The Nest recently conducted a tour of the domestic violence shelter for a large group of nursing professors and students from the University of Guanajuato in Celaya, Mexico.
Five nursing students and five psychology students as well as their instructors, traveled to Ruidoso in September to study humanism with Barbara Mader of the High Mesa Healing Center in Alto.
The tour was conducted by the some of the bilingual staff of the Nest – Shelter Supervisor Reyna Flores and Resident Advocates Miriam Moreno and Corina Montoya.
The afternoon was inspiring to the students, many of whom witness the after affects of domestic violence at their clinic.
“I was surprised to learn that domestic violence was a problem in the United States. I thought of it as being unique to Mexico,” said psychology student Jose, who acknowledged that shelters “just don’t exist in Mexico.”
According to the touring students, domestic violence in Mexico is only addressed when a woman seeks emergency care for a significant injury.
Students spent time quizzing the Nest Staff on the kinds of resources they might connect their domestic violence victims with in Mexico.
“These dynamic young students are determined to make things happen for women in Mexico. Our shelter was especially attractive to them because it is run like a large family home, not an institution,” Flores said.
The students left the Nest armed with a helping of outreach supplies, posters and anti-violence materials.
The Nest already serves as a model domestic violence facility for shelters across the United States.
Advocate Reyna Flores believes, “we have the potential to positively influence the evolution of domestic violence prevention and care in Mexico. We just ignited that flame with these Mexican advocates and they will carry that flame into their country.”