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LOS ANGELES — Here in the shadows of shipping containers stacked high at the seaport and oil refinery pipes that reach into the sky, visitors at Providence St. Joseph Health's Wilmington Wellness and Activity Center dance.

The girls of the Misantla Ballet Folklorico, about a dozen ranging in age from 6 to 16, twirl and sway under the center's awning while holding up the folds of their long, cotton skirts. The girls mostly live in the area, and the group uses the center to practice for free, says their leader and instructor, Fiacro Castro.

"They like it, and they're great kids," he says. "I like to work with them, but I'm very strict. A lot of discipline."

In the community center gymnasium, a group of eight women gather for Gina Farfan's free Zumba class. The women, whose ages go from the 20s and up, smile as they greet each other. Some hug. Farfan explains that the women, if they didn't know each other before, have become friends.

"I try to be positive with them," says Farfan. "I always say, 'This is your time. Forget about everything outside. (This is) your self-care.' And I think it works, because they really enjoy it — even if they come late because they have something else to do. I say, 'Don't worry. Just come.'"

The center, run for the last 10 years by the Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center, is a community hub of the neighborhood of Wilmington, in the South Bay and Harbor region of Los Angeles. It operates in partnership with two neighboring low-cost housing communities. There's a soccer field and outdoor basketball courts shared with an elementary school next door, a gymnasium, large and small meeting rooms, and offices for Providence staff who deliver services in the neighborhood.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the community center served as a testing and vaccination center and a food distribution site.

Wilmington, a city of about 53,000 in about 9 square miles, is an immigrant community, with many afraid to seek out services because of their immigration status or the status of others who live in their homes. Most residents are Hispanic, and 20% live in poverty. Pollution and hazardous waste, partly due to the industrial environment, cause environmental and health problems, and residents here show higher rates of cardiovascular disease and asthma than those who live in some surrounding areas.

Castro says many of the folklorico dancers' mothers work in the hospitality industry, and some of the girls will go on to careers in nursing, law enforcement, and the military. When the dancers perform at parades and festivals, they carry a group banner with the Providence logo on it.

Wilmington is a major seaport, where food, cars, and other products move in and out of the country, Castro points out.

"I say this is the heart, the corazón," he says. "Not just (of) Los Angeles, but (of the) USA."

Variety of programming
The center's wide range of programs are reflected in an array of flyers and brochures at the front desk, tacked onto colorful bulletin boards in the hallway, and posted on a monthly calendar. There's a weekly farmer's market with local produce, visits from a vaccine van, mental health classes for seniors on topics like healthy sleep and hoarding, bereavement workshops, mental health first aid classes, and help with signing up for Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and CalFresh, a food assistance program. There's movie nights and health fairs. Teens and kids from the neighborhood use the soccer field and basketball courts.

The center is also home to the Best Start Wilmington Partnership, which identifies community priorities and distributes thousands of dollars to improvements and programs. Its priority areas are safety, affordable housing, capacity building, and resources for young children and their families. The partnership is funded by the family and children's advocacy group First 5 LA, which also funds a Welcome Baby program housed at the center. The program, housed at the community center, provides free home visits and referrals for new mothers.

Nonprofit groups can use space at the center for free. Melina Yepiz, manager for community health with Providence, says the center serves as a hub and connector.

"We're an asset to the community, a combination of the internal programming that Providence provides," says Yepiz. "We have partnership meetings where we have a lot of organizations come in and they share resources, so we know about what's going on in the community."

The center also provides a program called Creating Opportunities for Physical Activity, or COPA, that coaches teachers to create a culture of physical activity and healthy eating at neighboring schools, many of which do not have physical education teachers.

The community center also houses offices for community health workers who go door to door in Wilmington to survey residents on their needs and concerns in a project run by the Los Angeles County health department.

"We have come across residents that don't know that we are even here," says Veronica Ramirez, the administrative program manager for the community public health team for Providence. "So when they go out and do this assessment, one of the questions is about resources. What kinds of resources do you need?"

Even if the residents say they don't need anything, the community health workers will leave a community center calendar of programming with them, she says.

Recognition and relationships
Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, about 8 miles away, and Providence Little Company Mary Medical Center in San Pedro, about 6 miles away, have provided services in Wilmington for 30 years, says Justin Joe, director of community health investment at Providence. Joe was a recipient of the CHA 2015 Tomorrow's Leaders award.

"We have the name recognition," he says. "We've been here so many years, and that can take awhile, particularly in communities that have been neglected and have had elements of trauma or just not having that trust. But since we've been faithful in being here, then it's allowed us to also vet and bring in outside partners and say, hey, this could be something you could benefit from as well."

The center and its programs are supported by Providence's community benefit budget as well as government grants and private donations.

Maria Flores is part of the center's health education team, and one recent morning she wrapped up a session in Spanish on mental health first aid. She says meeting with people in person is the best way to form relationships.

"It's been my experience that when we do have the flyers, it's not as effective as in seeing us, because once they get to interact with us, they know who we are," Flores says. "They create that bond. They know that this is a safe place for them to be."

The community center model has been so successful that in August Providence opened a second smaller center in the nearby city of Lawndale also adjacent to an elementary school.

The Wilmington center is a place of respite for mothers like Cynthia Ledesma, who brought her daughters, ages 8 and almost 2, with her to the Zumba class. As their mother got settled in the gymnasium to start class, the girls went off to play with toys and books in the lobby.

Ledesma has been coming to class for several months now and loves to meet new people.

"I came here because I wanted to take the stress away and relax myself," she says.

With that, instructor Farfan cranked up a rousing Zumba tune on the portable sound system. The group of women watched her closely as they smiled and danced.

For the next hour, all was right in their corner of Wilmington.

» See more photos of the activities at the community center.