OUR HISTORY

For Reverend Frank Diaz, the poor and homeless were a constant presence at El Buen Pastor, many of whom were young men asking for baby food. Assuming these men had children to feed, the Reverend quickly found that he was wrong. “[These men] would smile but they had no teeth.”

The local hospital had up to a six-month wait, and many suffering from severe toothaches could not endure the pain. Realizing these individuals felt the only option was to pull their own teeth, Rev. Diaz and Roland Castaneda, an elder at El Buen Pastor, chose to open the doors of Manos de Cristo in 1988, to give the impoverished community a humane, dignified option for dental care. Manos made an immediate impact in the Central Texas community and in 1990 formally opened a Dental Clinic on the central east side of Austin.

Through grants and support from Austin-area churches and organizations, Manos’ founding principle to service by reaching out with compassionate concern, continues today. Manos now has headquarters and programs in north central Austin, serving our community through an 11-chair dental clinic, adult education services and basic needs. Manos’ reach has continued to grow through a Back-To-School program, computer, citizenship and English classes.