Gunnison is ‘all in’

Welcoming Week, scheduled for Sept. 13-22, will return to Gunnison this year with a new theme: “We’re all in.”

Welcoming Week is an annual campaign that celebrates the work communities across the globe have done to become a more welcoming place for everyone, including immigrants. The City of Gunnison has been participating in the initiative since 2022 with a schedule of events designed to create stronger connections between residents regardless of age, religion or race.

According to City Outreach Liaison Ricardo Esqueda, the theme serves as a reminder of the community’s ongoing work to create a space where newcomers have the resources they need to thrive in the valley.

“That sounds very idealistic because things aren't picture perfect here right now and there's difficulties,” he said. “But the amount of work that's being done to ensure that everyone at least has the access to that opportunity is really telling of this community's commitment to supporting each other.”

Welcoming Week 2024 will kick off with a community paint day on Sept. 13 at the new “Little Corner of Mexico” mural that is taking shape at Tacos La Esquina restaurant on Tomichi Avenue. The event, held in partnership with the Gunnison Creative District, will include food and music. On Saturday, the League of Women Voters will host a voter information booth at the farmers market, followed by an interfaith potluck with the Gunnison Congregational Church at Legion Park.

Later in the week, the Gunnison Watershed School District will celebrate the grand opening of the new Gunnison Community School playground with popsicles and music. Gunnison Mentors, 4-H and Gunnison County Juvenile Services Choice Pass will have booths with student resources. A Gunnison Country Food Pantry parking lot party is set for Wednesday, Sept. 18. The week will end with a Diversity Walk parade down Main Street, and food and music at Jorgensen Park.

All of the events are designed to connect residents with the resources they need, whether it's affordable food or housing, a place to create and share their art or small business grants.

“[There are] a lot of ways for people to get connected, and I think that's what really we're hoping to create with that sentiment of ‘We're all in.’” Esqueda said. “We're all in this together, right? This is our community, and we should be working toward the vision that we want to see for our community together.”

Welcoming Week creates momentum around the change happening within the community in the space of inclusion and accessibility to resources, Esqueda said. With each passing year, a growing number of nonprofits and city and county entities are building on that progress. This is anything from translating city council agendas and hosting language access hours to creating positions that offer support to newcomers.

For example, Gunnison Valley Health recently added a bilingual patient navigator position. More organizations are headed in that direction, he said. As the number of Spanish-speaking students enrolled in the school district grows, its leadership is trying to expand the opportunities available for them to be successful both inside and outside of the classroom.

Over the past couple of years, more Hispanic residents have begun to participate in community events, such as the Fourth of July, as food vendors. This has inspired a growing number to inquire about eventually opening their own businesses. Other entrepreneurs have applied for and received grants to grow their existing businesses.

“It's taken small and seemingly disconnected commitments to really bring this welcoming all the way to what seems like the next generation,” said Paul Duba, an adjunct faculty member at Western Colorado University. He was the former director of the Gunnison County Library’s literacy program, which is now called the Center for Adult and Family Education (CAFE). “It’s the school district hiring ELL [English language teachers] in 2002 and for one of those teachers at the high school to start the LULAC Club [League of United Latin American Citizens]. Bottom line is it was a place for Spanish-speaking and LatinX students to have a cultural connection.”

Last year, the group that organized Welcoming Week, which just referred to itself as a “site team,” returned with a new name, the Gunnison Cultural Connection. It consisted of members from the county, the Hispanic Affairs Project, the city, the Community Foundation, Gunnison Valley Health and more.

Starting this fall, the Cultural Connection will extend its reach beyond Welcoming Week. The group plans to create a “map” that shows where Gunnison’s gaps are and where structural racism may still exist. It will also be a space to invite the perspective of new members, such as the school district and Western. Once complete, the map will be shared with city and county leaders.

(Bella Biondini can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or bella@gunnisontimes.com.)