Fuerza celebrates 40 years of helping parents of children with disabilities

Archbishop José H. Gómez led a Mass at St. Matthias Church in Huntington Park on Oct. 18 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Fuerza Inc. The nonprofit organization supports Spanish-speaking parents of children with developmental disabilities.

Rosario Marín founded the organization 40 years ago after finding a lack of developmental resources available in Spanish. While Marín was able to access support groups in Los Angeles for her son, who has Down syndrome, she noted that non-English-speaking parents were often excluded from such services.

Fuerza Inc. began by serving families of children with Down syndrome but expanded its scope through conferences and symposiums. The organization now assists parents of children with various developmental disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy.