{"id":621,"date":"2010-12-30T13:39:47","date_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/blog\/peacebuilder\/?p=621"},"modified":"2011-03-10T16:48:09","modified_gmt":"2011-03-10T20:48:09","slug":"gilberto-perez-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/peacebuilder\/2010\/12\/gilberto-perez-jr\/","title":{"rendered":"Program director at mental health center, with focus on Latino mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gilberto Perez Jr. \u201994, Grad. Cert. \u201999<\/h3>\n

Goshen, Indiana<\/h4>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Gilberto P\u00e9rez Jr. (right) with U.S. Senator Dick Lugar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the founding director of Bienvenido, a program for newly arrived Latino immigrants, Gilberto P\u00e9rez Jr. tries to offer resources for health and hope, as well as education and livelihoods, for Latinos in Indiana\u2019s schools, churches, juvenile correctional facilities, and communities.<\/p>\n

In this quest, Gilberto has grown to be more assertive than he ever dreamed he would be, motivated by a burning desire to help those who are among the most vulnerable in our society.<\/p>\n

Gilberto has spoken boldly, for example, to legislative leaders from Indiana. In a recent forum titled, \u201cMexico in Transition,\u201d hosted by the Indiana University School of Law, Gilberto encouraged U.S. Senator Dick Lugar (Republican-Indiana) to support legislation offering opportunity for immigrants to take English language classes, have a path to citizenship, and address their experiences with trauma and other mental health matters.<\/p>\n

The son of Mennonite pastors from South Texas, Gilberto studied at Hesston College in Kansas and did a two-year service assignment with Mennonite Voluntary Service in San Antonio, Texas, where he worked at a health clinic.<\/p>\n

Gilberto entered EMU as a social work major in 1992. \u201cThere weren\u2019t many Latinos then and not many African American students,\u201d he recalls. After finishing his BS in 1994, Gilberto remained at EMU as an admissions counselor and served on an EMU committee dealing with multiculturalism and diversity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In 1994 Gilberto married a fellow graduate, Denise Diener, whose family had lived in Puerto Rico since the 1960s.<\/p>\n

From 1996 to 2001, Gilberto and Denise lived in Puerto Rico, where he spent a year as a \u201cpeace evangelist\u201d for the Mennonite Church USA, completed an MSW from Interamerican University, and earned a graduate certificate in conflict transformation by attending EMU\u2019s Summer Peacebuilding Institute.<\/p>\n

In creating Bienvenido from scratch in 2004 and building it into a major source of advocacy for the well-being of Latino immigrants in Indiana and beyond, Gilberto says he often takes heart in recalling John Paul Lederach\u2019s estimation of how long it takes to bring about systemic change \u2013 10 to 20 years.<\/p>\n

In the Summer 2010 issue of the Bienvenido newsletter, these recent accomplishments were highlighted:<\/p>\n