Through the Prism with Claudia Aristy

Claudia Aristy has been the Director of the HELP Project and Children of Bellevue’s Reach Out and Read Program since 2013. She is responsible for program administration and training. Claudia also serves as a parent educator in both programs.

Listen to an audio version of this interview.

What is one of your earliest memories of the power of human connection?

This is a memory that I can now appreciate as an adult. While it was happening, I couldn’t see how transformational it was.

I was born and raised in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, in a very humble neighborhood where all neighbors were present for each other. The dependability and connection became more apparent when I moved to the United States where I felt isolated and removed from my community and didn't have that sense of connection with my neighbors and others around me. This transition brought me back to my childhood in the Dominican Republic with neighbors taking care of each other in the good times and the bad times. It's when I understood that famous phrase, “It takes a village.”

Another thing that I loved about growing up in that neighborhood was my relationship with the other kids. We looked forward to having power outages and even celebrated them because it felt like the world stopped then. We would decide whether to play a board game or cards or just play in the street because it felt safe to do so. While the children were playing, our moms would sit together and talk because they couldn't do the ironing or other chores around the house because there was no electricity. Those are memories that I now really treasure.

What values guide your personal life and also your work?

I approach life and all the interactions that I have with an immense sense of gratitude. I don’t take for granted that every day I open my eyes is a blessing.

I'm so grateful that I get to enter a work setting I love and feel passionate about. The hospital where I work is the same hospital where I went for my child's health, which makes me feel like I'm giving back to a place that has given me a lot. So, having that sense of gratitude in every moment, no matter if it's a positive or negative experience, has been a guiding principle in everything I do. It helps me perceive life from a very different perspective.

Other values that are important to me are love and compassion, especially during these times that we're living in. There's so much turmoil, and people seem to be turning away from each other instead of looking out for one another, helping, and supporting. We might not agree, but we need to find common ground. That is really what we need the most right now.

When did a person or experience change your mind about an idea or belief?

I had a transformational experience that led me to a person who was transformational to me.

I became pregnant at 16. That was very difficult for my family because I was, in their eyes, the little princess of the house, the one who could not do anything wrong. There was the cultural expectation, too, of what it means to be pregnant so early and before being married.

I came to live in New York so I could be with my baby's father, and that changed my whole life. I was coming with a lot of fear and doubt, because people were doubting me. That was the beginning of motherhood for me.

My grandmother lived in the city, too, and she took me to Bellevue Hospital for my prenatal care. And there, I received so much support and found a whole team of child life specialists, which is a discipline that at the time I didn't know existed. They have a lot of programs to support children and their families during their stay at the hospital, whether it’s an out-patient visit or an in-patient experience.

I was finishing my associate degree in early childhood education because I always wanted to work with children. I was looking for a job and thought there might be a job at Bellevue. That was where I came into contact with a person who changed my life. Her name is Linda van Schaick, and she was the director of the Reach Out and Read program, of which I am now happy to be in charge. Linda became a mentor and was the first person who instilled in me a sense of belief in myself.

Seeing her admiration for what I have achieved up until that point and her belief that I could do so much more was transformational for me.

What are you working on right now?

I'm the Director of the Reach Out and Read program at Bellevue. I started working part-time with Linda 24 years ago as a parent educator, talking to the parents about the importance of reading to their children.

She saw my ability to speak Spanish as an asset to the community, and we added different components to the program. We started one called My Reading Promise, and I have the immense pleasure of working with moms during their pregnancy and seeing the beautiful journey they have connecting with their babies, even before they are born.

The latest project we are tackling is bringing Reach Out and Read into the neonatal intensive unit, or the NICU. As we know, these babies are deprived of stimulating sounds that can benefit their well-being, and the parents are under a lot of stress. By encouraging families to use the power of their voice to sing, talk, and read to their babies in the NICU, parents can gain a sense of control over the well-being of their babies.

I’m also very involved in Nurture Connection, which is a movement that seeks to promote early relational health. I represent a group of families and seek out the parents’ voices and bring them into the work. That has been an amazing journey for the last three years of my professional life.

What is giving you hope? What positive visions do you have for our future?

It's exactly what we've been discussing, the power of human connection and early relational health. They are transformational; the positive nurturing connections in the early years of children's lives set the foundation for the overall well-being and flourishing of those children.

It is a gift that keeps on giving because children who grow up in an environment where they feel loved, secure, safe, and valued will continue to promote these sentiments in their communities with their own children. This is what I love about the work I do. It's healing generations, too.

Sometimes these positive changes are not tangible in the way we wish we could see right away, but it's definitely there. It’s that common thread that makes us all human and helps keep us all connected.