Celebrating lilies
Woman Haven recognizes local domestic violence advocates
IMPERIAL — Raising awareness and taking action against domestic violence was the purpose of Woman Haven, A Center for Family Solutions’ fourth annual Mariposa Gala held Friday night at the IV Expo’s Plaza de las Culturas building.
The gala featured the presentation of the Mariposa Award, which is given to local survivor advocates for their work in the community, as well as the presentation of the Partners in Advocacy and Visionary awards.
This year the Mariposa Award was given to two survivors, Flor Overton and Barbara Lopez. The award is named after the mariposa lily, which is a delicate flower that grows and flourishes despite existing in a harsh and rocky environment.
Like the award’s namesake, each Mariposa Award recipient has survived harsh emotional, physical and economic conditions to emerge triumphant over the adversity domestic violence brought into their lives.
“We honor them because they have had the courage to come out and speak and say, ‘This happened to me,’” WomanHaven’s Executive Director Gina Vargas said. “They’re sharing their story in hopes to make a difference in one person.” Lopez shared her domestic violence experience in which she and her children were attacked by her abuser at 5 a.m. on March 11. Lopez praised the work of the El Centro Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office and WomanHaven.
The Mariposa recipient said “my children and I would not be alive today” without the assistance of the three agencies.
“I’m proud to say I’m a resident of the Imperial Valley because Imperial Valley has come such a long way and has gotten so many resources that I never thought had existed,” Lopez said.
In Overton’s acceptance speech, she shared her own domestic violence experience with her ex-husband. She also shared how she’s also a secondhand victim of domestic violence, as her sister, niece and nephew died due to domestic violence.
“My hope is that through my truth and my sister’s tragedy that we can be a “cheerleader” for someone in desperate need to believe in themselves just enough to get out and to once again believe that they are special, beautiful and worthy of love that does not include violence,” Overton said.
WomanHaven presented its Partners in Advocacy Award to the Imperial County Association of Realtors. The award is given to community organizations that partner with WomanHaven in order to raise awareness or to fund programs.
The Visionary Award was presented to the family Lawna Cervantes, a former WomanHaven board member and local insurance agent who died in June at the age of 57 in a car accident.
“As an insurance agent, she had that extra bit of care for her clients, and as a board member and as a member of the community, she really worked hard to promote the values associated with our organization,” WomanHaven board member Monica Ketchum said.
The award was accepted by Cervantes’ daughter, Myrna. For the second year in a row, the gala ended with a comedy act, which was performed this year by comedian Frank Lucero.
“We continue to bring that (comedy) so we remember that in the midst of what we’re going through, that we have to remember to take a step back and enjoy life and laugh,” Vargas said.