I have had a very happy, eventful, and at times tumultuous life. Since graduating high school in New York State in 2004, I have lived in South Florida as well as the Greater Toronto Area. Living in three of the world's major cities has definitely taught me that culture differs depending on resources and demographics, but it has also taught me that no matter how under-resourced, over-policed or over-represented in negative outlets, communities can always foster positive relationships and hope.
I graduated high school in 2004 in Jamaica, Queens, New York. I did not attend any specialised school and was fortunate enough to have had the limited opportunity to enroll in the school studio art program throughout the final three years of my high school experience. I was taught by an amazing artist who did her best to help me develop goals and plans for my future career in art. Her name was Mrs Berlin and her actions and faith in the group of inner-city youth that she taught, still inspires me today.
When I graduated high school, my parents moved to Florida, as they had decided to retire. Travelling a considerable distance daily by bus in 90 degree weather, in a new city where I had no friends became difficult. This eventually influenced my decision to stop attending school temporarily. This temporary arrangement soon turned into everyday life, and by the age of 22 I was working full time at a local call centre, and pregnant with my first child. By the time I was pregnant with my second child at 23, I realised that my ex and I were well on the road to what would always be a very rocky relationship, and still, I immigrated to Canada when he returned here to live. He was sent back to Canada by US immigration after being found to have overstayed as an undocumented immigrant. I eventually gave birth to two more children before my ex surpassed levels of abuse that I knew him to be capable of. I decided that no amount of shame or cultural stigma was worth continuing to hide what was happening to me. Finally in 2015, I admitted the abuse to my parents and they immediately arranged for plane tickets so that my children and I could return to Ft Lauderdale, where my family now lives. At that time, I had been recently battered, with a blackened eye and scabbed knee. I was also living in a shelter, since my ex had recently gotten into a heated fight that turned physical and subsequently resulted in us having to leave our home, when the police expressed that we were in imminent danger.
When my ex partner learned that I was planning to leave, he used the family and criminal court systems against me. What followed was a 5 ½ year custody battle, a 3+ year wait for immigration status, and a year-long wait for the withdrawal of criminal charges that were laid against me after his false accusation of assault as an attempt to gain de-facto custody of our children. On December 8th 2020, my family court case was finally heard in trial, and I was granted sole custody of my 4 children. This was well timed, as I had just obtained permanent resident status 6 months prior, and had just started working part time at a local community outreach, The Journey Neighbourhood Centre, where I had volunteered teaching art for the previous two years. I had also spent the past years studying art remotely at a career institute and teaching art techniques to community members on weekends. During this two year period I learned plenty about our community’s resources and was eventually able to help people at our community centre navigate more than just art supplies. I spent time helping to find court forms, filling out applications, registering tax clinic participants and prepping resumes with people who needed it.
Volunteering to teach art also catalysed plenty of opportunity for me as a local artist. I was able to join the local artist-run centre, facilitate workshops at the local art gallery as well as with other agencies who sought art workshops for their client bases such as Achev and The Region of Peel Housing Authority. Eventually I partnered with Hope 24/7 to provide virtual art sessions to seniors in Peel during the Covid pandemic. Later, I was encouraged to apply for a position opening at Hope 24/7 on the prevention & outreach team, and I was offered full time employment.
By the time I was granted sole custody of my children I was working two jobs at two different non profit agencies and contemplating returning to college or university in order to expand my credentials. After being promoted to more complex positions at work twice in one 12 months, I decided to complete the Art Fundamentals program at Sheridan College in 2022 and in that same year, I graduated. After completing the “art fundies” program, I decided to expand my credentials related to the field that I was currently employed in and enjoying so much, so I enrolled in the SSW program at Sheridan College. Currently I am excited to embark on the second year of the program. I have learned quite a bit, not only from my lived experience, but from the experiences of other students coming from various backgrounds. It has also been beneficial to understand some of the theories, roles and practices that are associated with a career in social work so returning to school has given me the opportunity to do plenty of reading. It has also given me the chance to see what the next group of people joining the social service sector are learning, and how that can be applied to the work that we do in the community.
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