Stevie Vargas

During this time I have been doing small contact jobs to keep us afloat. The flexibility has been incredible and the ability to create my schedule and prioritize my health and mind. I don’t know what the next year will hold, but I feel hopeful for the first time since 2023. Cheers to a new year 🥂

Leaving a full time job during these uncertain times was an absolute privilege that was so necessary for my healing and mental health and my heart goes out to everyone actively grieving while navigating the mundane world that no longer makes any sense.

No one talks about how the death of someone so dear can change you on a cellular level. The people who inspired me the most, kept me grounded, made me feel loved and safe are gone and no amount of time erases that pain. It just shifts as you learn to compartmentalize.

In August, I made the decision to step away from my full-time role to recharge after the sudden death of my father and grandmother within 8 months of each other. This time has allowed me to sit with my grief and reconnect with myself, leading to a meaningful shift for both me and my family.

Statement on Announcement of Kamar Samuels as Next Schools Chancellor - Advocates for Children of New York AFC issued the following statement in response to the announcement of Kamar Samuels as the next Schools Chancellor.

Congratulations to our next @nycschools.bsky.social
Chancellor, Kamar Samuels! We look forward to working with you to build upon existing initiatives like NYC Reads & launch new efforts to address longstanding challenges. Our statement:
advocatesforchildren.org/policy-resou...

The Politics of Bread From my Puerto Rican kitchen to Palestine, why feeding ourselves is an act of resistance.

open.substack.com/pub/stevieva...

Bread Is Freedom From my Puerto Rican kitchen to Palestine, why feeding ourselves is an act of resistance.

open.substack.com/pub/stevieva...

📣SNS Advocacy Day is Tuesday, May 13th
Join us for a rally, meetings with legislators, and time to connect with activists and art-ivists!
📅 Register by May 5th to reserve your seat on the 🚌!
📲Sign up at thechildrensagenda.org/events/sns-a...
@stevievargas.bsky.social
#SolutionsNotSuspensions

I wrote down some comms lessons for Democrats...

Trump Officials Move to Quickly Expel Migrants Biden Allowed In Temporarily A memo appears to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to target programs that let in more than a million people.

Breaking News: The Trump administration is moving to deport migrants who were allowed into the U.S. temporarily under Biden-era programs, an internal memo said.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever put it out but it’s been so cathartic developing these characters. Seeing my family reflected in them, learning more about our spiritual practices to incorporate into the book as a way for me to both process & dissociate through writing. Making time to create has helped me

Over the last year I have spent some time writing as a way to process my grief. I’ve always loved fantasy novels but always wished I could read one that reflected my own culture & identity. So that’s what I aimed to do. Diving into Puerto Rican myths & folklore helped me connect & process my grief.

Parents across NYS are struggling to find and afford quality child care. The good news is that right now Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to help ease the struggles that many parents are facing with the stroke of a pen! @govkathyhochul.bsky.social, parents all over the state are counting on you!

Happy @govkathyhochul.bsky.social signed presumptive eligibility, but we cannot celebrate until she signs the bill ending the deeply inequitable minimum earnings rule and the bill to decouple child care assistance from work hours.

Sign #3childcarebills, Governor!

As one child care director told me when I asked how higher staff-to-child ratios impact her: "Literally all you're doing is changing diapers and trying to keep them alive."

The story behind our investigation on child care deregulation:

At the 37th Annual Child Care & Early Learning Advocates Meeting in D.C.

With the incoming administration I am connecting with advocates from across the nation to conspire with one another to protect our gains, grow our base, and get a bigger picture of the federal landscape.

#palante

Screenshot that says: The number of parents citing child-care-related work disruptions has risen 19 percent from pre-pandemic levels, and is 17 percent higher than at the peak of the covid-19 crisis, according to an analysis of Census data by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Researchers found that mothers with children under 5 were more than twice as likely as other parents to cite child-care challenges as a barrier to work.

Turns out the childcare cliff was real and it means working parents are worse off now than during the peak of the pandemic www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

There is a rise of class consciousness happening in America.

It’s time that the working class comes together and sees how the ultra wealthy are gaming the system to hurt our communities—from healthcare to wages to education and more.

@govkathyhochul.bsky.social has the opportunity to help NYS families and child care providers by signing some critical bills that were just called to her desk. If you know the struggle of finding affordable childcare or work and child care and can barely make ends meet, call the gov to act now!

When schools are underfunded, we all feel the impact.

In response to the Rockefeller Institute’s recommendations for NYS’ Foundation Aid formula, the takeaway is clear: Governor Hochul and the state legislature must fully fund our schools in 2025-2026 ✊🏽

My first attempt at a Basque burnt cheesecake. It’s like a cheesecake and a crème brûlée had a child.

It’s a good dog 🐶

Is no one else concerned that our county exec Adam Bello is looking to the state to fund a youth detention center? Instead of investing in programs that support our youth he is pushing reactive policies that further criminalize our youth & prop up the carceral system. No one is safe w/ this approach

Book Cover: Our History Has Always Been Contraband In Defense of Black Studies Edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

Now available! Our History Has Always Been Contraband
In Defense of Black Studies 📚

Edited by Colin Kaepernick, Robin D. G. Kelley, and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor

https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2154-our-history-has-always-been-contraband

Every day I realize people don’t hate white supremacy as much as they say they do 🫠 And it’s beyond disappointing.