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Un buen programa puede cambiarle la vida a una mujer
por La Prensa
Noviembre 16, 2011
Blanca Hidalgo se encontraba pasando momentos muy difíciles y necesitaba orientación legal y ayuda financiera. Ella solamente hablaba español y se le hacía difícil llenar formas de beneficios públicos pues estaban en inglés. El programa de “Mujeres en Transición” en Mujeres Latinas en Acción, le ayudó con sus problemas. Blanca se quería separar de su esposo, pero tenía preocupación de cómo iba a mantener a sus hijos. Aunque era madre soltera, pudo solicitar manutención de niños. El programa de WIT le ayudó a llenar las formas para obtener dicha manutención, recibir asistencia de renta y además, un refrigerador cuando se cambio para un nuevo departamento. Ella recibió gran apoyo por parte del programa WIT y hoy en día, como una forma de agradecimiento, Blanca trabaja arduamente siendo voluntaria para la organización Mujeres Latinas en Acción.
MÁS SOBRE ESTE PROGRAMA
El programa “Mujeres en Transición” le puede orientar y apoyar si usted necesita solicitar beneficios públicos. Usted puede recibir información sobre como obtener la tarjeta médica, estampillas de comida o asistencia con manutención de niños. También puede solicitar beneficios para sus hijos ciudadanos o residentes. Este programa también provee orientación y referencias sobre programas dentro y fuera de la organización, que sean gratis o a bajo costo. Recientemente, Mujeres Latinas en Acción trasladó su anterior sucursal en Cícero para el oeste de la ciudad. La oficina localizada en el 2138 S. 61st. Court, Cícero IL 60804 ha sido cerrada para poder reubicarse en una localidad más grande.
La nueva sucursal está localizada en el 7222 N. Cermak Rd. en North Riverside, IL 60546. Si usted vive en el oeste de la ciudad y necesita mas información sobre beneficios públicos puede llamar al 708.442.1299. Si su dirección corresponde al Código 60608, 60623, 60632, 60609 o el área Centro y Sur de Chicago puede solicitar ayuda en la oficina central que está localizada en el 2124 W. 21st. Place, Chicago, IL 60608 y llamar a el 773.890.7676.
Hairstylists enlisted to help fight domestic abuse
October 28, 2011
by Antonio Olivo
By Antonio Olivo, Tribune reporter
October 28, 2011
When there is no one else around, no reason to fear sudden rage crashing down without warning, the dark secrets pour out inside Antonia Medina's tiny beauty salon.
She listens in her quiet way, snipping hair inside the Little Village shop as clients tell her over the chatter of a Spanish radio station about busted ribs, broken hands or the unborn baby that was lost after a tumble down some stairs. Each time, they tell her, it's because of "him."
Medina, 43, who said she is a survivor of domestic violence herself, knows to prod gently for details or to just let the women talk before suggesting ways to find help.
"Many times, that's what they want, someone to listen," she said. "When you listen, they feel better."
Her experience makes Medina ideal for a new program that will use hairstylists as agents to combat a steady increase in domestic violence cases in recent years within the region's growing Latino community.
Though overall domestic violence cases in Chicago have dropped by 10 percent since 2006, they've climbed by that same percentage among Latinos, according to a report set to be released Friday by Mujeres Latinas en Accion, a Pilsen-based nonprofit that has been involved with the issue since 1981.
Just 13 percent of the 1,226 Hispanic women who have sought domestic-violence services from the agency this year followed through on recommendations to get court orders of protection against their partners, the report found.
"The experience that we have is that a lot of the women, they want to end the violence in their families, (but) they don't want to end their marriage, their relationship," said Neusa Gaytan, a program director at Mujeres Latinas who co-authored the report.
Shame, worries about being left to care for children alone and fears over immigration status all factor into the women's failure to act. Distrust of police or other authorities also plays a role, Gaytan said.
In some cases, a woman calls 911 for help, but "the abuser is the one who talks to the police because he speaks English, and the woman, she becomes a defendant, rather than the victim, because of the language barrier," she said.
In hopes of persuading more women to seek help, Mujeres Latinas has partnered with medical students at the University of Illinois at Chicago to create a program that seeks hairstylists' help to overcome those barriers.
The program taps into the growing practice of employing hair care professionals as intermediaries in health campaigns, including AIDS prevention and cancer awareness.
