Latina Mothers Share, Celebrate Year Round

Mother's Day may be over, but Latinas in Hampton Roads still face the joys, and challenges, of motherhood every day. Many local Hispanic mommies come together to laugh, vent and learn from one another.

"Mommy" groups are nothing new -- women all over the world share the experience of having and raising children by bonding over classes at the gym, meeting for coffee and stroller walks or simply gathering for that rare adult only conversation. Hispanic mothers in the area confront the same issues as all mothers, often with the additional challenge of bringing their children up in two different cultures.

Many Hispanics in the area have moved south from New York, where culture from nearly all Latin American and Caribbean countries is vibrantly represented, and a sense of Hispanic community is intrinsic to many neighborhoods. Women who have relocated to Virginia can feel as though something is missing.

"In New York, you don't have to try," Norfolk resident Phoebe Sanyer, founder of MAMI Connection Hampton Roads, said. "Here [spending time with other Latinas] requires a commitment."

The challenges are different for Hispanic mothers who have recently arrived from abroad. These women can feel overwhelmed by the idea of raising their families according to the laws and customs of a seemingly foreign land. Resources may be more abundant than in their home countries, but new families are often unaware of them. For the past two years, Fort Eustis Army Family Advocacy Program and Mary Immaculate Hospital Family Focus have sponsored the "Hispanic Circle of Parents" to ease the transition and make parenting and other resources available to the Hispanic community. Approximately 35 people attend these meetings on Thursday mornings. Most members are mothers, but fathers and some grandparents also attend. The staff is bilingual, and childcare is offered for children under five years old, and also for older children during the summer when school is out.

"The purpose of the group is to help [the members] understand American culture, and the country's laws and regulations as applied to their children," Coordinator Delores Price said.

Past meetings have featured a discussion about insurance and a librarian as a guest speaker.

Michelle Aragones, a member of MAMI Connection Hampton Roads, pointed out that many Hispanic mothers in Hampton Roads have husbands who are in the military and may be deployed overseas, which makes a support network they are comfortable with especially important for these women.

Sanyer said MAMI Connection Hampton Roads has developed into an active discussion forum online. Getting members together in person has proved a little more difficult. "We have the resources," she said, "we just need people to come out to meetings."

Sanyer founded the group to give Latina mommies an outlet for friendship, support and laughter. The group provides not only an opportunity for serious discussion, but also a much needed time for lighthearted fun. Sanyer particularly hopes to start a recipe exchange.

Aragones said she wants her children to spend more time with other Hispanic kids, noting that it is not easy for her daughters to connect with their heritage in Hampton Roads.

Despite the additional effort required to keep cultural ties, both Sanyer and Aragones are happy to be raising families here in Virginia rather than In New York City, citing parental involvement in the area's public schools as an enormous advantage of living in Hampton Roads. "Some of the things I experienced in public schools in New York. I don't want my children to experience," Sanyer said.

While she hopes the group will benefit the members' children, Sanyer also has plans to give the mamis a break by organizing girls' nights.

For more information on MAMI Connection Hampton Roads, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/mami_connection_hr.

Hispanic Family Circle meetings are held every Thursday morning beginning at 9:30 at St. George's Episcopal Church Annex at 15446 Warwick Blvd, in Newport News.

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