Our History

Las Obras was founded in 2002 by Maria del Carmen Uceda with the mission to strengthen the health, wellbeing and unity of the Latino family within Faith-Health partnerships by reclaiming family and cultural values, strengthening the community and establishing systems of care.

Through her personal and work experience, Uceda recognized the need to integrate the family, cultural and religious values of Latinos into any healing process, and developed a comprehensive approach to health and wellness for Latinos.

One of the major focuses of Las Obras has been to develop religious resources for emotional and spiritual healing, prevention education and access to resources. Uceda found that this is the area of greatest need among Latinos in Dallas and elsewhere.

During the past 8 years, Las Obras has served about 1,000 families through different programs mostly focusing in the Spanish-speaking Latino community in North Texas.

In 2003, Jesus Gras joined Las Obras after serving the Latino community for over 15 years. As a teacher he has seen how the disintegration of the family makes it more difficult for children to develop and grow. As husband and father, he has seen how values are the foundation for a united family and healthy children. As an entrepreneur and business mentor he has seen how the lack of unity in the family prevents that their members become active contributors to society.

Also in 2003, Las Obras conducted a survey among Latino families to assess their unmet needs. Out of 3,260 participants, we obtained a 31% response rate. The survey listed symptoms indicative of unresolved past traumas, depression and family conflicts. With the result of the surveys, Las Obras designed programs with the aid of pastoral and mental health professionals.

That year, Las Obras served over 200 participants. The participants expressed great satisfaction with the process, rating the retreat at 9.8 on a scale of 10. Ninety-eight percent said they recommended the program to others.

Following the initial success of the retreats, the organization continued improving them during the ensuing years with the support of a select number of previous participants who had been trained to become co-facilitators. From 2004 to 2007, Las Obras served close to 250 participants, achieving similar satisfaction rates.

In addition to the retreat, Las Obras offered different seminars and courses on family life, pastoral care and skill training.

Uceda also saw that Las Obras could become a bridge between these families and the health systems. This resulted in providing cultural competency seminars and outreach services for these institutions in order to preserve and share the cultural, family and religious values of Latinos.

For this reason, Las Obras is currently establishing collaborative partnerships with several of the largest providers of health services in North Texas and is working on developing Hispanic-sensitive approaches to treatment.