A Message From Our Founder (and One You Don't Wanna Miss)
New Directions, New Boundaries, New Goals to Attain
by KiloMarie Granda, Unspoken Voices Founder & Exec. Director
Dear friends,
There is a time for everything. A time to grow, change, give, and also a time to let go and truly reflect on what matters in life. There is also a time to be honest and acknowledge when we see that life is clearly pushing us in a different direction.
Many of my friends and colleagues on social media know me as the Founder and E.D. of Unspoken Voices. It’s a title that I am proud to hold and hope to continue to until the universe tell s me differently.
However, I am also so much more than that. This title and organization genuinely reflect my dreams, hopes and passions. I created this organization in 2014 to help give an outlet for individuals regain their power, in whatever way is best for them. I am not paid to be in this position and I never have been. Most of the time, I have paid to be in this position...financially, emotionally, and physically. I have been a friend, an ally, an advocate, and a counselor. I also serve, especially in the last couple of years, as a 24 hour crisis line, on-call counselor, mediator, and life coach...quite often from a hospital bed.
Friends, I am sick and have been for a while. Death is something I am having to get extremely comfortable with. My reality is hard to understand. I am living a life that not many can understand. This field is difficult for anyone, however most of us going into it, do so because we have personal ties to and understanding of trauma. This work can be so very healing but it can also be re-traumatizing and can lead to further health issues for many of us.
I can honestly say that I do not want to leave this field. I have been working to continue our goals and our mission at the state level for the past twelve months. My life has changed and so has the organization as a reflection of that. We are doing exactly what we (as an organization) should be doing at the state level. We are growing and changing, as individuals and as an organization.
As a result of that and my continued health issues, it means I am no longer able to serve in the capacity of unpaid counselor/director.
This also means that we will be changing some of the focus of our work and it also means that I will be establishing boundaries. It means that I will be cutting out toxic relationships and friendships that require me to be a human garbage disposal. There are people that I love and care about and have tried to carry over the years, but I now realize...it was never my job to carry them. It was my job to give them a helping hand and the rest was up to them.
Friends in this field...I hope you have already learned this and if not, thats okay...in the meantime, remember to love yourself and remind yourself that there is more to life than this. Remind yourself to Do No Harm and Take No Shit <3
Its taken me my entire life to finally stand up and say that it is NOT my job to fix you. It is NOT my job to babysit you. Most importantly, it is NOT my job to take away your trauma because I am only hurting you by not allowing you to process and come to peace with your pain.
Because....there is peace in the pain, there is joy in the sorrow, and there is love to be found in even the darkest of times. You can only get through your pain by actually going through it.
KiloMarie Granda: Founder; Exec. Director
Unspoken Voices