Every One. All Ways.

Abriendo
Caminos

Abriendo Caminos (Finding our Path), builds on decades of work to move us toward the goal of being one community.

Upcoming Know your Rights Workshops

West Marin Standing Together/Una Comunidad Unida happening Monday January 20, 2025 across West Marin.

West Marin Standing Together was organized in 2017 by a coalition of local activists and organizations, including WMCS, to prepare for the uncertainty of the incoming presidential administration. This event consisted of a group of 200+ individuals on a silent walk through Point Reyes and a community dinnertime potluck at West Marin School. Watch a video about the 2017 event by clicking here.

We are holding another West Marin Standing Together event on Monday January 20, 2025. There will be a procession in three of our community hubs: Point Reyes-Inverness, Bolinas-Stinson, and San Geronimo Valley*.

*We are still looking for a person to lead the event in Tomales. Anyone from Tomales is also welcome to join any of the existing events.

Click here for guidelines, agenda, and additional details for Point Reyes, Bolinas, and San Geronimo Valley Standing Together/Una Comunidad Unida events

About

Abriendo Caminos serves as a bridge between the Latino population and the larger West Marin community through thoughtful engagement. We aim to empower the Latino community while addressing the cultural divide and working toward the goal of being one community. By becoming one community we can progress towards a more beautiful, diverse, and equitable West Marin.

For over 35 years, dedicated agencies and individuals have accomplished much in bringing the local Latino population, often isolated on rural ranches, out of the shadows.

The bridges built through these efforts, as well as the collaboration and respect on all sides, resulted in Abriendo Caminos, a model program which has expanded to include the West Marin areas of Point Reyes, Tomales, Bolinas, and the San Geronimo Valley.

Program Objectives

  • To collaborate with the Latino community in order to provide opportunities for leadership and engagement
  • Support our Latino neighbors to vocalize their needs and concerns and find solutions
  • Allow the cultures from our minoritized communities to be shared freely in efforts to immerse themselves with the larger West Marin
  • Commit to a bilingual way of sharing and receiving information in order to be inclusive to all

Program Outcomes

An important first step, empowerment trainings, imbues the Latino participants with a strong sense of self-respect, a realization of the courage it takes to emigrate, and a deeper connection to each other’s experiences. Through events where community members share food and culture, participants unanimously support the sentiment of Abriendo Caminos.

Periodic Latino focus groups identify key issues of labor rights, housing, education, cultural events, and immigration. Additional events and trainings have been held in these areas, with a particular focus on immigration since 2016.

Working with the heartfelt support of our whole community including West Marin Collaborative, Canal Alliance, and others, we sponsor “Know Your Rights” events, developed a Rapid Response Team, offer meetings with immigration attorneys, and help cope with stress and fear.

While continuing these trainings, the next step for this program will be to create a space for community-wide conversations to identify what systems and cultural aspects we can shift together. We can change the perception of who we are and find pathways to promote equity and mutual respect.

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