| Program: | Delhi Center, Santa Ana, CA | | Contact(s): | Irene Martinez, Executive Director or Margarita Chavez, Assistant Director: (714) 549-1317 | | Purpose: | To increase the participation of the Hispanic community in the areas of health and social well-being by empowering local residents with tools and services that enhance their quality of life | | Background The Delhi Center was founded in 1969 through the efforts of local residents, church members, the Junior League of Newport Beach, and the National Guard. The Delhi Center is a community effort, which addresses social, economic, and immigration issues in Santa Ana, California. Delhi offers HIV prevention and health services, teenage pregnancy counseling, parenting skills classes, and youth development programming. More recently, Delhi, through Santa Ana College, received a three-year federal grant to implement a neighborhood economic and community building development model. The Delhi Center offers its services from two facilities: Delhi Center and Delhi Casa. The Delhi Center promotes community solidarity, collaboration, and participation through culturally relevant interventions, to strengthen leadership and build capacity for self-help. Program Operations
Delhi Center provides family support services, including case management on social services, referrals to other human service agencies, and monthly food distribution. Delhi also provides workshops on immigration, and naturalization, job search, civic participation and voting education. Among the primary services offered by Delhi are HIV prevention and care services. By providing case management and workshops to the Hispanic community on HIV prevention and how to live with HIV/AIDS, Delhi helps destroy the stigma associated with the disease and provides culturally sensitive services. The Delhi Center works in partnership with Santa Ana College, the City of Santa Ana, the school district, the University of California, Irvine, the Private Industry Council, and local residents to implement a three-year Housing and Urban Development grant, which promotes social and economic opportunity. Delhi Partnership have three primary objectives: 1) to re-create the social fabric of the community around the common values held by local residents; 2) to use the network to create better access to economic opportunity; and 3) to foster a better understanding of intra-ethnic relations at the local level. Outcomes and Significant Accomplishments Both Delhi Center facilities serve over 20,000 individuals per year. In 1997, Delhi conducted 4,628 individual counseling sessions with clients who have tested positive for HIV/AIDS. The Delhi Center has offered 40 HIV/AIDS prevention classes to a predominantly Hispanic community. Overall, the Delhi Center is credited for increasing awareness and the level of education of its local residents through a community-based approach. |
