Familias con Voz

The Familias con Voz project is MCN's current effort in Eagle Pass and Presidio, Texas to educate the community on family violence through peer-led presentations conducted by female, male and teen advocates. The specific objectives are as follows:

1. Enhance the leadership of community members in Eagle Pass and Presidio by providing them opportunities to become Advocates.
2. Increase knowledge about domestic violence by providing culturally and linguistically appropriate community education presentations to women, men and teenagers.
3. Increase knowledge about resources that are available to individuals who are victims of family violence.

Community education groups are conducted in Spanish and held at community centers, churches, WIC clinics, school and individual homes. Although participation is not restricted to migrant individuals, most of those who attend are from immigrant families and have worked as migrants (or have family members who do). Female Advocates have been presenting information to adult women in the community through one-hour presentations since 2001. Additionally, since 2003, Male Advocates have been doing outreach to men by setting up an education booth at the local flea market or other area where many men gather and distributing information about domestic violence to other community members. Lastly, Teen Advocates have been presenting to youth in Eagle Pass and Presidio since 2004. Teen presenters do creative activities with their peers to spread information about healthy dating relationships and avoiding violence.

Advocates Ramon Benavides and Armando Acosta presenting domestic violence prevention information to other men outside a grocery store in Presidio, TX.

Clinical Excellence

• Introduction & Background
• Cancer
• Migrant Children
• Cultural Competency in Practice
• Diabetes
  • Alianza
  • MCN Diabetes Online Toolkit
  • Migrant Diabetes Coalition
  • Diabetes Moving Pack
• Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Pesticides
    • Reporting Pesticide Illnesses
  • Policy
  • Research
  • Water and Sanitation
• Eye Care
• Family Violence
  • Familias con Voz
  • History of the MCN Family Violence Initiative
  • Hombres Unidos contra la Violencia Familiar
• Health Disparities Collaboratives
• Hepatitis
  • HepTalk Listserv Archive
• Immunizations
• Influenza & The Avian Flu
• Links to Care for the Underserved
• Institutional Review Board and Research at MCN
• Tuberculosis
  • Tuberculosis and Migration
  • Tuberculosis and Nutrition
• Women's Health
  • Clinical Discussion in Women's Health
  • Women's Health Stories from the Field

Comments from Participants

What I like most is helping people make a positive change in their lives…I know that the problem of domestic violence is very strong in my community, but I also think that my work and the work of all of us is going to make the difference -- Maricela Aza, Eagle Pass Site Leader

In every presentation, you won’t necessarily come across an abused woman or the abused woman won’t necessarily open up to you, but I say that if in 10 presentations we can help one abused woman, that’s a success -- Cynthia Rodriguez, Presidio Site Leader