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Date: 5/18/2021
HOLYOKE – A Holyoke-based nonprofit organization committed to helping victims of domestic violence is undergoing a name change to better reflect their mission and inclusivity.
In a virtual news conference, Carmen Nieves, who serves as the executive director of the organization formerly known as Womanshelter/Companeras, announced the new name of the organization: Alianza.
Nieves said the name change was the beginning of a new era and outlined some of the history of the organization, which was started more than 20 years ago by three women who saw a need to help those suffering at the hands of their partner.
Nieves, who joined the organization in the 90s, said she spent 14 years as a hotline volunteer and went on to hold a number of other positions as well. Her favorite role, however, she said was serving as the organization’s outreach coordinator. After taking over as executive director she said she felt it was important to listen to the community and other stakeholders, which was when Mitch Anthony was hired.
She said based on Anthony’s findings it was discovered that while the community recognized the work the shelter was doing in the community, there were some aspects about the name that were confusing. “He reported to us that our agency was and still is inclusive of our empathetic style and how we deliver these services. What stood out was our name was confusing,” she said.
Nieves explained that they found the name “suggested that we only served women,” “that we only provide shelter services” and “that we only served hispanic women.” While there was some truth to these statements, she said the organization was much more inclusive than people thought, making the decision to change the name an easy one.
“We made that easy and daunting decisions to change our name, and we did that,” she said. However, they still wanted to cling to their history and identity of inclusiveness.
“We felt strongly that we wanted to hold onto our other identity, we didn’t want to change that part. While we serve anyone, we clearly serve many people who identify as hispanic,” she said. “Our central goal in our renaming was to find a Spanish word that can encompass all of that.”
She said after the name Alianza was suggested, it was used several times and when different members said the word she “felt it in my soul,” and it just felt right. The word, which means alliance, holds much more meaning to the organizations, Nieves said.
“For us, this Spanish word is so much more than an alliance. It’s about bonds, it’s about coalition, it’s about relationships,” she said.
A video was then played at the conference, which featured the organization’s President of the Board of Directors Brenda Bak, who said while the organization had a new look and name, the mission remains the same, “to help people from all walks of life to live free of domestic violence.”
Anthony went on to say that the name change brought forth some misconceptions the community had about both Alianza and domestic violence. He said this allowed the organization to recognize “they had a significant opportunity to help the community while providing some education opportunities around domestic violence.” Nieves agreed, stating that while they always aimed for inclusivity, “that name stopped us.” She said, “This process freed us.”
Along with a name change, the organization’s website and logo changed. Those interested in seeing the new website and getting more information on the organization can do so by visiting their website at https://www.alianzadv.org.