Family advocacy

By Isela Cereso Mendiola   We’ve all heard the repeated phrase, “You need to advocate for yourself” or “Advocate for what you believe in.” What do those phrases really mean? How does advocacy impact our everyday life?   Merriam-Webster defines advocacy as, “the act or process of supporting a cause or proposal”. Although […]

According the A Call to Men, “Healthy, respectful manhood means valuing and respecting women, girls, and LGBQ, Trans, and nonbinary people — and respecting and valuing oneself by striving to live authentically. The practice of healthy manhood is the path out of the ‘Man Box,’ and it is essential to preventing […]

“This is not a program, it is an approach, it is a commitment to a way of life.” —Jerry Tello Based in a profound understanding and respect of the Latin@ culture, National Compadres Network  aims to teach Latino men about their positive values, beliefs, traditions, and history by connecting them with  […]

“I want to emphasize that this program was created for Migrant Latino men who have to continually move due to their work.” —Adrian Velasquez Hombres Unidos was created for Spanish-speaking Latino men who are migrant workers. Its goal is to respond to the conditions and difficulties these men face on a […]

For the last 15 years, ELEMENT volunteers have been helping maintain Casa de Esperanza, Esperanza United’s local shelter for Latin@ survivors of domestic violence. In this video we salute our volunteers and talk more about our strength-based approach to ending gender-based violence. Email Beth Baynes at bbaynes@esperanzaunited.org for information on volunteer […]

In this short video by Our Lives News, our Director of Research and Evaluation and University of New Haven professor, Dr. Lillie Macias, speaks about where the term gaslighting came from and how it is a form of domestic violence. Read the full article or visit loveisrespect.org for more resources on […]

There are many myths about domestic violence that perpetuate a distorted view about its nature and causes. This list is a starting point; we hope that it will prompt you to examine your beliefs and provide you with helpful information.  

Anyone can choose to use violence. Although both men and women can be abusive, a high percentage are men. Those who use violence often refuse to accept responsibility for the abuse and attempt to rationalize or blame the other person or people for causing it. Signs of potential danger include jealousy, […]

The purpose of this piece is to provide background information for “My Girlfriend Did It.” Although some of the ideas border on generalization, Casa de Esperanza feels that it is critical to understand and grapple with this information. Our society assumes that girls will grow up to fall in love with […]

Abuse happens in every culture, age, race, nationality and socio-economic level. It happens in both heterosexual and LGBT relationships, and among family members. Are you frightened by your partner’s temper? Are you afraid to disagree? Do you have to justify everything you do, every place you go or every person you […]