Estévez: 30 to 35 percent of Valley residents live in colonias

MCALLEN, Texas – Given the vision, goal, and mission of the recently-formed AltaCair Foundation, it seemed an obvious choice for its board of directors to make improving the lives of colonia residents its first major project.

This is the view of Dr. Edwin Estevez, a member of the foundation’s board.

“The design of the foundation, the purpose of the foundation is to serve those who are underserved or unserved. It is to collaborate, to bring others together around the work, to bridge the capital that exists between human, social, financial. To advocate for those that probably don’t have a voice. The invisible one oftentimes is the one that gets left behind,” Estevez said.

The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service caught up with Estevez at one of the group’s recent cluster meetings. Here is a video interview he gave the Guardian:

The vision of the AltaCair Foundation is “to meet healthcare needs of all members of RGV and elevate RGV to a community with ease of access to public health.”

The goal of the group is to “serve the basic needs of the unserved, under served and uninsured population by connecting organizations’ efforts to the individuals in need, while filling the gaps created by health disparities.”

The group’s mission is to “facilitate collaboration in meeting the basic healthcare needs of the underserved and unserved population.”

The Guardian met up with Estevez at a recent cluster meeting with business leaders. It was held at the Embassy Suites in McAllen.

“This event is one of many. We are gathering community members in four or five different categories. These are cluster meetings create listening sessions for us to be able to gather the data, understand what the gaps are, and allow us then to set tone for what the prioritization exercise of our work is going to be,” Estevez said.

The AltaCair Foundation believes it can help other groups that work in colonias with regard to food insecurities, the water shortage, access and transportation, and healthcare needs.

Asked about the foundation’s work in the Valley’s colonias, Estevez said: “The design and the impetus on colonias work is not only through the executive director’s vision, in terms of that, but also those who are around the board. We got to start somewhere and 30 to 35 percent of our population in the Valley is located in these settings.”

Manny Vela’s perspective

Editor’s Note: The Guardian also met recently with another AltaCair Foundation board member, Texas A&M University’s Manuel ‘Manny’ Vela. Click here to read and watch the interview with Vela.

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