09/02/2019
Introducing our second voice to be featured on the national tour, Eridania Nieves from Haverhill, MA. This past April artist Sarah C. Rutherford had the honor of photographing, interviewing and recording eight local women’s stories. Stay tuned for more as we share over the coming weeks and a huge thank you to from for coordinating these conversations. Another heartfelt thank you to who we partnered with us to bring her mural to Battle Creek, Michigan.
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Eridania Nieves arrived in the United States at the age of 9 months old from the Dominican Republic. The oldest of five children, she was raised by a single mother in The Bronx of New York City. When she was a teenager she moved to Haverhill, MA where she has since dedicated her life to serving youth. In her twenty-six years as supervisor of the Student Support Program at Haverhill High School, Eridania works with students facing difficult academic and personal adversity, challenging them to trade their fear and violence for hope and peace. Her ability to navigate institutional inequities in order to get students in Haverhill “on the right track” has changed the lives of many. Additionally, she has piloted and volunteered for a number of groups over the years including a Young Woman’s Support Group, A Young Latina’s Support Group, a teen pregnancy prevention group, “Girls Empowered Means Success Program” at the YWCA. She also serves as an advisor for V.I.P. Haverhill, a youth led group whose mission is violence intervention and prevention. Eridania’s voice carries through her singing, both personally and professionally where she uses it as a tool to help lift her students spirits or bring light to a difficult situation.
Furthermore, her mission has made it into her own home where she and her husband have been foster parents to a total of twenty-seven children. Her empathy, dedication, and unwavering optimism when working with young people has inspired a great many people in the Haverhill community.
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