Oldest of three siblings, an eager reader and helper of people, Jenifer Heredia is the bilingual community relations specialist at Peace House. Embedded in her passion for service is her story, one with many firsts.
Heredia’s parents moved to Heber when she was 3 years old because her father had family there, and they eventually decided to lay roots in nearby Park City. Now, 26 years later, Park City has become more than a home and a place much too special to leave.
“Growing up in Park City was such a great experience in the sense of being surrounded by the outdoors and the mountains,” said Heredia. “There’s so many great places to go, especially as a kid, it’s like we have this giant playground in our backyard.”
Heredia went through the whole Park City school system, attending McPolin Elementary School, Ecker Hill, Treasure Mountain and Park City High School.
As an elementary school student during the 2002 Winter Olympics, she helped form part of McPolin history by painting tiles with skiers and snowmen for a mural that still decorates the school’s wall today.
Expressing fondness of those early memories, Heredia said she felt that kids were always so warm and inviting.
“I have always been a talker and a people person,” said Heredia, “so growing up, it was never really hard for me to make friends. I was always wanting to invite people in and get to know people and really find the niches of what makes them light up.”
Heredia said her earliest and most cherished memories involve spending time with her family. As a child, she enjoyed exploring town with friends, playing volleyball or basketball at City Park, rollerblading with her dad and sisters, and visiting Dolly’s Bookstore whenever she had the chance.
“I always spent my time at Dolly’s, so that gives me such a sense of nostalgia,” said Heredia.
Heredia describes books as her “saving grace” — they were a way for her to dive into a world completely different from her own.
“Books bring that luxury of being immersed in this separate world, whether you can picture it in your head or not, you’re immersed in such a different story. My goal right now in my adult life is to have enough books where I can be considered a library. And I looked it up, and apparently it’s a thousand books,” she said with a laugh.
Heredia credits her sense of independence and responsibility to the freedom she had growing up in Park City.
“We would walk to places. We would ride our bikes to places. It all felt very connected in that sense,” she said. “That’s really what I appreciate about Park City the most is having that freedom as a kid and teenager. I think that also gave everybody a sense of responsibility.”
Heredia had two examples of hard-working parents, which shaped her willingness and determination to work hard, her father especially.
“He was definitely one of those people that was just like, ‘I’m going to work hard in order for my kids to grow up with more than I had,’ and I feel like that’s the trend with Hispanic parents,” she said. “It’s, ‘How do I give my kids more? How do I make sure that they have everything they need and then some?’”
As a first-generation child and being the eldest of three siblings, Heredia was the first to accomplish, learn and help with many things in her family.
“I grew up being the translator for my family most of the time, translating legal documents, tax documents, really the documents that I had no business translating,” she said.
Heredia reflected on her sense of being caught between identities and the struggle to feel fully accepted as both Latino and American. She can relate to many things that first generation families and young Latino kids may experience growing up in Park City, and this has greatly influenced how she approaches her work today, she said.
“Even creating that space for the Mexican Americans, the Latino Americans growing up in this day and age, to know that they’re enough, knowing that they’re Latino enough, that they’re American enough, that everything that we do is enough. We’re doing it with the knowledge that everybody else got but also with the burdens that we carry from our childhood or the burdens that we carry from our family, so I feel like we’re doing more than enough,” she said.
She grew up with the belief that she had to work exceptionally hard because despite having the same opportunities as other kids, her heritage and the color of her skin meant she would face additional challenges. She was taught that achieving entry-level jobs would require 10 times the effort and that she had to accept this reality.
Since her own childhood, Heredia said, she has observed a positive shift in today’s world: Younger generations recognize their worth and are more willing to stand up against injustice. She noted that there are now many more resources and activities available for kids.
While the Latino/Hispanic community in Park City has grown, Heredia emphasized that it was never a small community. There have always been many hard-working individuals, whether behind the scenes or not, she said.
Housing is currently one of the biggest hindrances not only for the Latino community, but for the broader community as well, with exorbitant costs for even so-called affordable-housing options.
“I’ve known people I grew up with who have family that can no longer afford to live here, so they move to Salt Lake or Heber, which is quickly becoming the next Park City and is equally as expensive,” she said. “If anything, what might change Park City is that it might become too expensive to live here, and then we might see a decline in the community that way.”
“I love Park City!” she exclaimed. “And there’s moments that we’re like, ‘Oh, I want to move away,’ but then it’s like, ‘Where do I move to that offers the same thing that you grew up with?’ It’s definitely one of those things where I could move and make a home there, but it’s never going to be the same.”
As Heredia moved into her adult life, she saw herself building a career in retail, but when her work came to a halt during the pandemic, she thought twice.
Heredia found her way to Peace House through a friend who told her about an open advocate position and encouraged her to apply.
“It was definitely one of those moments of like, ‘What the heck is an advocate?’” said Heredia. “I told myself, ‘You know what, it’s in between COVID. Let’s try it. Let’s see what it looks like.’”
Heredia was aware of Peace House and remembered seeing their old location on Main Street when she was younger. She found herself eager to learn more about the nonprofit, what it offered, and how she could contribute to the organization in her new role as an advocate.
“When I started here, the list of questions I had was like, ‘OK, how does this work? How does this run? What is my role?’ And it honestly lit a fire in me,” she said.
Heredia knew that she wanted to work with people. She wanted to help people achieve independence in their lives and find confidence.
“I want to be that push forward for somebody to feel like they can do it by themselves, that they aren’t defined by their situation. It’s not about what happened to them. It’s what you do from that situation that matters,” she said.
Beginning in February, Heredia transitioned into her new role as a bilingual community relations specialist. In this capacity, she launched a program called Puente Comunitario, which furthers her efforts to build community and connect people with available resources.
“Growing up, I saw my parents really struggling to find all these resources,” said Heredia. “Whether that be like an English class, trying to find dental care, health care that was in a close proximity but also worked with people that didn’t have insurance, was very hard.”
With Puente Comunitario, she envisions creating a place where everyone in the community feels welcome, heard and free from judgment or learning barriers. She sees a future where, if someone needs help, regardless of the situation, they will know exactly where to find it. Heredia explained that individuals often have to choose between resources due to logistical issues or lack of information, and she aims to close that gap.
“Yes, (at Peace House) we’re here to help those survivors of domestic violence. But also with my role, I want it to open up more to the community as a whole and really create a safe place where they can come and speak their mind.”
While Puente Comunitario meetings are typically conducted in Spanish, they are open to all members of the community, with translation between Spanish and English as needed.
“One thing I love about Park City is that everybody’s so willing to help each other,” said Heredia. “That sense of community is so crucial, especially with being somebody who my family means the world to me, and my biggest treasure in life is having that family connection … but also being able to create that sense of family within a community is so magical.”
Puente Comunitario meetings are currently held once a month, but Heredia hopes to increase the frequency to twice a month or more as demand increases. Through these meetings, Heredia hopes to foster open and honest communication, as well as to amplify the Latino community’s voices as she feels they have historically been underrepresented. Her goal for the group is to provide a strong sense of community and support, reflecting the community-driven nature of Latino culture.
If you or your organization is interested in partnering with Heredia and Puente Comunitario, reach out via email at [email protected]. To find more information about Puente Comunitario and stay updated on the latest meetings visit peacehouse.org/events.