Mission

To strengthen, rebalance, and redevelop the traditional Chicano/Latino “compadre” extended family system by encouraging, supporting and re-rooting the positive involvement of males in our families and community and preventing/reducing the incidence of alcohol, substance abuse, family/community violence and other oppressive behaviors.

Our Goals

• To acknowledge the many Latino men who are positive and responsible fathers, family members, and community members and leaders
• To challenge and encourage all Latino men to actively participate in nurturing, guiding and assisting in the development of their children, families and communities in a positive way;
• To stand collectively against community and family violence;
• To assist in the development of resources and positive avenues that will allow men to appropriately deal with the “carga” (barrier elements) such as drugs, alcohol, violence, etc. that deter them from being positive influences in the lives of their children and families;
• To encourage the collective responsibility for assisting young men in their development to be “Un Hombre Noble,” “A Honorable Man.”
• To provide training, technical assistance and consultation to organizations and communities in assisting them to better provide services and address the needs of Latino males, their families and community.

Our History: Recapturing and Reclaiming Our True Spirit.

In November of 1988, a group of Latino Hombres gathered for three days at the Mission of San Antonio de Padua in Jolon, California in a circle of “Amistad y Compadrazgo” (friendship & extended kinship) retiro, to clarify our roles and responsibilities as men and to individually and collectively search for an way to rebalance the harmful experiences we sometimes bring to ourselves, the women in our lives, our children, family and community.

We have continued to gather in “ Circulos” ( extended kinship droups ) every year and from this commitment came the “Circulos de Hombres.” Since it’s inception “circulos” are active in over 50 cities throughout the country. Soon after the circlos began to develop and in response to many local and national requests, several men from the “Circulo” launched the National Compadres Network (NCN). NCN serves as a vehicle to promote the lessons learned from gatherings and circulos, and to support and assist interested communities and organizations in filling an enormous gap in culturally competent services to Latino men, their families and the Latino community as a whole.

At the same time, NCN has sponsored conferences at the local and national level, launched national campaigns to address many issues including domestic violence, teen pregnancy, gang violence, and literacy. In addition, NCN has collaborated with many national organizations and were founding members of ALIANZA and The National Latino Fatherhood and Family Institute.

Finally, as part of it’s membership, NCN includes national recognized leaders in many fields that provide consultation and technical assistance locally and nationally and train service providers in a number of culturally competent curriculums addressing a variety of issues to include family violence, gang violence, teen pregnancy prevention, teen fatherhood, Latino Male Youth Rites of Passage, Fatherhood literacy, fatherhood parenting and others.

All NCN efforts are based on the principles of “ El Hombre Noble”