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:
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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All Youth ALIVE! programs are about healing and innovation. And our Counseling Services may be our most innovative program of all. These have been particularly busy times for the therapists in Youth ALIVE!’s counseling services. Youth ALIVE!’s bi-lingual, bi-cultural therapists serve those impacted by violence, regardless of their ability to pay. But after two years of COVID-related disruption and bitter national divide, no one has been left untouched and whole, emotionally. Our therapists tell us they see a general mental health crisis in the community.
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On the first day of October we gathered with our comrades at Broken By Violence (BBV) and Crime Survivors for Safety & Justice (CSSJ) to view a brief, important documentary by and about survivors of violence, and to listen to the insights of a panel of survivors, including YA!’s Jasmine Hardison and Paris Davis, as they talked about the needs – and rights – of survivors, about their own journeys toward healing and their hopes for the future of Oakland. We were joined by Mayor Libby Schaaf who patiently took questions after the screening, as well as Councilmember Treva Reid and Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks and Mia Bonta.
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