How 5 Community Leaders Are Reaching Hispanic and Latino Communities

Hispanic and Latino members of the Parkinson’s disease (PD) community often face distinct challenges to living well with Parkinson’s, including language barriers, limited healthcare access and gaps in culturally aligned educational materials. 

The Parkinson’s Foundation acknowledges these disparities and actively works to make quality healthcare more accessible to everyone with Parkinson's, in part through our Community Grants program.

The Parkinson’s Foundation Community Grants program supports local groups across the U.S. in enhancing health, wellness and education for people living with Parkinson’s. Since 2011, the Foundation has invested more than $12.7 million in nearly 1,000 community-based programs.

Meet five of our community grantees below, awarded for their tailored educational, exercise and care partner programs created for the Spanish-speaking PD communities.

Meet Irving Vega, PhD: Improving Access to Education and Spanish Resources in West Michigan

Irving Vega, PhD, Red Cedar Distinguished Associate Professor at Michigan State University, received a 2025 Community Grant to better understand and address the unique needs of the Hispanic and Latino communities in West Michigan — populations historically underrepresented in PD education and research.

As part of this grant, he conducted a community survey to assess awareness of PD and found the following gaps:

• While pesticide exposure is well-established environmental risk to PD, many Latino community members did not identify it as a risk factor. 
• Only 16.9% identified male sex as a risk factor, despite men being at higher risk for PD. 
• Most respondents rely on doctors as their primary source of information (63.6%), but 62% reported not knowing what PD-related resources are available locally. 

These findings highlighted an urgent need for culturally tailored, accessible education. In collaboration with SABER (Supportive Alliance for Brain Education and Research), Dr. Vega works alongside trusted community partners — Hispanic Center of West Michigan, Latin Americans United for Progress and Exalta Health — to bring linguistically and culturally relevant PD knowledge directly to the people who need it.

The Parkinson’s Foundation Community Grant made it possible for Dr. Vega to implement a multi-phase, community-driven model that would not have been feasible otherwise, focused on:

• Listening to the community
• Co-creating education with community organizations
• Building community capacity through training staff at partner organizations 
• Cohosting community-based learning events that bring together families, caregivers and older adults in trusted community spaces 

Meet Beatriz Arguezo-González, RN​: Expanding A Workshop Program to Raise PD Awareness in Chicago 

Building on the need for accessible education, the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition team, alongside FUERZA (Familias Unidas: Empoderando y Reforzando contra la Enfermedad de Parkinson), focuses on the unique needs of care partners. 

They offer workshops to help community members better understand PD, navigate reliable online resources and help prepare them speaking with their primary care doctor. 

Their 2025 Parkinson’s Foundation Community Grant supports the expansion of their workshop program, Door 2 Door, extending its community reach with PD resources and support.

By expanding to a virtual platform, The Chicago Health Coalition has reached more participants who can join from home. The Chicago Health Coalition additionally offers in-person workshops and connects participants a community health worker for support. The Coalition also aims to provide care partners with tools to advocate for better care for themselves and their loved ones living with PD.

Meet Gemma Moya-Galé, PhD: Strengthening Community Through Spanish-Language Support Groups

One important way people with Parkinosn’s find community and relief is through support groups where people come together and share their experiences, hear from their peers and express emotions that people without PD may not understand. 

Gemma Moya-Galé, PhD, Assistant Professor at Columbia University in New York and a 2025 Community Grant recipient, provides monthly interdisciplinary support groups, called Espacios Compartidos. 

These groups combine psychoeducation with mental health and include workshops that enrich each session. Not only do these sessions provide attendees with practical information and strategies to live well with PD, but they also serve as a forum to share personal experiences and improve the quality of life for people living with PD and their families.

With the Community Grant, Dr. Moya-Galé will continue to offer these workshops, covering a variety of topics such as mindfulness, movement and speech, and language support locally and internationally.

“Thanks to this Community Grant, we are achieving the work we are passionate about and we hope to continue for a long time. Our groups welcome Hispanic/Latiné people living with PD and their families and our goal is to empower this wonderful community.” - Dr. Moya-Galé

Her goal is to continue raising PD awareness, create resources for participants based on the Espacios Compartidos experience and share these with organizations interested in creating similar programs.

Meet Sara Correal: Expanding Access to Exercise from Austin to Abroad

A 2023 study in rural California found worse movement and non-movement symptoms in Latino communities. Since exercise can boost cognitive function and improve some PD symptoms, establishing an exercise routine soon after diagnosis is essential.In Austin, TX, Power for Parkinson’s en Español, helps address this gap by providing free, symptom-directed exercise programs both in-person and online. 

Sara Correal, Director of Programming and Innovation at Power for Parkinson’s, found this Community Grant to be instrumental in helping her expand and strengthen its Spanish-language program. 

• Locally, the grant supported the delivery of in-person classes that provide a safe, culturally responsive space for movement, education and community connection.
• Internationally, they expanded their Spanish-language YouTube channel, making high-quality Parkinson’s-specific exercise resources accessible to people and families beyond their Austin community. 

“This Community Grant funding ensures classes could be offered on a regular basis, providing reliability and continuity. This stability is essential for building trust and long-term engagement,” said Sara. 

As a result, the program has reached thousands of people around the world who would not have otherwise had access to Spanish-language, PD-specific exercise routines. 

By intentionally focusing resources on a specific, underserved community, Sara and her team aligned their programming with participants’ cultural and linguistic needs, removing language barriers that often limit access to evidence-based PD care. This approach allows content to be available, accessible and relevant.

Meet Dr. Jose Cabassa: Providing Free Community Boxing Programs in NYC

In New York, Jose Cabassa, MD, founder of the Moving Brains Foundation, provides a free, weekly in-person exercise class at a professional boxing gym to help those living with PD incorporate exercise as part of their treatment plan.  

“Parkinson’s Foundation Community Grant funding helps us reach the Latino community and provide resources in English and Spanish, making information more accessible. This is especially important in complex family structure, where the older generation with PD may understand better in Spanish, while the same information may be more accessible to their children in English,” said Dr. Cabassa.

The Community Grant funding allowed for promoting these classes across Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx in NY — where more than 1 million Latinos live. The grant also fostered collaborations with fellow grant recipients with the goal of improving the lives of people in their community.

"Don’t wait to start! Do it! Although exercise programs may offer a variety of approaches, the first hurdle in incorporating exercise as treatment in consistency,” said Dr. Cabassa, encouraging people to join a local PD program. 

Finding a Community Program

Thanks to the dedication of Community Grant participants, PD Spanish-speaking communities across the country are gaining better access to education, exercise and support. 

These five Community Grant recipients are breaking down barriers, building connections and empowering people and their families to live well with Parkinson’s. 

Whether you are living with PD or supporting a loved one, there are programs available to meet your needs. 

• Explore our full list of Community Grantees.
• Connect with your Parkinson’s Foundation chapter for local PD programs.
• Join our PD Health @ Home and EP Salud en Casa mental wellness and exercise classes in English and Spanish. 

For help finding a program near you, call our Helpline at 1-800-473-4636, option 3 for Spanish.