Making a difference in chicago: latinas mujeres en accion

Non-profit Mujeres Latinas en Accion in Pilsen began in the late 1970s as a shelter for runaways escaping from domestic violence. Domestic violence help for all women is still a big part of their mission, according to program director Meusa Gaydan. But over the years the organization has expanded to tutor and mentor Latina girls and give them leadership experiences.

In an interview she told me: “In Proyecto Juventud we take 22 girls from the neighborhood (mostly Mexican) who need academic assistance. After school they come for the computer lab. The have instructors to help with homework. When it’s time to get report cards, the staff accompany the parents so they can talk to the professor and see the needs for improvement. These girls are poverty-level, so they would not have a computer at home. The parents have a low level of education.” Mujeres also sponsors a leadership program for Latina girls focusing on sex education and opportunity for social development. For leadership projects they are trained in “peer education” giving presentations in schools.

Gaydan said early on, the organization was distrusted by the Mexican immigrant community because they were seen as undermining the authority of families. But now they are more welcomed. “We have a staff person here who came in contact with the agency when her daughter ran away in the 70s. She was angry at the agency at the time. The community thought we were breaking up families because these girls wanted to be independent. Now she has been working for us for 20 years!”

In a hopeful development, the Federal DREAM Act, co-sponsored by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin and Rep. Howard Berman of California, has been gaining steam as a method to reward and help tap into the potential of high-achieving non-documented children brought to the United States before age 16. The act would make undocumented children eligible for in-state tuition, making a college dream more affordable. “We are supporting advocacy work for the DREAM Act with Obama,” said Mujeres’ Gaydan. “Now that healthcare has been passed, we want to demand that immigration is next. And the DREAM Act is not enough. We need comprehensive immigration reform.”