HIP Awards Alex Sanchez of Homies Unidos with 2020 RWJF Award for Health Equity

Oakland, CA — Today,  Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) announced that Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos, was presented with the 2020 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Award for Health Equity, a recognition for individuals whose work has changed systems and policies that strive for health equity in Latinx communities. The $3,000 award acknowledges Sanchez’s leadership in driving equity-oriented solutions that address the realities of Latino communities confronting violence, trauma, structural racism and now the impacts of COVID-19 .

“Alex is a beloved leader in Los Angeles who has compelled us to reexamine the systems that support healthy and safe spaces for young people and their families. His dedication has unveiled avenues for hope and opportunity” said Ana Marie Argilagos, President & CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy. “His knowledge and work deserve recognition for the investment to grow the next generation of Latino leaders.”

Founded in late 1996 in El Salvador and following with their chapter in Los Angeles in 1998, Homies Unidos has worked internationally to end violence and promote peace through youth empowerment programs in Los Angeles and El Salvador. Since its inception, Alex Sanchez has taken his personal experience, of finding purpose as an advocate for change in El Salvador, to  serve the Central American communities of the Pico Union, Westlake, and Koreatown areas of Los Angeles. As a young person who became involved in a gang, incarcerated in a state prison, and later deported back to El Salvador, Alex and many of his staff use their past as a blueprint to develop comprehensive intervention strategies, advocate for immigration and prison reform, and educate communities on racial and cultural competency as a form of violence prevention. 

The RWJF Award for Health Equity is awarded via nine partnerships with organizations that support public health, social justice, community development, and more.