This effort, geared toward Spanish speakers, relies on the sense of trust and intimacy that women often have with their hairstylists, said Yury Parra, 25, a UIC medical student who initiated the Chicago effort as part of her training in domestic violence care.
"If a woman comes to get her hair done and (the hairstylist) notices a pattern of hair loss, or if the person has bruises or bumps, these are more specific signs that only a hairstylist would be able to notice because they're taking care of the woman," Parra said.
The hairdressers will be trained to watch for signs of abuse, whether physical or psychological, Parra said. Equipped with informational "safety cards," they will then discreetly suggest to their clients ways to find help.
Medina said she has learned the hard way what victims go through.
A native of Mexico, she said she was involved for many years with a man who became abusive when he drank heavily. One night, she said, the man threw a pet Chihuahua out of a second-story window.
Medina left the relationship after secretly attending counseling sessions at Mujeres Latinas. Already a hairstylist, she later opened up her salon.
The memories, which still push Medina to tears, help her deal with clients in similar situations.
One woman, exhausted from her husband's abuse after she had recently given birth, confided in Medina that she thought she'd be better off dead, Medina said.
"I said: 'No. Don't think like that. You have your kids and you have your baby. You have to think about her,'" she said.
Most days, Medina watches quietly for signs of trouble amid the rhythms of life in Little Village.
Two women rush in, seeking last-minute haircuts before a wedding. A waiting father admonishes his rambunctious kids, using a voice-augmentation device that his family said was implanted after drug dealers slashed his throat. A 3-year-old girl, Lupita, asks to have her hair fixed "just like a princess," as Medina laughs and attends to the girl's mother, Maria Elena Rodriguez.
"I'm content," Medina said. "I am the owner of my life, of my time, of my psyche."
She's also more aware of potential signs of trouble in her own life.
Medina recently tried dating a man who had emphatically said, "No," when she asked whether he was a drinker.
One Sunday night, he told her over the phone that he was off to bed early. But she was suspicious and decided to walk her new dog, a striped pit bull named Simba, past his home.
There he was outside, Medina said, stoned drunk with his friends and shocked to see her and Simba.
"I said, 'So, you're under your covers?'" she recalled.
Despite his pleading, asserting that "all drunks are different," she ended the relationship and walked back home with her pit bull leading the way.
Latina Lesbians face discrimination: study
News update posted August 7, 2011
by Esther Cepeda
To be studied is to be acknowledged, and if you are a Hispanic woman who is either a lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer — or questioning whether you are any of the above — your time has come.
The first research of its kind, “Latina portrait: Latina queer women in Chicago,” was released last week after years of struggling to gain funding for a comprehensive study of a population of women who have flown completely under the radar.
That’s despite the fact that, according to data analyses from the Williams Institute at the UCLA school of Law Census, women com prise almost 60 percent of all Illinois same-sex couple households, and Hispanics are the largest ethnic minority in the state.
Through a joint project between Mujeres Latinas en Accion, a Latina advocacy organization, and Amigas Latinas, a support agency for lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning Latinas, this study, based on a sample of 300 women, begins to tell us how these women see themselves.
Aside from sharing a Hispanic heritage, 50 percent of respondents identified as lesbian/gay/homosexual; 9 percent as bisexual; 6.5 percent as queer; 4.5 percent as uncertain/questioning, and 10 percent didn’t use any of those labels. In terms of identity, 9.1 percent identified as “butch”; 26 percent as “femme,” and 29.2 percent said they don’t use these types of labels.
More importantly, the study shows us what these women face.
About 48 percent said they feel that there is a lot of racism in the Caucasian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered community.
Similarly, 17 percent agreed that they are discriminated against because of their race/ethnicity in places specializing in services for predominantly Caucasian LGBT communities. Nine percent of the respondents indicated that racism was currently one of the greatest sources of stress in their lives.
They fare no better in the Latino community: 25 percent agreed that they feel discriminated against because of their sexual orientation in places servicing the Hispanic community and 54 percent of women revealed that they feel that most Latinos are not accepting of LBTQ women.
In terms of domestic violence, 49 percent reported that a female partner had tried to keep them from contact with family and friends. Forty-three percent of Latina LBTQ women reported having been pushed or hit by a partner. And 31 percent stated that a female partner had threatened to kill them.
Women not only stated that they were victims of female-on-female violence, but also admitted that they, too, had perpetuated violence. Forty-five percent said they had punched or hit a female partner and 23 percent had threatened to kill a past or current partner.
