May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and we are focusing on the health and wellbeing of young people, especially girls and gender expansive youth. According to recent CDC data nearly three in five, or 57% of U.S. teen girls across all racial and ethnic groups felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 – double that of boys, representing a nearly 60% increase in the past decade. The report also confirms “extreme distress” for those who identify as queer or LGBTQ. Given the cascading crises of climate catastrophe, economic injustice, and political polarization, coupled with the pressures of age and the intensity of social media, it is not surprising that young people are struggling. What does the future look like for them? What does it mean to live in a time when a just and sustainable future is hard to imagine?
At NMW.O, one of our core grantmaking programs focuses on adolescent girls of color (AGOC) and gender expansive youth. This means investing in programs that listen to youth, cultivate their leadership, support their dreams, and create space for their healing. These are concerted investments in gender justice futures. This month we are featuring our AGOC partners and their incredible work, which would not be possible without your ongoing support.
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We are thrilled to announce our 2023 Adolescent Girls of Color (AGOC) spring grant cycle recipients! These multi-year operational grants have been supporting organizations rooted in gender and social justice that provide culturally relevant leadership pathways and healing practices since 2019.
We know that girls and gender expansive youth in New Mexico face a lot. We recognize that this narrative and these metrics do not fully measure the wisdom and brilliance of our youth. Nor do they account for the skills and tools with which they make meaningful contributions to their communities. We have seen that when the rights and power of girls and gender expansive youth are realized, they transform our communities in ways that benefit everyone. That is why we are committed to continuing and deepening our investment in the agency, resiliency, power, imagination, and self-determination of girls of color and gender expansive youth.
See below to learn more about some of the work being done in New Mexico through our AGOC partner features!
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AGOC Partner Feature:
Girls Inc. of Santa Fe
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Since 1955, Girls Inc. of Santa Fe has inspired girls to be Strong, Smart and Bold. They provide girls throughout Santa Fe with life-changing experiences and real solutions to the unique issues girls face. Girls Inc. gives girls the tools and support they need to succeed, including trained professionals who mentor and guide them in a safe, girls-only environment; peers who share their drive and aspirations; and research-based programming. |
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We’re excited to uplift the incredible youth advocacy happening at Girls Inc. of Santa Fe. Their Leadership Out Loud pilot program supports young people to use their voices to advocate for themselves on specific policy issues that are important to them. Girls and gender expansive youth learn about power, privilege, intersectionality, and group decision-making processes, all while collaborating with peers and adults to develop their skills and knowledge. From school assemblies, to the New Mexico State Roundhouse, these youth are flexing their advocacy skills all year long. Recently, Girls Inc. hosted the "State of the Future'' Youth Forum where participants shared their assessment of the issues girls face today and their recommendations for policy changes that they want to see.
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AGOC Partner Feature:
Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women
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We’re honored to be in partnership with the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women (CSVANW). CSVANW is a survivor-led organization working to free tribal communities from violence.
Their work uplifts the stories of the women and girls who have been ignored and forgotten by the media, law enforcement, and non-Indigenous communities of our region. These stories defy the disparate treatment of Indigenous women and girls by the media, community, and law enforcement by centering these narratives of strength and community.
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CSVANW has developed a series of workshops to support media advocacy for impacted families to build skills and leadership and honor the sacred stories and experiences of survivors. This year their work focuses on adolescent girls of color by centering their stories and experiences in the context of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives crisis. |
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May is also Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month and we want to spotlight the incredible work of the New Mexico Asian Family Center (NMAFC). Founded by a circle of Asian immigrant women in 2006, the New Mexico Asian Family Center is a community-based organization working to advance the visibility, rights, and equitable access to services of Asian, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian (APINH) families across the state.
NMAFC provides culturally and linguistically tailored direct social services to APINH survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence. The organization has grown to include peer support groups utilizing traditional modalities of healing, multi-generational youth and family leadership development and prevention programming, and civic engagement work, all of which supports the mission of creating a Pan-Asian community that advocates for and supports itself.
Please consider supporting their work this month with a gift to New Mexico Asian Family Center today and throughout the year as they continue to build a foundation of care and gender justice for the Pan-Asian community in New Mexico!
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