She laughs, always laughs, at the anecdotes of her adversities or her generosity. Her life may have been and may be tough, but her struggle and redemption have changed the lives of hundreds of people.
Her name is Reyna Valadez M.A. Ed. (She/her) and CEO/President of Communities of San Gabriel Valley Project Access.
“I grew up extremely poor, I understood that my purpose in life was to help, to show teenagers that there is a path, a new opportunity,” she says. Reyna laughs, she laughs taking her time. But she does it from that confidence that believing in community improvement and… love has given her.
“Love is one of my fundamental values, I believe in and share what I have lived and done, now if I have five dollars I share them, I was homeless with a baby as a teenager, I know what it’s like to live on the street and have someone else need money, I was begging to survive. The least I can do now is help, show that we are not just a statistic. Everyone saw me like that,” she adds.
When we started the conversation, I mentioned to her that a mutual friend had told me that she was like a Holy Mary, always helping, with her time, love, and her ability to get resources. She laughs, always laughs.
“It’s what I learned in the extreme poverty I grew up in,” she adds. Her mother had to leave an abusive relationship and she had no choice. She was a baby. “I didn’t have the opportunity to enjoy it, they called me the ‘daughter of the barmaid,’ it didn’t bother me, nobody knew our life,” she adds. Her life was plagued with violence. This generosity she conveys, this light that envelops her only knows what she went through.
“I lived homeless with my baby, begging for money, living on the street was the hardest thing. My mom did what she could, I can’t blame her,” says this Oaxacan resident of Boyle Heights.
However, Reyna Valadez is an inspiration to the community. “She’ll always help you if you need it,” says Juan Escobedo, this Los Angeles-based artist, founder, and director of the East LA Film Festival.
She hopes to continue inspiring the community and her love for life, no matter what circumstances she encounters.
“I founded this company for one reason only, the Latino community doesn’t know about the opportunities out there, it’s very simple to let them know how to solve some of their problems, that’s what I lived,” she concludes.
“I had to make changes, help in the community, dependence fosters abuse”
Write a Reply or Comment
You should Sign In or Sign Up account to post comment.