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Danny Barrera Jr. has some very big shoes to fill as the new executive director of Hollister’s Jovenes de Antaño Senior Center: those of Paulina Valdivia who co-founded the agency in 1975 and ran it until her death in September 2022.
“On my first day I found all of Pauline’s items still in her desk,” he said. “I’m reading the notes that she wrote and hearing from the staff and the clients. She was a go-getter to the end, an inspiration and a challenge to live up to. What a wonderful woman!”
Barrera, 34, was born and raised in Fresno and began his life of community service when he was 11 years old, helping to stock the food pantry at Butler Pentecostal Church. He became an outreach coordinator for the church at 17.
“My grandfather was a small business owner,” he said. “He told me that you always need to treat people right and take care of them, because some people just need help. He would say ‘If we have the ability, then we have the responsibility.’”
Barrera worked for various nonprofits and fundraisers until 2019 when he became a grant writer at Fresno Rescue Mission, which runs homeless shelters, meal programs and recovery counseling.
“My first grant was for bedding for our new facilities,” he said. “Our chapel became kind of a last resort for overflow—they could come in and have a cot to sleep on with blankets and warmth—and a place to feel safe while they slept.”
After three years, Barrera was ready for a new adventure when he found the job listing at Jovenes. As he looked over the website, he became more interested in the organization.
“I’ve done mostly administration work,” he said. “Supporting a team has been my passion and drive with whichever organization I’m with. I could see Jovanes had everything they needed to provide quality services to their clients. That was super super important to me.”
Jovenes Associate Director Connie Padron, who worked with Valdivia for 37 years, said that over 20 applicants were interviewed for the position and that she had good feelings about Barrera from the start.
“He is very likable,” she said. “And I could sense Paulina’s spirit in him, Paulina’s sense of the community. My impression is that he will be perfect for the job.”
After a three-month series of interviews, Barrera was made executive director on Dec. 4, for a three-month trial. His first major crisis came less than two weeks later: funding for the Meals on Wheels was denied because of a missed deadline earlier in the year.
“We were told money was approved but it never came in,” he said. “We were paying for it out of our own pocket but it was depleting funds we had set aside for other projects.”
Unfortunately, Jovenes had to cut back on some of the meals that were being delivered until a solution could be found.
“We’re working with the city for funding,” he said, “and the Community Foundation for San Benito County has offered to help supplement us with whatever funding they can provide. We have looked into other sources as well and if it all works out, by April we will be able to supply all the meals again through the end of the year.”
Other than the meals problem, Padron said so far the transition has been moving slowly, but things are going well as Barrera is brought up to speed on the local aspects of the agency.
“Pauline used to say that you could train anybody to do anything,” she said. “It hasn’t been too difficult because she did a great job at training all of us, so we can train him. It has been difficult emotionally not seeing her, not having her support and guidance. But work-wise, everything is continuing to flow.”
Barrera said he wants the community to know that he has not taken an easy route through life and is going to work hard to be someone that people in need can come to for help.
“I definitely know what it’s like to be scrounging up for food, being on a budget and having limited access to resources,” he said. “I’ve been hungry and I have struggled, been shot at and robbed. I’ve been there, I know everybody walks a different life, and I’m dedicating mine to bringing positive change into the lives of others.”
Barrera said that he is hoping more community members will consider volunteering at Jovenes and wants to make sure those in need understand that his organization is always open to those in need.
“There’s no judgment on receiving these services and there’s no shame in it,” he said. “People deserve these services and our passion is to ensure that they have them. Don’t think the next person needs it more. You are the next person.”
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