Major funding for Long Story Short is provided by the Haile Foundation.

Additional funding provided the 5/3 Foundation and contributions to your PBS station by viewers like you.

Thank you.

♪Emotional piano music♪ On this episode of Long Story Short, a group of inner city girls find strength and empowerment when they are asked to perform at one of Cincinnati's largest events.

A mother faces hard times in her home country and seeks refuge by doing the nearly impossible for her child.

In one Dayton area community, we will see how the phrase “It takes a village” comes to life for local widows and widowers, a daughter and mother experienced tension in their relationship over a decision that will affect both of their lives drastically.

Finally, a young poet reminds us all to stop and breathe in the midst of a chaotic world.

Welcome to Long Story Short, when we bring you the stories that make the Cincinnati and Dayton region home.

On this episode, we'll see how it takes a village to truly care for one another, from families to dance teams to an entire town, we all need help and support in our lives, especially when we face hard times.

The stories you'll experience show the different facets of how our communities so often play a role in the highs and lows of everyday life.

For our first story in the heart of Cincinnati's West End neighborhood is a dance team that has been going strong for nearly 40 years, almost completely under the radar.

Founded by Marquicia Jones-Woods And run by a mix of dance instructors and parents.

This team is a group effort through and through.

These girls called The Q-Kids, have experienced a number of challenges already in their young lives and for many of them dance.

is an escape.

So when they are asked to perform for one of the city's largest events, they don't take it lightly.

Studio about to be chaos in a minute, it’s about to go down in there.

parents going crazy, ain’t got shoes.

They're trying to put that little makeup on and put them little outfits on they excited.

There’s about 20 of them and this is they’re first time even performing.

They don't have a clue what they in store for, so everybody's emotions is everywhere.

Well, I'm excited for them because they get a chance to perform as something as fabulous as Blink.

It doesn't happen often, you know.

It's a big deal because we want to be seen as more than just a majorette team.

We want to be seen as a program that changes lives, a program that is a sisterhood more than dance.

We want the girls to have great self-esteem, confidence, and be able to address the issues that they are faced with every day in a positive way.

So to get this opportunity is a big opportunity for us.

Anxious, anxious.

And it’s for our city, I mean, you know the great City of Cincinnati.

So we looking forward to anytime we can put on for Cincinnati.

We're definitely, definitely ready.

Here you go, girl.

Remember what I told you earlier yesterday When people say stuff to you, what you will say, Thank you make sure you open your mouth and not use your head and say thank you, OK?

I need you guys to be focused and pay attention.

OK, because there’s going to be a lot of people down there.

OK, don't worry about everybody else.

Worry about yourself.

Get yourself in line.

Do not line anybody else up.

Get yourself in line, OK?

I know you guys gonna make me proud.

I know y'all gonna show up and show out OK I already know that I know that.

OK I want you to turn it all the way on to be gassed up don't be acting like you tired OK?

Alright, ya’ll got a little hike to go but y'all can do it.

Breathe and push through it, OK?

The girls are so excited are bouncing around.

They’re stretching.

They’re ready, they're ready and prepared for this parade.

They've been working really hard.

Practicing nonstop, they practice two to three times a week.

They’re even practicing and rehearsing now like right now, and practicing and getting ready to prepare for this parade.

The parents are more excited than the kids if you ask me.

Q-Kidz Studio, it’s a dance team!

As soon as they move these gates the shows gonna start you have to be on it in focus and paying attention?

Y’all been working extremely hard.

This is it.

Come on.

Come on, let's go let's go.

the girls did an amazing job.

The crowd loved it.

They came up at the end and said they were the best dressed and the most enthusiastic out of all of the people in the parade.

I think they did amazing, They blew my mind way more than I expected That was an awesome awesome performance.

I saw you dancing.

You did good!

She was fire.

So we gotta walk back home after every performance.

Almost every performance.

And they done cut up for hours and we gotta walk back home.

All the other teams got buses.

so hopefully one day we get our own bus.

You know we have to walk home.

And do it together.

The girls love dance.

Their parents loved dance.

We all work together.

We go home together.

We do it as a team.

Just like everything else we do, we do it together.

Motherhood is never easy.

The challenges facing any mother are enormous, but the love they have for their child is what pushes them to face those challenges.

For Margarita Gonzalez those challenges were a choice between life and death.

She was raising her baby alone in a hostile environment and sought to find community, safety and support by any means necessary.

This story was filmed at a live storytelling event in the Cincinnati neighborhood of Price Hill.

Hola buenas tardes a todos.

Hello, good evening to everyone.

