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Latine Voices on Suicide, Healing, and Hope
October 14 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm EDT
September 15 through October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. Join NAMI-NYC for a conversation about suicide awareness and prevention in the Latine community. During this event, panelists Talisa Ramos, Carlos H. Diaz, and Maria Gabriela Fuentes will explore experiences that shape mental health and how to create pathways toward healing and hope.
We will discuss:
- Suicide prevention and education in the Latine community
- How culture, family, stigma, and language shape mental health
- Resources and ways to find support
This event will be held in English.
About Our Speakers:
Talisa Ramos is a Licensed Social Worker, trauma therapist, community-rooted storyteller, and culturally responsive educator whose work connects mental health, identity, and community. A proud Boricua and daughter of the diaspora, she brings experience across clinical and school-based settings to her work supporting youth and collective well-being. As Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of The Ancestral Healing Collective and an exclusive speaker with CoolSpeak, she creates spaces for culturally rooted education and conversations on mental health and collective care. Grounded in trauma-informed care, decolonial practice, and ancestral traditions, TaLisa encourages others to honor their stories and imagine what becomes possible when healing happens in community.
Carlos H. Diaz was born in Rio Piedras, PR, and raised in Jersey City. He was one of the 2 American Red Cross Family Support Specialists who founded Alegria De Vivir, a Spanish-speaking support group for survivors, families, and those affected by the 9/11 tragedy.
In 2015, after losing a great friend and a family member, Carlos struggled with his mental health. He then joined AFSP as a volunteer in Secaucus and subsequently became a committee member and an ambassador for the AFSP Hoboken Walk.
Carlos actively serves on various committees such as PR for Phoenix M. Suicide Prevention LLC, PR for Hope Social Services, and volunteer for Community 1st and Voces Sin Fronteras. He’s also a member of the Jersey City Rotary Club.
Maria Gabriela Fuentes is a Credentialed Family Peer Advocate (2019). She works at NYU McSilver as a Family Peer Support Specialist. Maria advises, develops, reviews, and delivers online, web-based, and in-person training and technical assistance with a particular focus on integrating family voice across project activities.
Maria is a native of Quito, Ecuador, who lives in NYC and is a parent of 4 young adults ages 18 to 27 and 9 cats. She has a BA in Human Services with a concentration in Family and Children Services from SUNY Empire State University (2025).