Gabriela Zeno Capstone

I decided to base my capstone on mental health. Specifically, women facing Domestic Abuse. The inspiration for why I based my capstone on Domestic Abuse, was due to having close relatives and friends who had previously gone through this traumatic experience. Countless stories are being told every single day. But I wanted to take the initiative to uplift those who have once experienced Domestic Abuse. Mental Health is one of the most important elements of well-being. After hearing story after story, and some of the mechanisms people do when they’re in a state of anxiety, shame, guilt, and so on, people tend to make decisions that they’ll either later regret or get trapped in a state where they keep every emotion “bottled up”. For my capstone, I did countless research on safe havens I could potentially reach out to and form activities. That had been one of the most challenging factors I had to endure. Although it had been challenging, I learned that networking is one of the most important skills a person should have throughout their lives.

Volunteering at a safe haven came with many rules and regulations. For instance; Certain pictures and recordings aren’t allowed due to the safety of each woman, which is why my visuals are only a few images, one recording of an interview I did with one of the staff members, and a resume I had created for one of the girls. My visuals represent some of the activities The Girls and I did.