Table 4 Main themes and illustrative quotes reflecting Latino-serving providers’ perspectives on accessibility of SAVAME services for Latino immigrants in Philadelphia, 2019–2020 (N = 30)

 Structural barriers: Poverty, lack of health insurance, documentation, and language barriers

“[Accessing] substance abuse [services] is impossible. It's really impossible […] people using drugs or stuff like that, it is impossible to find a place where they can go because of legal documentation or because the places don’t take them seriously or like language access.”(KII #19)

 Organizational factors: Welcoming environment, location, and appointment flexibility are critical for Latino-serving organizations

“There are people who are actively using drugs that don’t have anywhere to live and they don't really feel welcome in a lot of spaces, but they always knew they could come to [NAME OF ORGANIZATION]. We see most people like every other day or every day. People that access [NAME OF ORGANIZATION] usually do not want to access services elsewhere and they don't want to leave the Kensington area. […] the shelter is so far away and there's no transportation and if you are using drugs, you're going to wake up sick and you have no way to get back to Kensington.” (KII #13)

 Providers: Key connectors, but lack time and knowledge about available services

“I do find myself sometimes like googling certain things cause I’m like, okay, [the clients] definitely need to be referred somewhere, but I just don’t know what or if it’s available. So, I’m just sitting there trying to find anything. I didn't really, like get taught or anything of, like, specific Latino organizations […] It's kind of frustrating because I'm like, ‘I should know these things’ and maybe if it was a more English-speaking patient that I'd be like, ‘oh, okay, just go here and go there.’” (KII #17)

 Latino immigrants: Unaware of services and fearful of consequences of seeking services

“I think once they are connected to the [DOMESTIC VIOLENCE] services, it's very easy, but making sure that they're aware of the availability of those services and that they are not afraid of any type of like ICE involvement or anything like that. […] I think it's just really getting the word out about the availability of the services and the safety of the services." (KII #22)