Secrets and lies
dallasvoice.comAbraham Esquivel and his wife, above, and Amanda Esquivel, below Amanda Esquivel didn’t learn the truth about her father’s death until she was an adult; now she has made it her goal to help others live their truth TAMMYE NASH | Managing Editornash@dallasvoice.com Amanda Esquivel’s father died when she was six years old, leaving her and her older brother to grow up in a household she describes now as abusive and neglectful and plagued by poverty.
She was about 20 years old before she found out her father was a closeted gay man who died of HIV/AIDS. Such an experience might have turned some people against the LGBTQ community.
But for Amanda Esquivel, it fostered a desire to help a community that for so long had been shrouded in deadly secrecy and shame.
That is why she became a licensed professional counselor, and, she said, why she now has a group practice called Room for Change open in the Oak Lawn area. “I want to make sure we do something big this [Pride] month to reach those that are lost, stuck or unloved because of who they are or who they love,” she told Dallas Voice. “We would like to provide free mental health checkups to anyone who is struggling and open to resources.” Learning about her father Abraham Esquivel Sr.