Mi nombre es Margarita González.

My name is Margarita Gonzalez.

Y soy estudiante de maíz Encinar y.

And I'm a student here at MYCincinnati.

Y me siento muy agradecida con los maestros.

I'm very grateful to the teachers.

Y sobre todo con Laura y Eddy.

Especially Laura and Eddy.

Porque han hecho posible este programa.

They have made that program possible.

Gracias.

Gracias por la gran oportunidad que me dan.

Thank you for the great opportunity that they have given me.

Soy mexicana.

I am Mexican.

Y me encanta mi país.

And I love my country.

Y lo extrano mucho.

I miss it very much.

Pero me siento muy contenta de estar en este país.

But I feel very happy to be in this country.

Porque me ha brindado grandes oportunidades.

Because it has brought me great opportunities.

Yo crucé la frontera como ilegal.

across the border illegally En el 2004.

In 2004.

Trayendo conmigo a mi bebé.

Bringing with me my baby.

De tan solo meses de haber nacido.

Who had just been born a few months before.

Y fue muy peligroso.

It was very dangerous.

Sin pensarlo.

Without thinking about it Puse en riesgo la vida de ella y la mía también afuera.

I put at risk her life and also my life.

Pero todo fue por conseguir el sueño americano.

But everything was in order to achieve the American dream.

Además, no tengo familia.

What's more is I don't have a family, Soy huérfana de mamá y papá.

I was a orphaned without a mother or father, Y siempre estaba sola.

and I was always alone Sin apoyo de nadie.

without the support of anyone Así que me daba igual estar sola en este país.

So for me it was the same to be alone in this country.

Cuando crucé la frontera fue muy peligroso para mí y para mi bebé.

When I crossed the border it was very dangerous for me and for my baby.

Porque ella se puso muy enferma.

She got very sick.

Y yo me quedé sin dinero.

And I ran out of money.

llevarla con un doctor In order to bring her to a doctor.

El Coyote.

Me dejó sola en la frontera de altar, sonora.

The Coyote left me alone in the at the border zone.

A Coyote es se le llama a la persona que cobra dinero por.

Que ayuda a las personas a pasar.

A Estados Unidos.

The Coyote is a person who charges money in order to help bring someone across the border into the United States.

Él no quiso traerme a Estados Unidos porque mi bebé estaba muy enferma.

He didn't want to help me cross the border into the United States because my baby was very sick.

Ella tenía mucha fiebre y no estaba comiendo.

She had a fever and she wasn't eating.

Estaba muy delicada.

She was in a very delicate state.

Este y el Coyote dijo que no se hacía responsable.

The Coyote said that he did not want to be responsible Es otras formas.

for us.

Porque él tenía miedo de que mi bebé muriera en el desierto.

He he was afraid that my my baby would die when we were in the desert.

Porque teníamos que caminar una semana para poder llegar a Phoenix, Arizona.

We would have had to walk in the desert one week to arrive in Phoenix, AZ.

Así que tuve que quedarme sola allá.

So I had to stay there alone.

Pero como en altar sonora está el tráfico de inmigrantes.

At the border zone, there's a lot of immigrant traffic.

Así que gracias a Dios tuve la suerte de encontrar otro Coyote.

Thanks to God, I had the luck of finding another coyote.

Así nos cruzó en carro.

So I cross.

I cross the border in a car.

Salimos a las 6:00 de la mañana de altar sonora.

We left the border zone at 6:00 in the morning.

Llegamos a Phoenix, Arizona, a las 10:00 de la noche.

And we arrived in Phoenix at 10 at night.

Era desesperante para mí.

It was a desperate situation for me, Informe porque mi bebe y yo veníamos atrás en la cajuela del carro.

because we went in the back in the trunk of a car.

Con 5 personas más.

Five other people.

Fue muy cansado y peligroso It was very exhausting and dangerous.

ni siquiera podíamos movernos Because we couldn't even move.

con Iván MUD por las demás personas que venían con nosotras.

because of all the other people that were there in the car with us.

Casi parecíamos sardinas dentro de una lata.

We were just like sardines in a can.

Estaba tan preocupada por mi bebé.

I was so worried about my baby Fue una experiencia muy dura.

It was a very hard situation Pero gracias a Dios but thanks to God, estamos sanas y salvas nahuelsat Now we're safe and sound fans luchando por la vida.

Fighting for life superando los obstáculos.

overcoming obstacles.

y rompiendo barreras y. breaking down barriers.

Porque en el futuro quiero ver a mi hija.

and the future I want to see my daughter.

