Challenging society to handle suicide differently

Age: 36

Title: Founder & President

Organization: National Hispanic Suicide Prevention Network Inc.

Gabriela Vargas is a social entrepreneur, and founder and owner of Poiema Studio, a safe space for community mental wellness in the city of Elgin where the National

Hispanic Suicide Prevention Network Inc. was born. With the support of co-founder Alejandro Ramirez, Vargas leads NHSPN, a nonprofit organization centered on suicide prevention with an increased focus on marginalized communities.

Vargas’ passion for preventing suicide in the Hispanic community is based on per- sonal experience with anxiety and depression, the impact of becoming a suicide attempt, and suicide loss survivor. She began making a difference in her community by sharing her personal survival story and advocating for changing the way society remembers suicide loss victims and offers support to survivors.

Varags shares the challeng- es of fellow immigrants. She was born in Zacatecas, Mexico, and grew up biculturally as an undocumented child in Palatine, Illinois. She became a mother at a very young age. As she raised her two sons and worked in a community hospital as a medical interpreter for 14 years, Vargas experienced firsthand the needs in her community.

Age: 36

Title: Owner

Organization: Salsas Family Market

Born in Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico, Laura Valle came to Chicago at the age of 14. Her parents had nothing and needed to work long shifts, leaving her alone with her 8-yearold sister and newborn boy. Their salary was not enough to support the family, so Valle found a part-time job in a grocery store where she met her future husband.

Previously she owned the successful restaurant Salsa’s Grill at 3808 W. Lawrence Ave. It was known for pozole and tamales, but the stress and time needed to run a restaurant made her consider leaving the industry. She opened Salsas Family Market with a goal of giving staff, especially women, the opportunity for a job within walking distance of home. As a woman, mother, and wife, Valle knows it is sometimes hard to hold jobs run by men or large corporations that do not allow flexible schedules. She started the store with only herself and her husband. After two years in business, they were distributing homemade salsas to six different stores and had hired five women with flexible hours and days. small business owners through the multiple stages of business development by offering workshops, trainings, access to capital, networking, and referrals.