No Longer Defined by the Past

October 10 is World Mental Health Day. In 2026, the theme is: “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.”

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For the past three years, Moncada has been on a path of personal growth, self-awareness, and resilience at Covenant House Honduras’ Hogar Querubines.

When she first came to Hogar Querubines, our safe house for survivors of abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, Moncada was anxious and sad and had trouble expressing her feelings. So, she kept silent about the harsh experiences in her past.

She tended to take on adult responsibilities and to remain aloof from young people her age, which limited her opportunities for camaraderie and peer support.

Little by little, though, with encouragement from our behavioral health staff, Moncada began to recognize that expressing her emotions is also a way of taking care of herself. Throughout her therapeutic process, she learned to identify her feelings, understand her reactions, and develop strategies to manage her impulses and face difficult situations.

Today, Moncada is actively involved in taking care of her emotional well-being. She looks for support when she needs it and recognizes the importance of talking about her emotions, thoughts, and experiences. This has enabled her to face everyday challenges with greater confidence and to significantly reduce the stress that she carries.

Moncada’s healing process has had a positive impact, too, on her relationship with her family. Before joining us at Hogar Querubines (which, literally means “House of Angels”), she frequently assumed a role of protection and responsibility toward her younger siblings. Now, she understands she, too, can be a daughter, a young woman, and a student, without having to carry adult responsibilities.

Patient Path to Healing

This change didn’t happen overnight. With our staff’s constant support, she learned to set limits, trust other people, and allow herself to enjoy moments typical of youth her age. Moncada now plans and enjoys her family visits and values the time she shares with her mother and siblings in a new way.

Her entry into the world of work has also opened new possibilities. Her job in a coffee shop has allowed her to strengthen long-held skills, discover new ones, and broaden her expectations of what she can achieve.

Today, Moncada is looking forward, and she has set new goals. She sees herself completing her studies, obtaining a scholarship to learn English, and perfecting her passion for her work as a barista.

As Moncada has progressed in her mental health journey, she has shown a significant decrease in the emotional difficulties she presented when she first came to Covenant House Honduras. And she’s developed greater resources to face the challenges of daily life.

Her story shows how, with our accompaniment and her active participation, a young woman can strengthen her well-being, recognize her abilities, and make decisions about the direction she wants for her life.

Today, Moncada knows that life not only presents challenges but also opportunities. She no longer looks to the future from the perspective of the trials she’s endured but from that of the possibilities that lie ahead.

Moncada’s story is not defined by what happened to her but by the ability she has developed to move forward, build new goals, and decide who she wants to be.

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Covenant House has programs in 34 cities across five countries: the United States, Canada, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The children and youth at our Latin America sites are the youngest across our federation, just 12 to 18 years old.

Your donation is the most immediate and impactful way to support Covenant House’s work in Latin America.