Hispanic Heritage Month Visibility Campaign: Yadira Negrón

September 15–October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month, an opportunity for us to continue our Visibility Campaign series and revisit our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. This month, we will increase visibility of our Hispanic staff. Today's spotlight goes to Yadira Negrón, an Explore Program and Family Violence-Adult Services group facilitator.

Yadira has been with Wheeler since July of 2019. Prior to Wheeler, she was a correctional deputy warden from the Connecticut Department of Correction. She is proud to be a part of Wheeler because of the number of resources available to the Hispanic/Latino communities.

What are the most significant challenges that Hispanic and Latino communities are facing today? The language barriers. While Wheeler does a great job of translating resources, such as flyers, brochures, and the waiting room screens, many of our patients are not aware they are available.

What is a typical day like for you? As a domestic violence and family violence educator, my day can vary. My focus is to provide quality educational and confidential services to clients referred to Wheeler by the judicial branch in response to court-related offenses. I follow a focused curriculum designed to teach male and female clients about the effects of their behaviors and ways to build effective skills at preventing further future incidents. Daily, I maintain detailed records as assigned by judicial CDCS and communicate updates about group members to supervisors. In addition to communicating effectively, working as a team, conducting brief, evidence-based and developmentally screenings, creating and implementing integrated care plans, and providing a range brief focused prevention, treatment and recovery services, I must also need to be culturally sensitive. I must also maintain the ability to prevent and report unsafe situations and use appropriate procedures to assure safety during emergency situations.

Thank you, Yadira, for sharing today!