Martina Santana is known to bring her artistic side to her Direct Service Professional (DSP) job whenever she can. This year, in honor of Black History Month in February and Women’s History Month in March, Santana transformed the walls of YAI's "Zerega" Day Habilitation (Day Hab) in the Bronx into a colorful display that celebrates women and black figures in history. The artwork consisted of a periodic table with black history facts, flowers spotlighting famous women, and also a poem, "Black is Beautiful," from her favorite author, Sharon D. Brown-Rogers. She hopes her art educates those she supports and is a source of encouragement for anyone going through hard times. 

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“With everything going on in the world with police brutality and the pandemic, I wanted to show the people we support that they do have our support and that we hear them,” said Santana. “They need to know what’s going on in the world because it doesn’t just affect us, it affects them too.”

The artwork took three weeks to complete and has been the main attraction for everyone at the day hab. Santana said her inspiration comes from her mom and aunts--women she wanted to celebrate for their strengths and teachings throughout her life.

“We are innovators, we are awesome, great, intelligent people and we need to celebrate that any chance we get,” she said. “I love doing what I do for people we support and this is my way of showing them life is beautiful and that they matter.”