Congreso de Latinos Unidos
Neighborhood Energy Center Manager: Mercedes Almirall
Congreso de Latinos Unidos
Main Office
216 W. Somerset Street
Philadelphia, PA 19133
Tel. 215-763-8870
Service Area: North Philadelphia, Logan, Olney and Nicetown
Neighborhood Energy Center
Utility Assistance, LIHEP, UESF
Weatherization Assistance
Energy Counseling
Energy Workshops
Social Services
Housing Counseling
Tenant Advocacy
Assistance for Parents & Children
Education
Home Owners Emergency Assistance Program
Foreclosure Prevention
History
Congreso is a community-based organization that works in the impoverished neighborhoods of Eastern North Philadelphia, where most of the city’s Latino community resides. Through a variety of social services and community development projects, Congreso works to empower people and creates opportunities for learning and self-development.
Congreso was founded in 1977 by Puerto Rican activists concerned with the social, economic and health-related needs of the growing Latino community in North Philadelphia. The office was staffed for two years by volunteers. The first program, and the only continuously funded project throughout its history, offered drug and alcohol counseling and education. Though changing locations a number of times as the demographics of the Latino community shifted in North Philadelphia, Congreso always managed to offer quality services and respond to community needs. The HIV/AIDS program, commonly known as “Programa Esfuerzo” was added in 1988 as the first bilingual HIV prevention and education program in the city. In 1994, Congreso created the first Domestic Violence program in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania designed for the specific needs of Latinas. Also in the early 1990s, other women and child-focused programs were incorporated as well. The last strategic plan was written in 1995 and a campaign to raise funds aimed at achieving the plan’s goals began the following year. In response to the changes of the 1996 welfare reform, welfare-to-work programs were launched at Congreso beginning in 1996. Continuing efforts for the creation of a one-stop social services center led, in 2001, to Congreso’s move to its new headquarters (The Family and Workforce Development Center) at American and Somerset streets. Currently, five additional locations operate throughout North Philadelphia to serve primarily youth development services, behavioral health services and HIV/AIDS services.