“The findings overall were shocking,” co-author Lourdes Torres told me. “We were surprised at the degree to which Latina queers felt discriminated against in the LGBT community and the numbers and nature of the domestic violence experiences.
“But though this is distressing information, there’s no reason to think there’s a pathological link to the community. There’s domestic violence in straight communities, too,” Torres said. “The purpose of releasing this data was to highlight issues so we know where we need to focus our efforts to meet the needs of the community.”
Torres said there is good news, too.
“We found that the vast majority of LBTQ women are out and have support from the people in their communities,” she said. “Part of what this information will allow us to do is learn about people’s positive experiences and develop ways to help others have positive experiences as well.”
Being studied is a double-edged sword. Awareness can lead to acceptance, but also to stereotyping.
Nevertheless, the risks of uncovering previously guarded secrets are far exceeded by the benefits of putting a lifestyle out in the open where it can be celebrated, nurtured and, when necessary, healed.
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15 de junio del 2010
?Que Van a Decir?: Sobre la Salud Mental de Mujeres Latinas en Chicago
Presentado por:
Dr. Bernadette Sanchez, Profesor Colega, Universidad DePaul, Departamento de Psicolog?a
Dr. Richard Renfro, Psic?logo, Salud Mental de la Comunidad DePaul, Profesor Asociado, Universidad DePaul, y la Universidad de Psicolog?a Profesional de Chicago
Viernes, 25 de junio del 2010 de 9:30 a.m. a 11:30 a.m.
Mujeres Latinas en Acci?n
2124 W. 21st Place
Chicago, Illinois 60608?C?mo las circunstancias socioecon?micas afectan la salud mental de Latinas en el ?rea de Chicago? ?C?mo Latinas enfrentan sus condiciones de salud mental con los tab?es sociales que rodean la salud mental?
En esta segunda sesi?n de nuestra serie de salud, Mujeres Latinas en Acci?n hablar? sobre estas preguntas y m?s con el lanzamiento del estudio de salud mental de Latina Portrait 2010. Latina Portrait eval?a las necesidades de las Latinas locales y sus familias, ofreciendo recomendaciones y aumenta la conciencia social para ayudar a desarrollar soluciones. En el futuro, las sesiones de Salud van incluir Latinas y Salud Reproductiva y el Significado de una Reforma de Salud para Latinas.
Para reservar su lugar: Contacte a Claudia P?rez en Mujeres Latinas en Acci?n a claudia@mujereslat.org o (773) 890-7660. Reservaci?n requerida.
La sesi?n de salud mental de Latina Portrait esta patrocinad en parte por:
***La Fundaci?n de Chicago para Mujeres***
15 de junio del 2010
?MUJERES GANA AFILIADA DEL A?O!
El Consejo Nacional de La Raza, NCLR, selecciono a Mujeres en Acci?n con un reconocimiento prestigioso como La Afiliada del A?o 2010 del Consejo Nacional de La Raza.
NCLR es una conocida organizaci?n sin fines de lucros cuya misi?n es de mejorar las vidas de Latinos enfoc?ndose en mejorar los recursos disponibles a la comunidad Latina. Una manera en que NCLR logra esto es al servir a sus afiliadas cual consisten de una red de 300 organizaciones; Mujeres Latinas en Acci?n es una de estas afiliadas.
Cada a?o, NCLR selecciona una organizaci?n que a hecho un trabajo excepcional al llevar acabo su misi?n, al recibir premios y cobertura de prensa, al tener un liderazgo fuerte, y al continuar creciendo como organizaci?n para ser honrada como La Afiliada del A?o del Consejo Nacional de La Raza. Mujeres Latinas en Acci?n cumpli? con todos estos criterios y fue presentada con este importante reconocimiento como La Afiliada del A?o 2010 del Consejo Nacional de La Raza.
Al haber sido nombrada La Afiliada del A?o 2010 del Consejo Nacional de La RazaMujeres va:
-Recibir $25,000 para seguir fortaleciendo a Mujeres Latinas y sus familias.
-Ser honrada en La Conferencia Anual de NCLR el 13 de Julio del 2010.
?Es un Honor que nuestra organizaci?n haya sido seleccionada como La Afiliada del A?o entre otras 300 incre?bles organizaciones que al fortalecer diariamente nuestras comunidades contribuyen al crecimiento de nuestra naci?n.?Maria Pesqueira, Presidenta y Directora.
