El Camino provides short-term relief and long-term support to Pierce County’s Latino community
November 18, 2025
El Camino — Foundation for Multicultural Solutions began in 1999 with two women who were passionate about serving Pierce County’s Latino community.
Co-founders Patricia Neagle and Carmen Murphy nurtured their shared passion into what is today: a small but robust organization that provides outpatient treatment for substance use disorders, DUI assessments, alcohol and drug abuse prevention education, and more.
Murphy (pictured left) and Neagle (pictured right) met when they were both working on different programs for another organization. Neagle’s expertise was in the substance abuse field, while Murphy worked in schools with children and women whose lives were affected by substance abuse.
“We became good friends, and we decided to go our own way,” Murphy says.
El Camino means “the way” in Spanish, and part of Neagle and Murphy’s motivation for founding the organization was to provide services for Pierce County’s burgeoning Spanish-speaking population. Both women are from Mexico, and both have lived in Pierce County more than 30 years.
“We believe it’s important to represent the community that we serve,” says Neagle.
El Camino, which is housed in the R.I.S.E. Center in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, strives to keep service affordable and accessible while serving clients throughout Pierce County.
El Camino is a contract partner of Connect Pierce, Elevate Health’s community care hub that supports the vital work carried out by community-based workers and improves local health and wellness outcomes through community-based care coordination.
Leading those efforts at El Camino are in-house community-based workers Paloma Mendoza (pictured left) and Maria Aguilar (pictured right). Mendoza is a former accounting student who switched her major at University of Washington Tacoma to social welfare; Aguilar is a former dental assistant who was drawn to social work.
“I felt a calling,” Aguilar explains. “God just brought me over here.”
“Every client is different,” Aguilar continues. “Our job is to break down barriers. Sometimes just being there as emotional support helps them get back on their feet.”
Mendoza says they try to give every client they meet with “at least one new resource — something they can take with them that day.”
The El Camino staff’s commitment to providing short-term relief and long-term support stems from their deep care for the individuals and families they serve.
“To me, success is filling needs for people,” Murphy says. “That can be done with dignity and respect. Our clients are not numbers — they’re people who deserve the best.”
ABOUT THE STORYTELLERS:
-Writer Debbie Cafazzo is a Tacoma-based freelance journalist and communications professional. She was a reporter for 25 years at the Tacoma News Tribune where she covered education, health care, breaking news and a variety of other subjects.
-Photographer John Froschauer is a Tacoma-based photographer who has shot for the Associated Press for nearly 30 years. He also recently retired from Pacific Lutheran University where he served as the campus photographer for more than a decade.