A Note From the CEO, Soledad Díaz: What it Takes to Rise

Dear YWCA community, 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to listen to survivors and ask what they need to live with safety, dignity, and choice. 

This year, YWCA USA’s Week Without Violence centers young people’s voices. Its featured documentary, Watch You Rise, is directed by Isabella Grace Cohn, a member of our YWCA Boulder County team. Isabella’s film explores sexual violence across generations and opens a conversation about consent, power, and healing. I am so proud that her work is helping lead this national conversation. 

Violence can affect anyone, but access to safety is not equal. Black women have been disproportionately represented among victims of intimate partner homicide, while survivors in marginalized communities can face additional barriers to resources, housing, childcare, and support. We cannot address violence without addressing those inequities. 

This is why childcare is central to YWCA’s work. At Persimmon Early Learning, children have a place to learn and belong, while parents gain dependable care that can help them work, study, and build financial stability. For a survivor, that care may be one part of the path to healing and move from surviving to thriving.  

That is why I am asking you and Boulder County voters to vote YES on Ballot Issue 1A on November 3. Brighter Start would make childcare more affordable, support early educators, and expand access for families. 

Please join Week Without Violence, October 19–23, and the Boulder screening of Watch You Rise on November 4, followed by a conversation with Isabella and other amazing panelists. 

In partnership,  

Soledad Díaz 
CEO, YWCA Boulder County