“When I think of Women’s History Month, I think of it as creating an opportunity for women to be on the front lines of healing. I’ve seen a lot of positive women in my life, but I have also had women disappoint me, including my own mother. A lot of women don’t have good relationships with other women, and my goal is to create circles of sisterhood. Even if we don’t always see eye-to-eye on everything, we share similar pain. Once we learn each other’s stories, we can respect one another and understand that we’re each the experts of our own lives. Learning my mom’s story helped me mend that relationship. For me, women’s empowerment comes from women being able to love themselves.
Prior to January’s Presidential Inauguration, several Youth ALIVE! staff members were invited to address members of the Biden-Harris transition team at online forums hosted by the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, aka The HAVI. Youth ALIVE! is a founding member of the HAVI, a nationwide alliance of hospital-based violence intervention programs and proponents of community-based violence prevention.
We’re continuously impressed by the dynamism of our Teens on Target youth leaders at Castlemont and Fremont High Schools, and especially these days by how quickly they have adapted to online platforms to get their message out. Their undaunted commitment to creating a safer, fairer city is inspiring. As hard as things are these days, meeting and listening to them simply leaves you feeling optimistic. Since the pandemic began, TNT youth leaders have been as busy as ever, speaking at conferences and public forums and just participating in the public conversation. In December, several TNT youth leaders, including Kimberly Higareda, spoke at a conference organized with Vision Quilt and Oakland Frontline Healers. Vision Quilt works to prevent violence. They encourage young people to use art to express how gun violence affects their lives and to highlight what they feel needs to change. participated as well. OFC is an alliance of organizations and volunteers providing a wide range of crucial services in the community, including help with housing and homelessness, re-entry, violence prevention and access to Covid-19 testing and health care.
In 5 minutes of raw, honest, beautiful testimony and animation, our Khadafy Washington ProjectCoordinator Jasmine Hardison takes you on her journey of healing after the killing of her only son, Davey. Watch and listen and you will learn so much about a mother’s love, the pain of loss, the strength survivors find within themselves, and the power of healing. Thank you to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for producing this video with Jasmine.
Shootings and homicides have increased this year in cities across America and here is no different. It is important to understand why, but equally important is the toll this increased violence is taking on our youth, our families, and on those who are out there trying to prevent violence and provide support to victims. A recent article fromThe Guardian considers the various causes of the national increase in violence.
Torres & Hardison Discuss the Toll of Violence in the Guardian
Posted December 2, 2020
Impact on Youth & Families -
YA! Deputy Director John Torres
Shootings and homicides have increased this year in Oakland and there are many reasons why. This article in The Guardian considers various causes for the increase but, more importantly, it describes in painful detail the toll this violence is taking on youth, families, and on those who are out there trying to provide support to victims. It features thougthful commentary from Youth ALIVE!’s Deputy Director John Torres and our Khadafy Washington Project Coordinator Jasmine Hardison, whose team of crisis responders supports families of homicide victims in the immediate aftermath of a killing. In the article, Jasmine discusses her own painful journey toward healing and what she is seeing in Oakland this year: “Mothers are scrambling and holding each other up. I’ve walked in those shoes so I can help them with getting their loved ones’ arrangements together and at the same time keep my son’s legacy alive.”
So far, with the support of our community, we were able to raise over $80,000 towards our goal. As we mentioned at last night’s event, our site will be open until Wednesday, November 18th. If you were not able to make a donation last night and would still like to, please click go to our donation site.
Youth ALIVE! subdirector, John Torres, habló con Claudia Simones de Telemundo 48 News la semana pasada sobre el reciente aumento de la violencia en el condado de Alameda, y nuestras estrategias para apoyar a los afectados. Mira el reportaje de 2:45 minutos aquí:
Now More Than Ever: Community-Driven Public Safety Solutions
Posted October 13, 2020
Our 2019-2020 Annual Report
Stories, results, program descriptions, pics and more!
If you want to see what the community is doing to prevent violence and heal itself, read our new annual report all about our programs for violence prevention, intervention and healing.
