Senior Project Community Volunteer Statement

I: Why Domestic Violence?

Domestic Violence is a problem that has been in Hispanic people for a long time, it is
often not expressed or helped because of the thought that it is a normal thing. Helping
people to know what is the right thing to do, or how to help others is important for me.
Helping them acknowledge that they deserve better is an accomplishment for me, I
get to share my experiences and give them the space and trust they need. I was in a
toxic hispanic household, with domestic violence for more than 5 years, I tried to help
but I couldn't do much, I felt useless, I don't want other people to feel that way so I
decided to let people know that they are not alone and that it is never their fault.

II: Why me? Why don't I just move on?

I have been through so much in life, even that, I don't consider myself a victim, I am
thankful that this was a topic I got to experience because now I can share my
experience with others. My dad was an alcoholic, cheater, and violent man, and
despite all that, I got to live a whole new life, moving out of my parents house, living on
my own, going to therapy, forgiving and learning from my and his mistakes. Now we
have a better relationship, now I get to tell him my future plans, my accomplishments,
my failings and I am thankful for that. Sharing my story with my classmates made me
feel proud of myself, I also learned so much about them. At the end of the day I wasn't
the only one who made them feel that they are not alone, they also made me feel that
i'm not the only one that has been there, and it has nothing to do with me, or who I am.

III: Who helped me?

I started this project by reaching out to the police department and let them know I was
interested in doing my senior project with them, I met with a police officer and she gave
me the choice of what did I want to do, she gave me ideas and told me it had to be
something important for me, I knew in that moment what was going to be my theme, I
started to do research, get information, i got help from the police department, and I
created a presentation for my classmates, I also started an instagram account where I
could share that information to more people. Overall I can say that this experience will
be helpful for me and more people, my community will be informed and will never feel
alone again.
IV: Fears
My only fear is not being helpful. I know how my hispanic community is, I love numerous
qualities we have, but there is those that are not helpful for my project, we often refuse
other´s help, I have done that and I am still working on it, all I want is that barrier to be
down so people can understand the severity of this topic. I am not scared of learning, I
am scared of not knowing how to manage my knowledge, of someone coming to me
for help and not knowing how to respond, that's why it is important for be to be okay,
not only for my own person but for those around me, I am bettering myself, going to
therapy, doing research, finding myself for those who need me, for my family and for
my mom, who is the most important person for me.

V: My Goal
All I want is to make people feel that they have a way out, that they are not responsible
for what's happening to them and that there are others that are going through the
same thing. My community can hear my words and just forget about it, or they can
benefit from them and do something for themselves, they can also listen to me, inform
themselves and learn how can they help someone else that is experiencing violence,
there is too many ways my community can benefit from my project, but at the end of
the day it is their choice. I can see my personal Vision is the best thing I got graduating
from Casa Grande, I have a unique vision, a plan, a future that no one can take from
me, I discovered my interested by being engaged in school activities, I know I like to
help people because of the club i was on, I know I like to think big because of me
going to the college and career center looking for information, you can discover
yourself if you participate in the different activities that could be important to you, high
school is all about discovering who you are and who you want to be.