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A Tucson nonprofit working to advance social justice through leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement welcomed a group of new members Friday after experiencing a surge in support in recent months.

The Arizona Center for Empowerment focuses on immigrant rights, education, and economic equality and has been helping immigrants stay aware of their rights and prepare for possible deportation since January’s inauguration.

ACE offers free classes to members, including language, citizenship, legal residency assistance, DACA renewals, and more. The group was active in the months leading up to the election and launched a campaign in support of access to clean water in December.

Four months later, a group of 30 organizers and new members gathered at the University of Arizona’s Meniel Optical Building to discuss the threats facing vulnerable communities.

“We need better protections and regulations for access to clean water,” said new member and UA student Paula Campos.

A native Tucsonan and recent high school graduate, Campos wants to pursue a law degree to help change Arizona’s political system.

“I think going to events like this, and talking to people and networking, is important,” she said.

Campos was inspired to take action through her involvement with the Aspiring Latino Lawyers club. From there, she discovered ACE and signed up as a volunteer a couple of months ago.

“I thought that these movements of protest were of the past,” said Gina Mendez, organizing director of Latinos United for Change in Arizona, as she showed slides of 1990s Latino protests. “I didn’t know what it meant to organize, but I wanted to help those who were only getting a minimum wage, like my mom.”

Both LUCHA and ACE are nonprofit, member-led social justice organizations in Southern Arizona but tackle injustices in different ways, with LUCHA focusing more on the fight for social, racial, and economic justice for underrepresented communities. Both groups fight for accountability on public spending and resource allocation.

“I don’t want politicians to make decisions for my family anymore. There are more of us than there are of them,” Mendez said, referring to Arizona’s 30 state senators who she said “make the decisions for all of us.”

An alum of Arizona State University, Mendez was involved with the Hispanic Honors Society while working toward her degree in social work. After what she called countless incidents of racist taggings and defacements of the group’s flyers during the 2016 presidential election, she realized something needed to change.

“The department at Arizona State University didn’t do anything,” she said.

After she graduated and entered the field, she realized being a therapist didn’t align with her passion. She started volunteering and rose through the ranks to become director of LUCHA, working hard to affect change.

“My mom lived paycheck to paycheck, and she was getting the same minimum wage,” Mendez said.

When Arizona voters passed Proposition 206 in 2021, raising the minimum wage, Mendez realized change was possible, saying that her 70-year-old mother finally was able to pay her medical bills.

ACE is “organizing to politicize and educate community members around economic equity, specifically incorporating a climate-focused approach to our coalition,” with the nonprofit’s Water Guardians campaign being a favorite initiative of the group’s founder, Rocky Rivera.

The campaign focuses on education and awareness, corporate accountability for overuse and abuse, contamination prevention, water conservation, and food sovereignty through community gardens. The group’s goal is to establish legal recognition of human rights for the state’s rivers.

ACE volunteers served homemade tacos and guided students through interactive activities at Friday’s mixer.

In one scenario, students were asked to place fake dollar bills onto specific causes where they wanted to see more investment, with education, healthcare, and clean water being the leaders.

Mendez said she enjoys attending these events to see who can join “nuestra lucha,” or “our fight.”

“Our source of power is people,” Mendez said.

Thatcher Warrick Hess is a graduate student in the University of Arizona's bilingual journalism program and and Tucson Spotlight intern. Contact him at twarrickhess@arizona.edu..

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