At 34, Linda has finally found her voice. As a child, no one spoke for her, no one listened to her.
Linda grew up on the Zuni Reservation, and later in Espanola, NM amid a complex web of relationships. Adopted by her paternal great aunt, she was raised by her great grandmother. Her father died before she was two.
And she experienced sexual abuse— at so young an age that she thought it was just part of life. “When you’re a child growing up and those things are happening to you, you think…when the lights go out, this is what happens.”
When she did finally open up about the abuse, she was accused of lying. Later, she discovered that “mom” (her great aunt) was not her real mother. And she found out about the monthly checks, money they were supposed to use to take care of her — while her feet hurt from shoes she’d outgrown.
Linda was furious about all the lies; she started acting out, became uncontrollable. She also became a mother. And, when her life became one big self-destructive party, her children ended up with relatives; they told her: Let us take the kids; you go, get help, find yourself; when you’re ready, come back and we’ll give you the kids. Linda got clean from time to time and visited her children, but there were endless excuses why she couldn’t yet have them back. Eventually, she gave up. She landed up on the streets, in a life of drugs and prostitution, in and out of jail.
Finally, Linda decided to seek support. She found Maya’s Place, a transitional living program of Crossroads for Women. She made a decision to really work at it, stay focused, get involved and put an end to the cycle of addiction in her life. Maya’s Place helped her to come to terms with the life long effects of childhood trauma. “Today I can say that I know I am special and have a purpose in life.”
Linda has also been inspired by Young Women United, a community organizing project by and for young women of color, where she was hired as both a Legislative and now a Policy Intern. They’ve taught her about advocating for social justice, and helped her find her voice. And now, Linda’s on a mission. She wants to learn everything she can, so that some day she can go home and help her people.
Linda graduates from Maya’s Place in June. She hopes to begin The Crossroads after that, and she hopes to continue to work for Young Women United. She’s full of hope, as she reflects on her life today:
“Our stories, our testimonies, our experiences, can help save another person. And a group of women who come together and figure all this out — it’s powerful…God has a hand on Crossroads for Women. It works. They love you until you can love yourself. And we’re the ones that do it, we’re the ones doing the work. There’s a system of support, but it’s what we make of it. I’m very honored, I’m very privileged, to be a part of this.”
—Written by Mary Bokuniewicz