CALLAHAN, Florida – Taller Salud is a feminist non-profit organization (NGO) working to provide health care for women, end community violence and improve the economy in Loíza, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1979, Taller Salud has worked for more than 43 years to face struggles in the poorest town in Puerto Rico, focusing on women’s rights, health and education to combat the challenges women face. in Loíza, in addition to the threats of poverty. UN Women, UNDP and the Pardee Center for the International Future estimate that in 2022, more than 388 million women will experience extreme poverty, while 372 million men will experience extreme poverty: millions more women subject to extreme poverty than men .
In Loíza, 50.4% of the population lives in poverty and the highest demographic of people living in poverty is females 25-34, followed by females 45-54 and then 55-64. The overall goal of Taller Salud is to build a brighter future for Loíza and make a more developed city full of equality, basic health care and opportunities for individual and collective growth as a city, getting out of its current state.
Longest Salud story
Carmen Guzmán and Eugenia Acuña moved to Loíza Island after working against Latin American women facing extreme sterilization practices in New York City. These women wanted to get active in their hometown community in Puerto Rico and make real change: guaranteed access to various birth control methods and abortions to counter the frequent sterilization that women receive on the island due to lack of resources.
Thus, Guzmán and Acuña founded Taller Salud as a collective, which turned into a non-profit organization in 1979. This became the first feminist organization focused on women’s health in Puerto Rico ever to exist. “From the beginning, we incorporated health as a feminist tool, from which we worked so that women were considered as beings and not as objects of an inadequate health system,” said one of the founding team members of Taller Salud, Nirvana González duck according to its website.
The values that drive Taller Salud and its work include feminism, health as a human right, inclusive health, the celebration of equality and diversity, a culture of justice and peace, autonomy, participation and sustainability.
Initiatives and Projects
The Women & Health initiative is based on the concept that when women prosper, their communities prosper. “It’s majority black and majority women, so the challenges in our community are particularly troubling, given the systemic abandonment that our women live in,” Taller Salud told The Borgen Project in an interview.
This initiative focuses on promoting women’s health and preventing gender-based violence. The organization promotes women’s health, peace and development through numerous programs. Your Peace Matters, a safe space for women experiencing any type of violence or harassment, including support groups, psychological therapy and a 24/7 hotline. “Afrocaribeñas”, a youth-focused program that aims to generate feminist leaders and teaches about gender-based violence, health and racial discrimination. “Promotoras (Community Health Workers),” women from Taller Salud are seeking social justice and training to respond to the health needs of their communities and support people with illnesses or barriers to accessing health services.
Community and Leadership is an initiative to further Taller Salud’s goal of cultivating an inclusive, non-violent society with communities defending their basic rights and promoting mutual progress. This aims to strengthen coordinated responses within the community and the abilities of community leaders to create solutions for the families and residents of Loíza through activism, education and participatory processes.
To develop local leadership, prevent unjustified displacement and ensure a distinguished life, Taller Salud uses multiple strategies, such as “Community Organizing”, organizing communities to address issues that directly affect them; “Dignified housing”, housing that supports local economic development that has safe, violence-free conditions with access to essential resources; “Recovery Only”, eliminating unjust displacements, eliminating involuntary evictions and guaranteeing democratic community participation; “AMANI Project”, which teaches children aged 10-13 musical education to develop emotional intelligence and recognize gender discrimination; “Community Emergency Response Guide,” material to educate the community based on past mistakes by the state in handling emergencies, it contains resources and guidance to emergency plans.
Peace and Development is an initiative focused on community mobilization to eradicate poverty, inequality and institutional racism. Taller Salud promotes an environment of peace, forgiveness, and community restoration and improvement that results in significant opportunities for the community to progress and transform. To implement this culture of peace that Taller Salud seeks for Loíza, it uses the “Peace Agreement” model. This is an evidence-based project that aims to reduce violence as a result of women losing significant others, children and relatives.
The project has built more trust in the community and has successfully dealt with difficult situations while keeping the promise of not involving the police. The Peace Agreement has reduced violent deaths in Loíza by 90%. “La Tibru” is the second programmatic part of this initiative, and is designed for young people and includes embracing contemporary masculinities, ending racism and generating new spokespeople to speak on current issues affecting their communities.
Success and impact on the community
One of Taller Salud’s most successful efforts in the organization’s history, it grew out of a community-based response to an increase in gun violence in 2009. “It is Puerto Rico’s only community violence prevention program and a local adaptation of the University of Illinois’ CureViolence Evidence-Based Public Health Model or as we called systemic change,” Taller Salud explained.
The organization trains “violence breakers” to identify immoral and illegal circumstances and prevent violent situations from occurring. Violence Interrupters serve as mentors for up to 15 people at a time who are at high risk of being the recipient of a violent attack. In its first year as an established project, the Peace Accord saw a 53% drop in homicides, and since its inauguration in February 2012, there has been a 90% drop.
On September 7, 2017, the worst hurricane in Puerto Rico’s recent history hit: Hurricane Irma. Two weeks later, the almighty Hurricane Maria hit. Tall Salud arrived with 200 volunteers five days after Irma swept in to assess damage, provide health care, food, water and hygiene products and provide housing with the Affordable Housing program, founded in 2018 to help women in safe and stable homes.
More than 8,000 people had access to safe food and the organization distributed more than 10,000 liters of water and more than 6,000 lamps, flashlights and battery-powered fans. Psychological support was provided to 337 individuals, more than 2,800 medical items and medicines were distributed, and more than 1,500 public health items such as mosquito nets and fly traps were distributed, according to Taller Salud’s report.
Over 20,000 residents of Loíza received assistance in the immediate response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria and Taller Salud assisted 14 other cities/towns. Not only is Taller Salud building a brighter future for Loíza, but it is also participating in the immediate emergency response work to help other Puerto Ricans in dire need of assistance.
A brighter future for Loíza
Taller Salud is an essential organization that allows growth in many areas to make Loíza a more advanced city that no longer suffers from economic decline, violence and inequality. Despite being the poorest city in Puerto Rico, Taller Salud is working with current adults and youth in leadership programs in hopes of producing a brighter future for Loíza, no longer experiencing the detrimental impact of poverty and social issues.
– Dylan Olive
Photo: Courtesy of Taller Salud
