Servicios continues as a community haven Part 1 of 4

No one walking past the ordinary-looking building at 41st Ave. and Tejon would know how much goes on inside its doors, nor could they see smiles that the people who work there have put on thousands and thousands of faces over the past 37 years.

But once you walk into the main lobby of Servicios de la Raza, you are welcomed by Flora Simental, the buoyant receptionist, or another of the agency’s 16 employees, or Sparky, the director’s dog, you will know this is a special place.

“It’s like a little café in here,� Simental said of her workplace. “People just come in to say ‘hi’ or ask how I am doing. People just stop in to have a cup of coffee and talk.�

But it’s not a café, it’s a nonprofit agency that has been serving Denver since 1972, offering basic emergency assistance with food, clothing, car seats, mental health an HIV counseling, victim advocacy and job training, among many other services.

Servicios’ mission statement specifies that its goal is to “provide and advocate culturally relevant human services primarily, but not limited to, the Spanish-speaking population.�

Fabian Ortega has been the social services manager at Servicios for six years, and oversees the basic emergency services component of the agency. He says they see about 100 to 150 clients a week just for the Basic Emergency Services (BES) program.

These services include a food bank, children’s clothing bank, client advocacy and case management and a state-certified car-seat fitting station.

Juanita Montoya, program coordinator for the BES program, said they sometimes help out with landlord/tenant disputes. In the current economy, sometimes people have trouble collecting wages owed to them. They also provide seeds and seedlings through a partnership with Denver Urban Gardens, she said.

She said they give away close to 500 car seats a year across Colorado. The seats are offered at no cost, although they ask for a donations, which go directly back into the program.

“We take the donation and buy more car seats,� Montoya said.

Servicios is a collaborative of 35 different partners, Ortega said, and if they cannot provide a specific service, they will refer clients to other agencies that can.

“We help everybody that comes in here, Simental said. “We never turn them down the first time.�

If someone comes in from ...