For over 50 years, Jubilee Housing has been committed to creating equitable communities where people of all backgrounds can thrive. As we celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, we reaffirm our dedication to fostering inclusivity and uplifting the vibrant Hispanic community that has played such an integral role in shaping Adams Morgan, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia Heights.
This month, we celebrate the contributions of our Hispanic residents and partners, highlighting their stories, achievements, and the deep cultural pride that enriches our community. Through events, resident engagement, and continued support, we are honored to stand with the Hispanic community in building a more just and inclusive future for all.
50th Anniversary Stories
Gilma Merino: Hispanic Heritage Month Resident Leader Spotlight
Meet Gilma Merino, a longtime resident of Jubilee Housing for over 26 years and a current Resident Board Member. In this spotlight for Hispanic Heritage Month, Gilma shares her incredible journey, reflecting on the impact Jubilee Housing has had on her life and her commitment to giving back to the community that has been her home for decades. As a resident leader, Gilma has played a pivotal role, using her voice and influence to advocate for her neighbors, improve the quality of life for all residents, and uplift the community.
Video Production by Metamer Studios
Interview Transcript
What were your initial feelings when you joined the Jubilee Community?
Gilma Merino: When I came to Jubilee, first to me it was hope because I had with me four years old.
To me it was an opportunity of say wake up, you’re a woman, you can do it. Wake up, you’re a mom, you deserve to be better.
Here it is an efficiency just for you.
I saw my key. I saw that room there for me, for my daughter.
It was like nobody’s going to bother me here. I could do my best and I can give my daughter an opportunity to go to school. And I saw everything was just near me.
It was like a dream come true.
As a resident leader, how do you use your voice to impact others?
Gilma Merino: So, I opened my heart, and I said if I could use my voice to help women, to help moms out there, I will use it because we deserve another chance.
So that voice comes from all the strength that I received at Jubilee Housing, and I learned because they gave me the training.
I said to myself, I never knew that I had a gift which was advocating to be a leader. I discovered this at Jubilee Housing because they gave me the experience.
My experience was to go to learn to advocate for local rent housing supplement, to go be a leader, to be a translator, to work with the Spanish Heritage night, to do workshops, and to do parenting classes.
So for me, I discovered to be the strong voice.
What does being a resident leader mean to you?
Gilma Merino: That means to me to let go of your fears, embrace your potential, embrace your gift. And I never thought that a woman that has been beat and been in relationship abuse would have an opportunity like that.
It gave me the opportunity to know that I could do things for myself. I could learn to be a leader. I learned that there were people that could care to appreciate my gift, that gift to be a leader.
So I feel like Jubilee Housing had a call for me already.
When I stepped in into that little efficiency, those doors opened for me and said you are going to be here, you’re going to learn, and you’re going to learn for yourself that your pride, your dignity, and your respect is so precious.
So for me, it was phenomenal. I never thought I would be able to do that.
Even though I am blind, I never thought I would be able to be a leader in my community.
Doing so many things for others, like advocating, going to the Wilson Building to fight for others, to fight for justice, to fight for disabled people, senior people, and single moms.
I felt that was my call to be an advocate for others and I am so proud of myself that Jubilee told me you can do it… you can do it! I am so happy with that.