2017 Fellow
Francisca Coronado
Project Description
Ms. Porchas Coronado will develop a national network of community healers to assist in serving the emotional needs of the immigrant community currently facing criminalization and deportation. Resisting anti-immigrant assaults builds resiliency and movements, but it is critical to incorporate healing and restorative practices into these communities to make our movements even stronger.
In order to accomplish this, Ms. Porchas Coronado will build a network of healers across the country who employ contemplative practices, such as meditation, expression through art, ancestral spiritual practices, therapy, and bodywork to address the needs of the immigrant community. These teams will address community trauma, and provide guidance to frontline organizations on how to integrate healing practices into their work. The healers will be first responders to immigrant communities targeted by ICE and law enforcement for deportation and provide basic trainings to community members and organizers to transfer skills and ensure ongoing support.
As the Organizing Director of Puente Human Rights Movement, Ms. Porchas Coronado co-led the Campaign to End All Detention, advocating for the end of mandatory immigrant detention. She also co-led the No More SB1070s campaign to defeat 11 anti-immigrant bills in Arizona during the 2016 legislative season. Prior to her time with Puente, Ms. Porchas Coronado co-founded Dignity and Power Now, organizing formally incarcerated people and their loved ones in LA County.