino communities, many of which are provided for free.
LEAD has six community centers across Connecticut. Five of which are located in Bridgeport, Danbury, New Haven, Norwich and Waterbury. The newest community center opened up in New Britain.
Serving the New Britain community
A ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday for the new LEAD Community Center in New Britain brought in a full house.
“We see the need in New Britain,” Matos said. “Not only do we see the need, but we see the potential.”
Fernando Cerdeña, Community Engagement Coordinator for the New Britain center, said he noticed many Latinos are facing challenges because they are unaware of how to use the tools they have at their disposal.
“Many Hispanics could not advance in their jobs because they didn’t know how to use a computer,” Cerdeña said in Spanish. “With a class I can give in 30 days, they can learn how to operate a computer perfectly.”
LEAD also offers programs to help Latinos with their retirement funds and their small businesses. The organization also empowers women seeking daycare training and helps young people learn how to build a savings account, he said.
Cerdeña has noticed over the decades that oftentimes Latinos have to go to spaces that aren’t equipped for the kinds of services that LEAD provides.
During the pandemic, Cerdeña said he had to give his computer literacy courses in a cafe in Waterbury, because he did not have a place where he could offer the course.
“It’s important that Latinos have what we deserve. We work hard. Why do we have to gather in the basement of a church or in a house? Why shouldn’t we have a place like this?” Cerdeña said in Spanish about the new community center on West Main Street.
Expanding to Connecticut’s capital
LEAD is working to open another community center in Hartford later this year, according to Maria Matos.
“Why Hartford? Because that's where the laws are passed,” she said. “We want to be close to the legislators office. We want to be close to the governor. We want the people to have a place in Hartford where to go and learn. And we want to have the community involved.”
Though there is a lot of excitement around the opening of the New Britain location, Matos said the work to bring about educational equity only continues from here.
“We need more teachers that look like us. We need more funding for our schools. I mean, there's a lot to be done, so we're happy, we're excited, but we just feel like, okay, we have to keep going,” she said.
According to Matos, the hope is to open the new community center in the downtown area of Hartford sometime in August.
