Two years ago, Edith Espinoza would have never imagined that she would one day share the stage with the president of the United States or be the sole provider of her family.
Espinoza, a native of Mexico and a continuing education student at a San Diego community college, has come a long way since she moved to the United States in 1995. “Two years ago, I was a very different woman. I was a different Edith,” says the 30-year-old mother of two daughters.
Last month, Espinoza introduced President George W. Bush at a national conference for the federal Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. A victim of domestic abuse, allegedly at the hands of her husband, Espinoza got her life back on track thanks to a faith-based shelter for domestic violence victims in San Diego.
Coming from a very traditional Mexican background, Espinoza married at 15 and took on the role of wife and caregiver. The domestic abuse continued as she and her family moved from Mexico to California, then to Las Vegas. She says her time in Las Vegas symbolizes the most difficult period of her life, and she eventually decided to leave that dangerous environment. She asked a family member to send her money, and in December 2006, she went to El Nido, a faith-based shelter for domestic violence victims in San Diego.
The resources and individuals at El Nido gave Espinoza the opportunity to reinvent her life, obtain an education and become self-sufficient. Espinoza was assisted with transportation, funds for her education at San Diego Community College District’s Mid-City campus, counseling, an apartment and her first job as administrative assistant at the Chicano Federation of San Diego County.
