WHO
WE ARE
Bienestar is a community-based social services organization serving Greater Los Angeles. Our focus is on identifying and addressing emerging health issues faced by Latinx and LGBTQ+ populations. Bienestar reaches these unique populations through innovative and compassionate peer-to-peer modeling that is 100% culturally relevant to the communities we serve.
We have a diverse staff that meets clients with understanding and acceptance, building trust and fostering a unique sense of community for those who use our services.
Bienestar’s education and support programs encompass HIV/AIDS prevention, STI testing and treatment, mental health services, substance use, and harm reduction. All of our services are offered to the community for free.
Bienestar operates community centers across Los Angeles County located in East Los Angeles, Hollywood, Long Beach, Pomona, San Fernando Valley, and South Los Angeles. Additionally, Bienestar can always be seen in the community, providing free HIV testing at nightclubs, giving presentations at local colleges, or sharing resources and information at health fairs and other events.
OUR MISSION
Bienestar Human Services is committed to enhancing the health and well-being of the Latino community and other underserved communities. Bienestar accomplishes this through: community education, prevention, mobilization, advocacy and the provision of direct social support services.
Timeline
Our History
Mid 80s
In the mid-’80s, local activists began to notice an alarming trend: an unprecedented amount of Latinx friends, colleagues, and acquaintances were dying from complications of HIV/AIDS.
1989
In 1989, Bienestar Human Services was founded as a direct response to the lack of resources available to the community at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Over the years, Bienestar has grown into a health center, breaking down barriers to care for communities of color disproportionately affected by health disparities.
1997
In 1997, Transgeneros Unidas was founded to serve transgender Latinas, the first of its kind in Los Angeles County.
Early 2020
And in early 2020, Clinica Bienestar opened its doors, serving over 500 patients and 1,000 visits, alongside the 16,000 Bienestar clients who access a spectrum of services. Our vision of providing a safe place for our community to access health care came to fruition and has served countless members in its over 30-year history.
Bienestar Now
Over the past three decades, Bienestar has continued to grow and prove itself as a solution toward health equity and social justice for Latinx, LGBTQ+, and other underserved people. We strive to remove barriers to care by continuously addressing stigma, discrimination, homo & transphobias, immigration, and isolation that contribute to poor health outcomes. We believe achieving health equity, and social justice is a right; for our family, our community, our future, and your well-being, tu Bienestar.
