Gardens grew. Traditions survived. People ate. Children learned. Neighbors felt welcomed. Stories were remembered…
Author: Rosa D. Chávez
Rosa D. Chávez, MPH, is a public health practitioner and systems leader rooted in the borderlands of Southwest Colorado and northern New Mexico. Her work explores how culture, care, land, power and community infrastructure shape health and belonging.
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Pedestrian Dignity Is Health Infrastructure
A vibrant downtown should not require wealth to enjoy. A public park should not require perfect mobility…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Beyond the Pride Banner
There are moments in small towns when change becomes visible not through policy reports or mission statements, but through ordinary human scenes…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: La Cultura Cura
Culture and memory as health infrastructure across the Southwest…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: The Body Keeps the Fallout, Part Two
Depending on exposure category and illness, qualifying individuals and some surviving family members may receive one-time compensation payments of up to $100,000…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: The Body Keeps the Fallout, Part One
There was a point when we almost lost my mother. Stage 4 colon cancer. Pain that kept escalating…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: When Silence Ends, What Comes Next?
Chairs will be set close enough for people to see one another, but with space for those who need it….
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Food is Health Infrastructure — from Security to Sovereignity
Can young families stay, farm, cook, and pass knowledge forward?
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Housing Is Health Infrastructure
If we are serious about public health in the Borderlands, we have to stop treating housing as a side issue…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Community Health Built Under Siege
When communities are denied safety, they do not wait for permission to survive…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Culture as Care, Public Health Architecture, and Community Authority
El Derecho de Vivir en Paz. The right to live in peace. It’s a phrase many of us know from a song written by Chilean musician Víctor Jara…
BORDERLANDS HEALTH: Community Health Beyond Silos
The future of community health is already here — rooted in culture, relationship, harm reduction, and collective responsibility…
OPINION: ‘Mis Crismes’ — A Borderlands Tradition — Is Community Medicine
There are winter mornings in Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado that feel stitched into memory…
OPINION: Why We Need a Borderlands Truth & Reconciliation Commission
Families from Pagosa Springs to the Pueblos and throughout the U.S. have already shown what love and resilience look like…
OPINION: Loneliness, Trauma, and the Limits of ‘Self Care’
Why we need a community infrastructure that honors real life…
OPINION: Rethinking Nonprofit Culture — Especially During the Holidays
This holiday season, I’m not asking people to give more — I’m asking us all to care better…
OPINION: What It Means to Stay
Staying in a rural place is not passive. It is work — emotional, financial, cultural, communal. Work to find housing. Work to afford groceries and heat…
SENIOR CENTER NEWS: Open House Postponed; Stay Tuned for Updates
The Community Foundation serving Southwest Colorado is sponsoring the first of four 19th Hole Concerts starting this Thursday, June 5…
19th Hole Concerts Begin This Thursday
The 19th Hole Concerts are held every Thursday in June from 5:30-7:30pm, at the Pagosa Springs Golf Club…