Doricelys “Doris” Martinez is helping others better themselves and thrive.
Through her two nonprofits, the Southlake resident is addressing specific needs: Helping homeless people in Fort Worth and providing financial assistance to support Spanish-speaking students in nursing and health care.
Both organizations — Helping Hands 4 the Homeless North Texas and the Cuidado Casero Foundation — are based on Martinez’s experience with homelessness and quality medical care after arriving in Fort Worth in 1980 with her mother and three siblings. Her work earned her recognition in 52 Faces of Community, Fort Worth Report’s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes.
Welcome to 52 Faces
52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
“When we got here, my brother needed to have surgery. My mom came here with the four of us and $20 in her pocket so we were homeless for a while,” said Martinez, a former medical company executive vice president who now serves as president and executive director of the Cuidado Casero Foundation. “We had people that helped us get on our feet and get a roof over our heads. We had it hard growing up. I always had that in my heart that I was going to give back when I could.”
Helping Hands 4 the Homeless, created in 2016, helps people who are homeless by providing essential resources in all seasons and compassionate care that includes providing hot holiday meals at Thanksgiving and Christmas in a safe space.
Martinez said the organization’s volunteers and supporters “witness the true faces and stories behind homelessness — not as statistics but as neighbors, friends and members of our community who need understanding, kindness and support.”
Homelessness is not a choice, she said.
“It is often the result of life-altering circumstances such as job loss, unexpected medical expenses, lack of affordable housing or other crises,” Martinez said. “This understanding is what fuels our mission and drives our outreach.”
Her role at the Cuidado Casero Foundation stems from her executive job in human resources and recognizing the need for bilingual speakers at U.S. hospitals and care facilities. The foundation, launched in July 2017, provides scholarships to aid nursing and health care students.
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“The mission is to be able to empower students who have the ambition or aspiration to pursue a career in nursing by removing those financial barriers and providing access to education,” she said. “We basically started the foundation to address the critical need of Spanish-speaking nurses.”
The foundation holds a leadership conference at Tarrant County College for potential nursing students and their parents — both in English and Spanish.
Rosa Maria Berdeja, an immigration attorney who is chair-elect of the board of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, said Martinez does significant work to advance the causes she believes in.
“Doris does wonderful community service work,” Berdeja said. “She helps out so many people with her work. She’s great.”
Martinez was recognized with a Hispanic chamber Latino Leaders Award in 2023 and Girls Inc.’s Bold Woman Award in 2024.
The Cuidado Casero Foundation had its sixth scholarship presentation in October at The Worthington Renaissance Hotel Fort Worth.
The need for Spanish speakers in health care is important since Latinos represent nearly 40% of the population in Texas and “a lot of stuff gets lost in the translation,” Martinez said.
She works with local nursing programs including TCC, Dallas College, UNT Health Fort Worth, the University of Texas at Arlington and Tarleton State University.
Doris does wonderful community work. She helps out so many people with her work. She’s great.
Rosa Maria Berdeja, nominator
Martinez said she networks frequently to get the word out about her health care foundation’s work.
“As Latinos we build our trust in being able to speak with a health care provider,” Martinez said. “When the patient can communicate clearly with a health care provider, then they’re more likely to understand their treatment plan and be able to follow it. Then, we get better outcomes.”
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
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