A Tucson mother who lost her daughter to domestic violence now runs a nonprofit to honor her and help others. Shes looking to make a difference across the entire state.
Its been six years since 18-year-old Rosaura Barbosas life was cut short.
Her ex-boyfriend was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to domestic violence and second degree murder.
Its still hard. Every day is hard, Rosauras mother, April, said in a sit-down with KGUN. Theres a hidden aspect to our community. People hide about being abused. They hide it from their families, they hide it from their loved ones. Because either theyre embarrassed or theyre scared With Rosaura, there were no signs of abuse.
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April and Rosauras father Joe Barbosa decided to fight the culture of fear around domestic abuse.
Me and him, were like, No. Were gonna go in these neighborhoods and make a difference said April. We would go in houses where the abuser was at, and help them pack up and help them leave.
April went on to start the nonprofit Justice for Rosaura, which has already helped people across the state. She keeps building it into a better resource.
We do peer support, because there are survivors out there that arent able to leave the people that are hurting them, April explained. We are there for them. I check up on them every day.
I got my Bachelors degree and now Im working on my Masters degree in nonprofit management and leadership. Because I want this to succeed and I want this not to just disappear.
Justice for Rosaura is now partnering with groups in the community, like the Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse.
Now [Emerge is] gonna be training all my volunteers, like every three months, to be state-certified domestic violence advocates, said April. Weve been interacting with everybody, but we need more knowledge.
And April is now reaching even higher. She has already been in touch with the federal government and now is pushing to get a state law passed in Arizona that would require healthy relationships and teen dating violence be addressed in schools. Its based off of a similar law already passed in Alaska called Brees Law.
This would be known as Rosauras Law, aimed at saving lives while giving Rosaura a lasting legacy.
Im gonna do this til the day I die and Im gonna make sure that Im doing big things, said April. Because my love for my daughter just feeds that fire.