13 Nonprofits Join Partnership to Advance Family Well-Being in South Texas

Aspen Institute and Methodist Healthcare Ministries Launch 2Gen Learning Community to Build Intergenerational Family Prosperity and Well-Being

Washington, DC 

Ascend at the Aspen Institute is proud to partner with Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) to launch Futuro Juntos (Future Together), a new 2Gen Learning Community that equips participating organizations with the knowledge and resources to increase families’ economic mobility in South Texas.

This partnership will support the training of the 13 selected organizations on the two-generation (2Gen) approach, which intentionally and simultaneously supports children and their caregivers together. Each organization will receive a structured learning agenda and participate in small-group coaching sessions to deepen their understanding of the 2Gen approach, build connections to support community-public-private partnerships, and ultimately strengthen opportunities for families in South Texas and beyond. 

“This first-of-its-kind partnership in South Texas unites communities with a common purpose of ensuring every child and every family can reach their full potential toward economic mobility,” says Jaime Wesolowski, President & CEO of Methodist Health Ministries. “We know racial and socio-economic inequities contribute to poor health outcomes. By bringing these leading organizations together to collaborate on innovative approaches, partnerships, and lifting participant voices we can increase opportunities to enhance the well-being of families and make health equity a reality.”

“These organizations and the families they serve have valuable expertise that can spur intergenerational cycles of success in South Texas,” says Marjorie Sims, Managing Director of Ascend at the Aspen Institute. “The 2Gen approach has been advancing across all corners of the country, and it’s an honor to have these partners harness this approach to unlock opportunities for children and their families.”

The Futuro Juntos learning community holds deep connections with the families they serve, and each partner brings rich expertise on a range of structural inequities that are holding families back from reaching family prosperity and well-being. Futuro Juntos will strengthen participating organizations’ evidence-based practices, research, and quality of internal systems across several counties (Bexar, Cameron, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Kerr, Maverick, Starr, Uvalde, Willacy, and Wilson). The following organizations are part of the first Futuro Juntos cohort: 

Eagle Pass SAFE

Eagle Pass, TX

Eagle Pass SAFE addresses the holistic needs of families to enhance the self-affirmation, dignity, and equal rights of the LGBTQ+ community and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Empower House

San Antonio, TX

Empower House provides women and girls of color with transformative reproductive and community health services, youth development programs, and advocacy opportunities.

FREED Texas

San Antonio, TX

FREED provides individuals directly impacted by the criminal justice system with education, employment, and advocacy opportunities so multiple generations of families can overcome the trauma of incarceration and live up to their full potential.

Light on the Hill

Kerrville, TX

Located within Mount Wesley, a retreat center with 60 acres in Texas Hill Country, Light on the Hill serves as a hub of hope for individuals with physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs by providing food relief, educational resources, and counseling/wellness services.

Magdalena House

San Antonio, TX

Magdalena House is a neighborhood of transitional homes for mothers and their children who are escaping violence that provides education, offers wraparound services, and nurtures community.

Mobile Mental Wellness Collaborative

San Antonio, TX

The collaborative focuses on enhancing mental health and wellness through community partnerships that aim to improve mental health outcomes, share best practices, and develop comprehensive resources that include training and education, providing access to mental health services, and fostering public awareness and advocacy for mental wellness.

Northern Hills Ministry Center Collaborative

San Antonio, TX

The Ministry Center Collaborative is dedicated to fostering lifelong learning, leadership development, and advocacy to improve the quality of life for individuals and families in their communities.

MHM Parenting Program

San Antonio, TX

Methodist Healthcare Ministries (MHM) Parenting Programs have a 25 year legacy of working with families in the Bexar County area to improve the health and well-being of families by providing practical support to help parents and guardians learn parenting skills.

MHP Salud

Weslaco, TX

MHP Salud is a national nonprofit organization with over 40 years of experience developing, implementing, and evaluating community-based, culturally tailored Community Health Worker (CHW)/Promotor(a) de Salud programs and promoting the CHW profession through training and consultation services.

Su Casa de Esperanza

Pharr, TX

Su Casa de Esperanza provides early learning experiences and support services to infants, toddlers, and pre-school children in partnership with families to ensure a strong future for all.

The Ecumenical Center

Uvalde, TX

For over 54 years The Ecumenical Center has worked to improve health equity by providing families who can’t afford the full cost of mental health services with evidence-based counseling, therapy, and holistic healing.

Unidos Contra La Diabetes

Weslaco, TX

Unidos Contra la Diabetes is a collective impact initiative working with hospitals, community clinics, foundations, universities, schools, and faith-based organizations to reduce and prevent diabetes in the Rio Grande Valley.

United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County YWCA San Antonio

San Antonio, TX

YWCA-SA serves over 15,000 individuals annually, the majority of whom are women of color who are heads of household with children, and believes that empowering women empowers their families to break the cycle of poverty and ensure long-term economic mobility across generations.

Futuro Juntos kicks off in July 2024 and will continue through September 2025. Throughout the duration of the community, cohort organizations will have opportunities to share with and learn from each other. Futuro Juntos will culminate in an in-person Texas 2Gen Summit in September 2025 for participating organizations plus community groups, funders, and other community leaders.

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Ascend at the Aspen Institute is a catalyst and convener for diverse leaders working across systems and sectors to build intergenerational family prosperity and well-being by intentionally focusing on children and the adults in their lives together. We believe in the power of co-creation. We are a community of leaders — well-connected, well-prepared, and well-positioned — building political will that transforms hearts, minds, policies, and practices.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit aspeninstitute.org.

Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. broadens the definition of healthcare by providing low-cost clinical care for the uninsured and by supporting community-led efforts that improve living conditions that cause people to be sick in the first place. We use our earnings as co-owners of Methodist Healthcare to ensure that people who are economically disadvantaged and uninsured can live their healthiest lives. We do this by advocating for, investing in and providing access to quality clinical care and addressing factors that affect health—including economic mobility, supportive relationships, food security, broadband access, and safe neighborhoods. Ultimately, we fulfill our mission of “Serving Humanity to Honor God” by advancing health equity so that more resilient individuals & families living in the 74 counties we serve can thrive. To learn more, visit mhm.org.

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Contacts:
Brendan Creamer
Communications Officer
Ascend at the Aspen Institute 
brendan.creamer@aspeninstitute.org

Teno Villarreal
Public Relations Specialist,
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
avillarreal1@mhm.org