Graduada con una profesión.

Graduated and with a profession.

Porque no quiero que repita la misma historia de su madre, hija Sharon.

Because I don't want her to repeat the same story as her mother.

Actualmente vivo con mi esposo.

Now I live with my husband.

Y tengo dos princesas más.

I have two more daughters, two more princesses.

Soy una mujer muy trabajadora.

A very hard working woman.

Y me siento muy orgullosa de mis hijas.

I'm very proud of my daughter's.

Porque son lo único más importante que yo tengo.

They are the most important and the only thing that I have.

Gracias a Dios.

Thanks to God.

Pude arreglar mi situación legal.

I was able to fix my legal situation.

Y mi bebé y yo.

And now my baby and I Somos residentes permanentes.

are permanent residents.

Y me siento muy feliz.

and I'm very happy.

porque papá Dios me ha bendecido grandemente.

because God has blessed me greatly.

y esto es solo una parte de mi historia.

That is just one part of my story.

Gracias por escucharme.

Thank you for listening.

[applause] Ella es mi bebé.

Ella es Dana.

La bebé que deseen peligro.

This is Donna, the child who I came over with.

Losing a loved one, especially a partner, can be an excruciating and lonely experience.

It's so important to be surrounded by love and support as you walk through the grief over 100 years ago, a freed slave living in Yellow Springs did something to address this need, and the community has continued this tradition all these years.

Bring it.

I’m Jeff Horn.

I work for Electric and Water Department here at the village of Yellow Springs have been here seven years.

My name is Ben Sparks.

I work for the electric Department.

I've also been here seven years and we're getting to go pass out sugar and flour today to all the windows here in town.

♪Soft Piano♪ *phone ringing* This is Bruce.

Hey Bruce!

This is Ben with the village.

Hey buddy, we're passing out sugar and flour today and we're getting ready to bring it over there.

We have a case of each.

OK buddy.

I’ll meet you out there.

Thank you.

Friends Care Retirement Village slash nursing home.

So naturally, being a retirement community, I'm guessing there's a lot of widows and widowers?

yes there is and we just give them so we give him a case of each.

See you guys!

Have a good one!

I felt good about that.

I felt good about it, yeah?

This is our 7th year doing it.

Me and him has always been the same team and we've got some some of the people that we give it to every year.

They kind of know that me and Jeff's coming and We get our yearly hugs from them except for this year.

We’ve had some delicious treats made from our flour and sugar.

So we're lineman.

We actually do all the high voltage work in town and then on top of that we also.

Decorate Christmas tree.

Decorate Christmas trees as these two are doing right here.

Happy Holidays.

Flour and sugar!

Flour and sugar!

I've been a widow for, my husband died in 1986.

I think it's great because, you know, I don't barely I usually give it away to my daughter.

My husband never lived in Yellow Springs.

That's the thing, but I think he would be happy for me to be here.

I like this atmosphere and everything.

Bye.

Have a nice holiday!

You too!

Thank you!

Most the time they are very appreciative and Yeah, we had one bad instance where we dropped off sugar and flour and the gentleman had just lost his wife like one month prior.

And we went and drop that off 'cause he was just on our list and we gave it to him.

He said Oh no, no no.

This is way too early.

So that's the worst one that we've ever had.

But most people are very They love it.

They love getting it.

And just Yeah.

They love it.

Well, hello there!

Sugar and flour!

Aw, this is so lovely!

It's a little weird being the first year, yeah?

Yeah.

But it’s really such a wonderful tradition Thank you, have a good one.

So my husband passed away just a few weeks ago, actually so.

Well, it's a little weird, it's.

It's a little sad.

But I know my husband knew about this tradition.

For me it's very bittersweet because of course, it's.

Gonna remind me of this time every year, but then I think it's not a bad way to really celebrate the lives of the people that were there for us and we're carrying on a legacy that's that's very important, especially today.

If my spouse or myself would pass away the first time, I think would be tough.

You know, as.

The first time that you had the flour and sugar delivered to you, but I think as the years pass, I think just the tradition of it.

I think it would be good.

Just to keep the memory and the thoughts of your loved one through this.

Earlier in this episode we saw the Q-Kids at work during the Blink Parade.

Now we're going to take a closer look at one of the girls involved with the team, Lauren in this story we’ll see the tension that builds in many families between mother and daughter As children reach adulthood and try to find their own way while still needing help and guidance from a trusted source.

You know it's so funny when you have cell phones.

You don't take a lot of print pictures anymore, so I definitely cherish all of these.

