Latin American newcomer in Hamilton finds strength in community after fleeing gender-based violence

For Ana Cruz Valladares, small joys can help her cope during a dark time. 

The Hamilton resident immigrated to Canada in 2017 with her two daughters, then four and six years old. She fled from her home country of Honduras after experiencing gender-based violence.

"I suffered from isolation, severe depression, fear of asking for help, and I shut myself away. I shut myself away in my house, in my body," she said, recalling when she first arrived to Canada.

But people from Latin America have a talent of finding joy and laughter in the darkest, sometimes inappropriate moments, she said — and that joy can be an effective coping skill when confronting the aftermath of traumatic events.

"Joy is a part of who we are. Even in difficult times, for example, it's very common in the Latino community for someone to tell jokes at a funeral," Cruz Valladares told CBC Hamilton in an interview translated from Spanish.

That joy comes from community connections or through dancing and music, Cruz Valladares said, though it can sometimes be hard to find it when you're alone in a new country.

Cruz Valladares was one of several panellists during a conference hosted by the Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area (SACHA) for Sexual Violence Prevention Month. It was held Thursday at The Gasworks. 

The conference heard from speakers on the prevention of violence, supports for survivors and community care needs for people from a range of perspectives, including trans, Black and Indigenous people in Hamilton. It was SACHA's third annual conference and also celebrated the organization's 50th anniversary.

On a panel about the experiences in the Latinx community, Cruz Valladares and other panellists — Nancy Bedoya, from Colombia, and Gabriela Rodulfo, from Venezuela — discussed the role of community, extended family and joy in adjusting to life as a newcomer in Canada. 

New career inspired by lived experience

After Cruz Vadallares left Honduras, she first went to the United States. But after a lawyer scammed her and with fears of deportation under Donald Trump's first term, she came to Canada, she said. 

Cruz Valladares said she felt "buried in a hole" and unable to seek help when she first arrived, due to the stigma many have around mental health services in Latin America.

"I had to show myself strong for my family and my children," she said.

"That's why when community organizations open the doors and create programs or events for newcomers in having access to different languages … that is a game changer in the community."

Eventually, Cruz Valladares sought help through her lawyer in Canada, who connected her to places like SACHA and Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health, among others in Hamilton.

"They helped me to empower myself," she said.

Cruz Valladares worked in banking while in Honduras, but was inspired by the services she received to build her new career in community service. She now works with Refuge: Hamilton Centre for Newcomer Health.

"This is my passion now," she said, adding she uses her experience to help other newcomers.

Finding services that won't retraumatize 

The value of peer counselling was a common thread throughout the morning panels on Thursday.

In an earlier discussion, speakers Nim Agalawatte, Jesse James and Calvin Prowse explored the importance of trans-led community support.

Traditional supports and services can often be retraumatizing, the panellists said, and there's a need for alternatives. 

Prowse gave the example of receiving services from a non-trans professional.

"Can we not have to start with these one-on-one conversations of having to explain to a support provider what gender is when you're trying to get support around trauma," said Prowse, a social worker and peer support worker.

"Can we skip the first five sessions of me educating you on who I am?" 

For Nikki Evans and Chelsea Poshni, who work at the YWCA and were in attendance on Thursday, listening to voices like Prowse's is important.

"[It's] our responsibility to advocate for these people that may not feel they're getting what they need from us," said Poshni, who works in the transitional living program at the YWCA.

Evans said her biggest takeaway from the morning panels was that "there's always a lot of work to do."

"Working with such a diverse amount of people, I'm not going to understand all of their experiences, but realizing that it's not up to them to educate me, I need to do it myself … I do have education gaps, and I need to fix that," she said.