Non-Profit of the Month: La Luz

“La Luz is the shining light in a victim’s path to independence and success.”

La Luz (OKC), “the light”, is an organization that provides services for Latino victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse and stalking. All of their services are welcome to anyone and are 100% confidential and free. Their services support victims to help them find their strength and hope while providing a sense of belonging and safety during a hard time.

They use their mission in order to equip victims to become survivors. La Luz provides linguistically trauma-informed help in order to provide the best quality of resources, solution-based care and more.

La Luz is a “group of passionate advocates who believe that resource, community, and charity are the foundations of our faith to serve the Lord and serve the victims of Oklahoma.” (Founder, Jayra Camarena)

VOLUNTEER

To be a volunteer, one must complete 36 hours Crisis Services Training (CST) and attend all 6 in class days (Attorney General Guidelines). There are multiple ways to volunteer and become an advocate:

Bilingual Advocate (Supporter, help communicate and encourage for services promoting independence; such as community outreach actions of housing or employment)
Bilingual Court Advocate (Assistance to victims/any dependents in legal matters relevant to their situation)
Bilingual Hospital Advocate (on-call; present with a sexual assault victim at the hospital before, during, and after the medical forensic examination)
Children’s Services (Address effects of trauma, may complete needs assessment. group work etc.)
Bilingual Counselor (one-on-one therapeutic sessions to support victim and promote emotional/ behavioral change etc.)
Prayer Advocate (Pray for victims via email, phone or in person)

Click here to learn for about Volunteering

Donate

Donate By Mail

PO Box 864
Oklahoma City, OK 73101

Donate By PayPal

https://www.paypal.me/LaLuzOK

Donate By Cash App

https://cash.app/$laluzok

*Their top needs for the month include; Monetary donations, hygiene items, toiletries, and snacks.*

Other ways to give include in-kind donations such as: Pants, shirts, and new undergarments (adult and children sizes.), blankets, hygiene items (adults and children), home cleaning supplies, diapers, books, bibles, notebooks, coloring books. board-games (all-ages), duffel/ travel bags and non-perishable items.

Meet Founder & Executive Director: Jayra Camarena

Photo per: Linkedin (Jayra Camarena)

Jayra Camarena, of Los Angeles, CA, has education background in the works of a parenting class facilitator, non-offenders anger management facilitator, substance abuse, is a certified domestic violence advocate in the State of California and also obtained a degree in criminal justice. She was honored by the city of Los Angeles in 2009 with an award for her advocacy work.

Following, in 2013 Jayra moved to Oklahoma and in 2015 experiences life changing experiences, surrendered her life to Jesus and found her calling in life to create La Luz Organization; to become a cultural and faith based victim services for Latino Oklahomans. As she became the founder of the organization in March 2018, she continues to excel in providing trauma informed care to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Having the support of others within a time of your life when you may need it most is extremely important; La Luz offers support groups for adults and children who have been victims of domestic violence or sexual assault. For Victims of Domestic Violence (Spanish): Tuesday 9:30am-11:00am & Thursday 6:00pm-7:30pm. For Victims of Sexual Assault (Spanish): Tuesday 9:30am-11:00am &Thursday 6:00pm-7:30pm. Also For Children Ages 6-17: Thursday 6:00pm-7:30pm. (Click here for additional resources per La Luz website)

There are currently no events planned at this time for La Luz, however in 2022 they will promote monthly fundraisers on the social media. Follow on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to date.