50th Anniversary of Mujeres Latinas En Accion

Floor Speech

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Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of an important Chicago organization--Mujeres Latinas en Accion.

Mujeres Latinas en Accion was founded in 1973 by the late Maria Mangual for the purpose of providing shelter to young women fleeing violence in the Pilsen community. Since their founding, they have expanded to Brighton Park and North Riverside.

Back in 1982, they established the Healing and Prevention of Domestic Violence program, to provide services for survivors of domestic violence.

In 2002, they expanded their family support services in partnership with the Illinois Department of Family Support Services. With this, they created the only free Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange program designed specifically for Spanish speaking low-income families.

Seven years later, they established the Community Engagement and Mobilization Program to bring the voice of Latina immigrants and survivors of trauma to the work of immigrant and women's coalitions.

These are just a few of the ways their organization has worked to uplift women in our community and connect them with critical resources.

I am honored to help Mujeres Latinas en Accion commemorate its 50th year of providing innovative and empowering services for Latinas.

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