Wow, picture the doctors looking at Lauren before she came out in his hands up like so I knew I was in trouble.

This is where it all started right here.

Praise dance.

She was itty bitty girl right here and that's when I knew she had a talent for dance.

Dance is important because it seems like I can be free.

I don't have to worry about anything, and if I have anything going on around me it's like it's just all disappears.

I can be mad at school, have a huge test coming up and if I just gotta dance, it just relaxes me and makes me focus again.

It’s my dream to dance for HBCU college Because that's all we do.

at Q-kids and I, I know other dance styles, but it's just something about the HBCU, the music, the way they dance, just really draws me.

My number one school is Tuskegee University.

It’s just my top choice.

I want to go far away from Cincinnati, OH.

In fact, I just I feel like I've been here so long, so there's I feel like there's not enough for me here in Cincinnati.

I don't know, I just wanted to be somewhere different than what I've already experienced in high school already.

So Lauren wants to move away far to an HBCU and I get it.

She wants to experience life.

I personally I don't think she's ready to move far away.

I would rather see her somewhere within 4 hours, but most HBCU's are about 8 hours away.

She's my youngest and I want to be.

I want to be there to protect her, but I do understand how important the HBCU is to her.

So I'm there to support whatever she does, but I do want to look at.

All the other colleges, it's basically.

Where we’re able to get the financial assistance.

if Lauren wasn't able to make it into an HBCU.

She may be a little sad.

I'm happy that she's going to college.

If I couldn't make it into HBCU I would be devastated.

I really, really, really really really wanna go to HBCU.

It just makes me feel like I belong somewhere like I belong there.

Like Lauren you belong at HBCU and this is where you need to be so you can do what you need to do.

So Lauren I know you're still.

really wanting to go to an HBCU but I've got some concerns.

I don't really think you're ready for one to be so far away.

two, I really want you going to school for the right reasons.

I'm worried about you turning into this party animal there.

Worried about you being so far away from home, you're still trying to get the basics at home.

Not only that, it where the money is, and financially I want to be able to support where you go, there's just so many things that goes into colleges, so I really want you to explore not only HBCU’s but all kinds of other colleges.

We’re talking about your future.

And there's a lot of money at stake.

If you were to go to college tomorrow, I don't think you would be ready.

I think I'm ready to go to an HBCU.

I think I’m ready to go to any college in fact, yes.

I'm worried about finances as well, but I feel like I can get there and I feel like I can apply enough scholarships and do enough work.

Get the grades to meet the deadlines and meet what I need to do.

OK, well I'll help you do what you need to do.

To prepare for this, but ultimately you got a lot of work to do.

Even though you think I'm not ready this this is my dream.

This is what I want to do.

I know there's other colleges and other types of colleges but HBCU, that's where I want to be at an I just know that's where I’ll thrive at I just feel like it's gonna help me more than any other college.

So Lauren at the end of the day I’m your mom I'm there for you.

I'm going to always support you.

My job is to prepare you for the next phase in life.

I want you to follow your dreams and I'm going to be there for you.

You've got a lot of growing up to do baby.

OK, OK, I'm ready for it.

I mean, I'm going to be hard on you!

I can take it, OK?

Maybe I need to stop saying she's not ready, 'cause I'm pretty sure she is ready.

I'm not ready.

Wordplay Cincy is a nonprofit that gives young people a voice and a platform to express themselves.

One of their young poets is Keyshawn Townsend.

This piece is a short film based on the poetry and story of Keyshawn.

It's a reminder to all of us in the chaos of everyday life to stop and just breathe.

Birds flying high.

You know how I feel?

Singing songs unknown by men chirping, swinging, swaying in the wind.

Wings gently coated by the Sun’s kisses.

Sun in the Sky high.

You know how I feel?

Amplify the whistles and clinks of the morning train Go by the bustles and bunks of the Cinci Metro pouring Rays of life into my eye.

Reefs drifting on by you know how I feel?

Drifting in the River absent of space and time, Red, yellow, green, blue skies reflecting off the windows of drivers passing by.

Unveiling the beauty of eyes of the beholder.

Stop look, breathe, stop for a second.

Look at what you've been given, breathe for just a second black, white, green, blue, so many colors making up the beautiful Cincy blue.

And I'm feeling good.

Thank you for joining us for more stories and episodes.

Check us out at CETConnect.org/longstoryshort And tune in next time for more stories from your neighbors.

♪Emotional Piano♪ Major funding for Long Story Short is provided by the Haile Foundation.

Additional funding provided by.

The 5/3 Foundation and contributions to your PBS station by viewers like you.

Thank you.