NNED Partner of the Month – June 2021

June 2, 2021

In order to highlight pockets of excellence across the country, the NNED selects a partner organization to highlight once a month. The Wall Las Memorias, has been selected as the Partner of the Month for June in celebration of Pride Month.

The Wall Las Memorias (TWLM) is a community health and wellness organization dedicated to serving Latino, LGBTQ and other under-served populations through advocacy, education and building the next generation of leadership.

The Wall Las Memorias serves low-income and hard-to-reach communities throughout Los Angeles educating community members on the importance of HIV and AIDS, substance abuse prevention, mental health stigma reduction for LGBTQI2-S transitional-aged youth (TAY), transgender women health and wellness, non-binary health and wellness, and community building in the marginalized communities. For more than 26 years, the organization has helped eradicate stigma and bigotry, and created a safer place in our communities for dialogue, community building, education and prevention services for this devastating epidemic using its AIDS Monument as a catalyst for social change.

The some of the programs and services that are currently offered:

• Men’s Health –  The Wall Las Memorias has been serving gay, bisexual and questioning men since its inception in 1993. The innovative programs and services integrate culture, spirituality, and social justice to address various health issues affecting our men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) population.
• Trans Health– Since 2014, The Wall Las Memorias has offered services to transgender persons which have included healthcare referrals, counseling, and linkage to hormone therapy. The Trans Health Program aims to reduce the health disparities experienced by transgender women of color. To address their physical health and wellness, they provide free HIV testing, linkage to care, and preventive health resources such as PrEP and PEP.
• Non-Binary Health – The Wall Las Memorias established its Enby Entities in 2018 as the first support group of its kind in L.A. County that caters to non-binary, gender non-conforming, and questioning individuals. The peer-led support group meets every Thursday, and has welcomed more than 50 community members since its inception. Past topics for discussion have included gender identity, mental health, substance abuse, social justice, advocacy and community building. Aside from the great conversation and educational presentations, Enby Entities provides participants with referrals to outside resources such as counseling and access to PrEP and PEP.
• Mental Health – The Wall Las Memorias created its innovative mental health program called Beyond Safe Spaces to address these issues. Beyond Safe Spaces provides peer-to-peer support groups for LGBTQI2-S youth as well as a separate support group for families and caregivers of LGBTQI2-S loved ones.
• Substance Abuse Prevention – The Wall Las Memorias spearheaded the development and funding of a series of methamphetamine task forces by submitting more than 10,000 signed petitions demanding action from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. Through its leadership in the Act Now Against Meth Coalition, the agency developed the Greater East Los Angeles Meth Task Force—an effort which generated national attention for its work in mobilizing the Latinx community to address the meth epidemic.

Learn more about The Wall Las Memorias, and their mission to provide access to specialized services designed to prevent disease and to promote societal wellness; guarantee that individual voices of the community are heard and that all are in agreement on the essential need for social change; promote the use of The Wall Las Memorias AIDS Monument as an acknowledged catalyst for change and action; and engage the LGBTQ and faith communities, making both entities full partners in promoting wellness and eliminating stigma among all people in the underrepresented and LGBTQ communities for Los Angeles.

View a list of previous NNED Partners of the Month.