For survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence, it can often feel like there is nowhere to turn and no resources to access.
It’s even worse for an undocumented immigrant who speaks only Spanish.
Those in this position are often deprived of the therapy, support and legal services needed to heal.
Providing these essential services is the central mission of Su Voz Vale, an organization in South Tucson that is a subsidiary of the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault.
Su Voz Vale opened its doors in 1998 and offers services including support groups, long-term therapy, court accompaniment, transitional housing and countless others that comprise what Program Director Montserrat Caballero calls “personnel advocacy.”
“We’re with people for a long time,” Caballero said, “and not just in a clinical way.” Su Voz’s advocates can often be found aiding their clients with citizenship applications, helping them navigate Tucson’s court systems, or finding them transitional housing, which operates through Casa Mariposa.
Casa Mariposa is available to non-parent women, age 18 and older, who have been the victims of sexual or domestic violence, Caballero said. It provides these women with housing for six to 24 months.
There is also a weekly support group, The Cafecito, a confidential group for women held exclusively in Spanish every Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The need for these services has never been higher, according to Caballero. The impact of the economic recession is especially hard on many of her clients, since quite a few other agencies have been cutting down or completely eliminating the services that many women and families depend on.
“We just have to be creative and work with what we have,” Caballero said.
One of the biggest challenges facing Su Voz Vale and its clients recently has been the impact of House Bill 2008, a new law signed into effect by Governor Brewer that mandates any employee of the state of Arizona to report undocumented immigrants to the authorities.
This essentially prevents, or at least strongly discourages, undocumented parents from taking their U.S. citizen children to receive medical care, or other social and economic services they had previously been legally accessing.
If the parents take their children to these state facilities, they risk deportation and separation from their children.
“U.S. citizen children are going hungry,” Caballero said. “Families are being torn apart.”
But hope and hard work still endure and despite the difficulties facing the organization, the victories are always worth the effort. These victories shine through with every recently naturalized citizen who stops by the office to say hello and thank you, every slumlord’s lease that is legally broken and every life that is given a new start. The success stories outweigh the hardships in the hearts of Su Voz’s advocates, and as long as their doors stay open, the fight will continue.
Su Voz Vale is located in the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 101 W. Irvington Road. Services are free and confidential and both English and Spanish.
