“Because you believed me, I began to believe myself. Because of you, I am here.”
Broken Home, Healed Nest
Pershlie “Perci” Ami
Cultural Connections: Hopi/Tewa Tribe
Pershlie “Perci” Ami is a member of the Hopi/Tewa Tribe, from the Village of Walpi, AZ. As a Hopi elder, coming from a marginalized community, Perci overcame the social, educational, and economic challenges, and has used her struggles and experiences to help others overcome barriers just as she has.
For more than ten years, Perci has served as a strong advocate for suicide prevention, substance abuse, and addiction, devoting her time to the Native American Center for Excellence Substance Abuse Prevention Program as a facilitator for the Gathering of Native Americans (GONA). Perci is associated with the Voices of the Grandmothers, which consists of Indigenous grandmothers from all over About the Authors the world, whose purpose is to share traditional beliefs and stories reflecting a holistic existence of life.
Perci received the Women’s Federation for World Peace USA, Her Story Award, honoring her exemplary work of serving, healing, educating, and uplifting others in the Native American communities. She also received the Marcus Harrison Jr. Leadership Award for her tireless efforts in advocating for Indigenous peoples with disabilities.
Perci played the lead actress role of Daisy, in the newly released film, “Touch the Water” (2023), which is a movie about the mental, emotional, and physical challenges faced as an elderly Native American woman who desires to accomplish a lifelong goal, which ends up being a life-changing journey, as Daisy is challenged to believe she is never too old to dream.
Perci utilizes her values of culture, traditions, and family in her peace work, helping Indigenous people connect and focus on healing the mind, body, and spirit. When she is not providing her counseling and facilitating services, Perci volunteers her time at a local ministry in Phoenix, serving individuals within the city of Phoenix, and the homeless.
Broken Home, Healed Nest is co-authored by Street Outreach Worker Anthony Goulet.
Anthony Goulet
Anthony Goulet is a transformational author and speaker whose writing and work in youth violence prevention and suicide prevention is endorsed by the Dalai Lama and other leaders. Anthony has been working in youth development for more than 30 years. For more than a decade he was on-call 24/7 as a street-level Gang Interventionist and Street Outreach Worker, serving youth and young adults who were homeless, runaways, missing and trafficked. His full-time office was under bridges, within drug houses, abandoned buildings, and inside emergency rooms delivering the Creator’s light of love, hope and healing.
