CLEVELAND — More than 20 years ago, Pastor Max Rodas found himself in the middle of a global health epidemic.
“I remember one year, I did over 32 funerals. It’s only 52 weeks a year. People were dying. We were watching people dying all the time,” Rodas said.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic was killing hundreds of men in the greater Cleveland, and many people were struggling with an HIV diagnosis without any support.
“Not only dying, but they were dying alone because when people discovered that they were infected, they also discovered that … they were gay. So, even their family left them alone,” Rodas said.
In response, Rodas started Nueva Luz Urban Resource Center in Lorain to combat systemic poverty, health inequalities and be a resource for those living with HIV and AIDS. Nueva Luz translates to “New Light” in English. The organization provides holistic care for clients who are referred to Nueva Luz from area hospitals.
“It becomes like a one stop shop. You get your medical case management. We connect you with doctors. We get your house in taken care of because there’s still a lot of discrimination when it comes to that. If the landlord is misbehaving, we’ll send our attorneys. We also feel that if you’re going to — if we’re going to ask you to go to the doctor and take your meds, you need to have food to take those medications, so we’re going to provide that food.”
With a growing clientele of more than 700 people, the organization recently expanded to a Gordon Square location on Cleveland’s Westside. Rodas said he never imaged the organization would make such an impact or be able to continue serving through a second global health pandemic.
“Twenty-one years later, you fast forward now with 25 employees with a program that we have — COVID happens.”
Rodas said surprisingly, in 2020, the organization was able to serve more people than ever before, and overcoming challenges brought on by the pandemic has actually made him more confident that Nueva Luz will continue shining a light for many more years to come.
“Nueva Luz is the greatest thing that I’ve participated in. People give me a lot of credit for this, but actually, my wife had been with me all along, and I’ve had staff members have been here for over 14, 15 years. We have new, young people who are just as passionate as we are, so the future of Nueva Luz is strong and secure.”
