Immigrant Advocacy Group Centro Corazón de Maria Names New Executive Director

Leydy Renteria-Merced knows what it’s like to be a newcomer, knows about the struggle of trying to find footing in a new and unfamiliar place, where the reality of a new chapter in life might not line up with the hopes, dreams and expectations attached to a big life change.

It’s a big part of the reason why she’s the perfect person to take the helm at Centro Corazón de Maria.

Founded in 2002 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, the Hampton Bays-based immigrant advocacy group describes itself as “a place of welcome and hope for under-served immigrants living on the East End of Long Island,” with a mission to provide education, social services, emergency assistance, and advocacy to help newly arrived individuals and families become independent successful contributors to the community.

The Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary is “an international congregation of religious women whose mission is ‘to know and love God, to make God known and loved; to proclaim that Jesus Christ has come in order that all may have life” Each sister wears a cross that reads “Ut Vitam Habeant”: “So that all may have life.”

Their lives are built around the common understanding that everyone deserves a life of dignity. Through various ministries, the sisters cultivate a care for the most vulnerable and a care for creation.

Renteria-Merced, 40, was recently appointed as the new executive director of the organization, and said this week that she jumped at the opportunity to take over when the position opened up.

It was a natural fit for many reasons. Renteria-Merced took a position as the organization’s educational coordinator when she moved to Long Island from the Cleveland, Ohio, area two and a half years ago with her husband, who had a job opportunity on the East End and took it.

In that role, Renteria-Merced helped connect local immigrants and their families with educational resources in the community, from ESL classes to student education services and programs for young mothers.

In the executive director role, Renteria-Merced will now oversee the current education coordinator as well as the social services coordinator, and work with other like-minded community organizations to help meet the varying needs of the many immigrant families living in the area.

That work can take many different forms, from providing and coordinating food assistance and other means of financial assistance to immigrants during the winter months, when there are fewer job opportunities, to connecting families to a wide range of different services they may need related to overcoming the language barrier, accessing necessary education and social services, and more.

“We focus especially on women and children,” Renteria-Merced said. “But we do have an influx of immigrants, and they usually have so many hopes and dreams and perhaps come with an idea of things they can do. We provide them with the right information they need to know about how they’re going to move forward.”

Renteria-Merced understands all the ups and downs that go along with that transition, because she lived it. She immigrated to the United States from her native Colombia when she was 17 years old and admitted it was a challenge at first.

“I also had my own dreams and expectations of coming to the U.S.,” she said. “I had to find out the hard way that everything wasn’t the way people think it is. There’s the language barrier and the culture shock, and all these other things you have to face when you’re a new immigrant that you have no idea of.”

Renteria-Merced said that when that reality hit her upon her arrival, she didn’t lose hope but instead worked hard to make the life she wanted.

“I jumped through all the hoops I needed to jump through to get educated,” she said, adding that it’s been gratifying for her to take everything she learned and give back to people who are going through what she went through many years ago.

“I understand where they’re coming from,” she said. “I can now be a light, and a little bit of hope for them. With love, I can provide a sense of reality of what is coming for them.”

Renteria-Merced is taking over a leadership role at a local immigrant advocacy organization at a time when a new era of uncertainty and — for some, fear — is being ushered in, after the election of a president who has promised to crack down on immigration and carry out mass deportations.

Renteria-Merced spoke about what Centro Corazón’s role will be within that new political climate.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as far as what’s going to really happen,” she said. “Regardless of what’s happening, we’re getting prepared as much as we can, and we’re aligned with other organizations on the same page as us trying to help our community. It’s going to take really getting the facts and information so we can prepare people and let them know what their rights are.

“That will be our biggest focus, advocating for immigrant families and giving them that light into their rights. And providing the facts and real information, because there is much information out there, and our community tends to take the first thing they hear and run with that. So our job will be to make sure we’re disseminating the right information to provide a sense of security.”

Deborah Hickey is the president of Centro Corazón de Maria’s Board of Directors. She said she is confident that no matter what challenges arise, Renteria-Merced is the right woman for the job.

“We are very fortunate to have Leydy to lead the organization into the future,” she said. “She is well-versed in educational theory and has an abundance of energy and common sense. Equally important, though, her compassion and understanding of the community we serve runs deep. And, I would be remiss not to mention that she is charismatic as all get out.

“Centro Corazón is fast approaching a quarter of a century here on the East End of Long Island,” Hickey continued. “The staff, the small army of volunteers and our Board of Directors have all been steadfast in their dedication to our mission, which is, in part, to be a place of welcome and hope for the underserved immigrants living on the East End of Long Island. Centro Corazón, with Leydy at the helm, will be unwavering in our fidelity to that mission through our educational programs and the social services we provide to the community we serve.”

Hickey pointed out that Centro Corazón is a “lean” organization, and does “an awful lot of good in Hampton Bays with very little,” but pointed out that donations are crucial. She added that every dollar donated to the organization goes directly toward the services they provide.

For more information about Centro Corazón de Maria, visit rshm-east.org/ministry/centro-corazon.