In 2016, in response to a lack of culturally and linguistically relevant behavioral health services for Latines in Sonoma County, OTM partnered with Community Foundation Sonoma County to launch On The Verge (OTV) Sonoma County, a cohort-based leadership program that supports emerging leaders to build skills and collectively implement projects that advance equity within their community. OTV Sonoma County engaged over 40 emerging leaders working in the Latine community to develop a Self-Healing Community Framework, through which people come together, build authentic relationships, and take collective action to advance social and health equity for all.

OTV Sonoma County conducted community-based participatory research, including key informant interviews and storytelling, to understand how mental health services are utilized by the Latine community and the barriers that prevent community members from accessing wellness support. OTV participants examined how gaps between community-based and County services shape access, and documented the regional shortage of bilingual, culturally responsive mental health practitioners. Findings revealed that while stigma and limited bilingual services deter many Latines from seeking clinical care, community members consistently expressed a desire to pursue healing through cultural expressions — including art, food, music, movement, and storytelling. Participants also identified the need to intentionally cultivate safe, inclusive, and welcoming spaces, particularly amid an increasingly difficult socio-political landscape marked by xenophobia and the threat of deportation and family separation.

Building on this foundation, OTV Sonoma County's leaders launched La Plaza in 2018 as a Latine-focused wellness center that draws on cultural strengths to reduce mental health stigma, foster healing, and build community connections. Since then, La Plaza has established a trusted community space that pairs case management and clinical mental health practices with cultural wisdom and a sense of belonging, empowering families to recognize their own capacity to heal. The program offers a welcoming, community-based setting that strengthens protective factors for families, delivers culturally rooted wellness activities, fosters community connections, and serves as a bridge to resources throughout Sonoma County.

What began as a community vision — supported through early innovation funding — has grown into a community-driven movement, designed by and for the people it serves. Today, La Plaza continues to bridge culturally rooted healing and behavioral health support, making care more accessible, relevant, and grounded in lived experience.

Founding Members