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Experiencing Ignite’s Young Women Leadership Conference
During my time with Ms. McElhaney, I spoke to her about some of the problems Merced is facing, particularly the fact that south Merced has not been represented in our City Council. I also attended three workshops and attended a great panel on how to succeed in politics. I learned crucial tips on how to go against the ‘norms’ in society and still be successful.
API’s and Prop. 47 – Overcoming the Stigma of Incarceration
“In the API community, specifically, there is a lot of stigma against having a criminal background,” says Michael Maiko, a case manager at Long Beach’s Asian Pacific Counseling Services. “Your family’s unhappy with you, your parents, your elders … It creates anxiety and repression.” Feeding into that stigma, community advocates say, are the stereotypes surrounding APIs as the “model minority,” creating pressure to maintain an image of success even when the reality may be far from it.
Immigrants Encouraged to ‘Take Action’ — Apply for DACA, Get Ready for DAPA
Obama’s expansion of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and launch of a new program for undocumented parents of U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), could provide millions of undocumented immigrants temporary relief from deportation and access to work permits.
#Lunches4All: Kids Should Not Go Hungry at School
Last week, I testified at the MCSD Community Forum because I felt I needed to speak up. I wanted to tell the people in charge what their changes are doing to my friends, all the kids at school, and me.
DACA Gives Korean Immigrant a ‘Shot in the Arm’
Cheong had graduated at the top of his class in Baltimore, but here in the Bay Area, college after college turned down his application for in-state tuition. He finally enrolled in De Anza Community College in Cupertino, working part-time as a cashier in local restaurants to help with tuition. The college fees, he said, were not exactly affordable, but they were “manageable.” His father’s salary as a pastor at a small South Bay Korean church, and his mother’s job as an announcer at a Korean radio station barely covered his tuition.
Young People Reveal Holes in the Foster Care Safety Net
Reforms like AB 12 work toward a better safety net and more stable situations for these youth, notes Brian Blalock, founder and director of Bay Area Legal Aid’s Youth Justice Project, “so they can make decision and make mistakes.” Youth make mistakes as a natural part of growing up, but for many youth in the system, Blalock says, a mistake is a luxury they can’t afford.
Black Lives Matter and the Freddie Gray Effect
This is why many people know hundreds of Freddie Grays, as his family’s attorney exclaimed at the funeral. And this is why there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of Freddie Grays in America – young Black men who grew up in poverty, who attended low performing schools, who lived in contaminated communities, and who now have a hard time finding employment, have had run-ins with the criminal justice system, and are harassed by law enforcement.
Prop. 47 Can Turn 2016 into the ‘Year of Mercy’
I believe it was the my faith community, drug treatment, and school intervention counselors that saved my life. These are the institutions that Prop. 47 dollars should fund, not more investment in policing and jails – which is a concern among advocates of Prop. 47, and is completely contrary to the redemptive nature of the law.
From ‘Second Sentence’ to ‘Second Chance’
“I really felt the stigma of being a convicted felon,” said Hernandez as he reminisced about his experience. “You are told that once you do your time, you can live free, but in reality the second part of your sentence begins when you are released.”
