in February 2020 when Porchia-Albert felt a shift in the atmosphere around her. Coronavirus had reached New York and New Jersey.
With children of her own to care for, Porchia-Albert’s work is never done. “It is [a journey] of trying not to be self-critical of myself, it’s one of wanting to show up for community, knowing on one hand you want to help and on the other hand knowing you have these children who need you. A lot of my time is trying to balance it out. I try to include my children in the work that I do and I want folks to know that it’s not easy,” says Porchia-Albert, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
“A successful birthing experience is when an individual comes out of it feeling like they got everything they wanted for themselves. Birth is something that is very fluid, birth is something that will throw you for a [loop]. So allowing themselves the grace to understand that and allowing them to just be, that’s when I think that someone has had a successful birthing experience. It’s not about the birth outcome.
The Porchia-Albert family extends far beyond their spirited household of eight to all of the families whose lives they have played a role in. They’ve committed themselves to the journey of creating a space that is both caring and nurturing for folks identifying as BIPOC, and they actualize it every day.