My Journey with Grief and Mental Health

On a hot summer day, my world changed completely. The person who brought me to this world died. One moment she was alive, smiling and living and the next she was no longer reachable by a phone call or airplane ride. The grief that came over me turned my world upside down, painting it black. Sometimes, through the cracks, light shines brightly warming me up inside. There are moments of hope even though it is fleeting.

Coming out to my Mexican Father

I didn’t mean to come out to my parents. If it had been up to me, they might still have no idea their daughter is queer. In fact, when I turned 18 yrs. old, I moved 2000+ miles away from home just so that I can live my life outside of the reach of their eyes and their judgment. As a Chicana raised in a catholic household, the idea of being queer ate away at me. I could think of no fate worse than disappointing my parents and shaming my family. I had never seen any positive images of Latine queers. We were jokes, perverts, sickos, sinners – people who did not deserve love and who would spend eternity burning in hell. So, I shoved all those feelings somewhere I would never have to acknowledge them and prayed for relief. My first semi-formed thought about my sexuality rose in my consciousness like bile. I felt sick.

La Salud Mental Durante la Maternidad

El ser madre cambia nuestras vidas por completo. Esta nueva etapa afecta nuestros cuerpos, nuestras emociones y nuestra salud mental. Las madres sienten un cambio total en su ritmo de vida, sus prioridades y en su identidad. Muchas mujeres se sienten solas en este camino de la crianza. La soledad, los cambios hormonales, el sentimiento de culpa y la auto exigencia son algunas de las experiencias abrumadoras que afecta la salud mental de las madres.

Sexual Violence is Sexual Terrorism!

Sexual aggression and attacks against women are all too common and horrifying. For immigrant women, the risk of experiencing sexual assault is even greater, particularly when pursuing education, employment, and access to social and healthcare services. Unfortunately, even when they seek medical care, they are often subjected to sexual assault by medical professionals.

Ecos: “Reclamando Nuestras Voces”

Hablar de las experiencias difíciles de nuestras vidas requiere tenacidad y confianza. Pero hablar nos libera y permite conectar experiencias. “Reclamando nuestras voces” fue un taller elaborado por nuestro Proyecto sobre Violencia Sexual en el que un grupo de mujeres sobrevivientes narraron fragmentos de sus vidas y sus luchas. Este mes volvemos a sus voces como fuertes ecos de vitalidad, sororidad y belleza.

Migrant and Black Women Workers Have Made this City

Walking the streets and trying to maneuver my way through the labyrinthic subway system, I keep encountering a woman who historically has nourished this city but has been kept in the shadows. She has had multiple faces throughout time. But if we take an attentive look at history, she’s the one always offering care: making food, cleaning, constructing, clothing New Yorkers, and much more. She is a migrant and a racialized, segregated worker. She tends to come from the Souths. She has endured low-paid, undignified, and unstable working conditions, and all her conquests have resulted from an incredible effort that ultimately has benefited all kinds of workers.