News

YA! Staff Back in Sac

Posted April 6, 2022

Advocacy for a Victim Recovery Support -

Traumatized victims should have access to the crucial healing work of violence prevention professionals like those on the staffs of our programs. That was the point made forcefully before the Legislature in Sacramento on April 5th by YA! Policy and Advocacy Director Gabriel Garcia and former YA! Intervention Director Kyndra Simmons. Gabriel and Kyndra were testifying in support of AB 1929, a bill to create a Community Violence Prevention and Recovery Program under the Medi-Cal system.

TNT Youth Leaders Meet Policymakers

Posted April 5, 2022

Oakland Youth Voices Heard -

KQED looks at the surge in violence

Posted March 9, 2022

Relationships Over Politics

All of our programs, whether for violence prevention, intervention or healing, rely on building positive, trusting relationships with the people we serve. It is why our staff is recruited from the community we serve, and it is why they are gifted entry into the lives of people in crisis, whey they are permitted to support them in their journey to healing. It is a thing people like YA! staffers Andrea Piazza or Marilyn Harris or Ernest Ynostrosa can do that the police would struggle to do if they were interested: to gain the trust that allows you to make a difference in someone’s life. KQED radio spoke with YA!’s Khadafy Washington Project Manager Jasmine Hardison recently about the surge in violence we have seen in the past two years. Naturally, Jasmine talked about relationships:

Hope in a Time of Pain

Posted March 8, 2022

Respond with Hope -

Victim Compensation Gave Out Less

Posted March 8, 2022

More claims rejected -

Guardian reporters spoke with Khadafy Washington Project Manager Jasmine Hardison about the crucial role victims compensation plays in helping survivors of violence heal and get their lives back together:

Survivors' Voices Raised in Sacramento

Posted March 1, 2022

Safety Now Rally’s Call to Action -

The Surge & the Future of Violence Prevention

Posted March 1, 2022

No Going Back -

As Oakland’s surge in gun violence continues, an informative February article in the San Francisco Chronicle looks at its possible causes, and ways to address it, from multiple perspectives, including law enforcement and community-based prevention programs like ours. Reporters spoke to several Youth ALIVE! staff, including hospital-based Intervention Specialist Andrea Piazza and Executive Director Anne Marks, and the article features a picture of Violence Interrupter Antoine Towers addressing a rally.

Youth ALIVE in Year-End Media

Posted January 10, 2022

YA! Staff on Oakland’s Violent Year -

As 2021 came to a close and the media sought to summarize a year of increased violence in Oakland and beyond, reporters sought out Youth ALIVE! staff to help them put things in context, and especially to draw a picture of how violence has affected people, families and the community. In Oakland North, in The Oaklandside and on KCBS Radio In Depth, YA! violence interrupters Antoine Towers, intervention specialists Carlos Jackson and Andrea Piazza, crisis responder Marilyn Harris, who works with families of homicide victims, violence prevention educator Sasha Long from our Teens on Target program and agency and program leaders, including Intervention Director Paris Davis and Executive Director Anne Marks, were all called on to comment. Read and listen to their insights in the links below.

Happy Holidays! (but just in case they're not)

Posted December 22, 2021

Holiday Mental Health Resources:

We wish all a wonderful holiday season, but we know that, for many people, it’s not the most wonderful time of the year. Sixty-four percent of people living with mental illness (including trauma/PTSD) report that holidays make their conditions worse. And so, the therapists on Youth ALIVE!’s Counseling Services staff created this helpful list of local and national hotlines, text lines, web sites and other resources that may be helpful for those who are experiencing trauma, or anyone struggling during the season. They include not only crisis lines, but also links to articles to help deal with stress and/or grief over the holidays.

YA! ED Anne Marks on Surge in Violence

Posted December 7, 2021

SF Chronicle looks at surge -

This San Francisco Chronicle piece by reporter Susie Neilson includes vast amounts of historic and national data on gun violence as well as commentary from our ED, Anne Marks, Brian Malte of the Hope & Heal Fund and Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, coordinator of Oakland Ceasefire. Here’s some of what Anne had to say: