DACAmented Voices photo exhibit

Lo que se pueda, mijo.

Whatever I can get

Because often I just don’t know.

Will you see me?

Will you SEE me?

Alomejor….

And that is the hope I hold tight as

my mouth breathes the desperation that is my savior

"¿Están abiertos?

As a DACAmented individual I grew up undocumented most of my life and learned to use uncertainty about access to services because of my immigration status as a strength. I never knew until I tried. I thank my parents for instilling and nurturing my saavy attitude. Its saved my life countless times.

~Miguel

If juxtaposed health care problems of immigrant families are like the sun. Constant and lethal. At times an unexpected injury or illness arises blazing through the soul of a moneyless man who puts his health on hold for loved ones who need the money more. He becomes blinded by the lethal hope that it shall pass. Just like the sun it never leaves. Somedays more visible than others but it's always there. The moneyless man realizes the constant threat that the injury he placed on hold has become. With great distress the worn down man ghastly reaches for help but this time the health care system puts his health on hold because of lack of money and unmet requirements.

~ Perla

Change, changed my status from Undocumented to DACAmented.

Change, changed my access to resources where I can seek help.

Change, changed my worries to add more struggles.

Change, changed the places where I am only admitted based on my status.

Change, changed to add me to broken systems I fight against.

~ Jessica

My sister, my sunshine. The one who makes dark days into bright days like a sun, living in her own little perfect world where problems don't exist and nothing in the world is bad. The child of great opportunities born from Mexican parents but within the United States. Maria José will not know how difficult it is living without documents; she is and always will be a happy child. She can go to school and graduate without a problem, if she wants it to be that way.

~ Elsa

Depression,

Many people do not know the meaning of it,

Unfortunately,

I do,

I was one of its victims,

I didn't know I had choices, resources

To fight against it,

I couldn't ask for help,

I was living in darkness,

There was no such thing called hope.

When you are labeled as "illegal"

It's hard to leave the only place

You feel "happy" by yourself.

~ Alejandra

I learned how to hide years before I learned how to ask for help.

DACAmented Queer and Transgender health care accessibility is rarely at the forefront of important subjects discussed. We are left to tolerate lies and laws that minimize our humanity. That only damage our community to profit out of our locked up and dead bodies. Truth is we put more value on a set of numbers then we do human lives or struggles. People constantly dismiss the many limitations we have in health care institutions. Refusing to acknowledge not only the physical pain but also the mental suffering one has or will endure as a Queer or Transgender Immigrant. Battling years of oppression, alienation, and criminalization.

Being Queer or Transgender and not having the right documentation means you are more prone to being Disowned, Beaten, Killed, Harassed, Sexually Assaulted for your identity, sexual preference, and the pigment of your skin. Most are forced into a life of isolation, fear, and self-destruction. Some turn to harmful situations or substances that may lead to death or suicide. All can be connected to the non-excitant or lack of accessibility, visibility, and equity we have in the health care institutions and programs in the State of Arizona.

~ Alejandro