Focus Forward: Stories of Hope Magazine (5th Edition)

2019 | ISSUE V

Rebel Without a Cause The Cool Factor

The Perfect Pair

A Match Made in Foster Care

The Payoff

How Hard Work Worked

Graduating with Honors

Choosing a Path to Success

Art Therapy The Mis-education of Arturo Sanchez

Life as a Semicolon

noun: a punctuation mark indicating a pause

Go Your Own Way

The Road Less Traveled

War Torn to Advocate

The Story of a Girl Who Would Not Be Silenced Presented by:

Metamorphosis Interrupted The Butterfly Inside

FOCUS FORWARD BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OFFICERS ACTING PRESIDENT

Joe Olivares, MSW Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation SECRETARY

Genesis Ortiz-Wilson CFO Dutch Bros Coffee Fresno Inc. TREASURER

Vicki Crow, CPA Retired

BOARD MEMBERS

Susan Ryan President/CEO Noble Credit Union Michelle Engel-Silva Executive Director Proteus Inc. Michael Lopez Business Representative Sheet Metal Workers Local Union District 104 Blake Konczal CEO Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board Karin Chao-Bushoven Innovation Officer Fresno EOC Al Grasso, LCSW Retired Dr. Carole Goldsmith President Fresno City College Naun Garcia Owner Inpower Marketing

2019 | ISSUE V

CREATIVE TEAM Bertz-Rosa Strategy & Creative Suzanne Bertz-Rosa Creative Director Jeff Chandler Visual Designer

Susan Hatmaker, J.D. Attorney Hatmaker Law Group Sandra Flores Program Director Fresno County Preterm Birth Initiative California State University, Fresno

ACTING PRESIDENT

Joe Olivares, MSW Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Keri Bennitt Senior Vice President/ CMO Noble Credit Union Coreen Campos CEO Focus Forward Rochelle Cantu Admissions Counselor Paul Mitchell The School Marisa Gamboa Principal Court Schools— Alice M. Worsley Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Naun Garcia Owner Impower Marketing Marcus Moreno Website Content Coordinator Proteus Inc.

EMERITUS MEMBERS:

Melissa Noriego Intern Focus Forward

Susan Anderson, J.D.

Lorena Orozco Intern Focus Forward

Miaka Hardcastle Photographer† & Writer*

Morton Rosenstein M.D. Deceased

† Unless otherwise noted

Matt Rosenfeld VP/General Manager Nexstar Broadcasting Group (KSEE 24/CBS47)

* Graduating with Honors story written by Fresno City College

STORIES OF HOPE MAGAZINE COMMITTEE

EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP Coreen Campos CEO Focus Forward

Genesis Ortiz-Wilson CFO Dutch Bros Coffee Susan Ryan President/CEO Noble Credit Union

LIAISONS Katherine Martindale Principal Analyst Fresno County Department Of Social Services Pam Coronado Executive Director Court and Community Schools Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Marisa Gamboa Principal Court Schools— Alice M. Worsley Fresno County Superintendent of Schools Lori Willits Division Director Probation Department JJC Commitment Facility Mike Farmer Assistant Director Probation Department JJC Commitment Facility

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Metamorphosis Interrupted

The Butterfly Inside

26

Art Therapy

10

Rebel Without a Cause

The Cool Factor

14

The Perfect Pair A Match Made in Foster Care

18

The Payoff

How Hard Work Worked

22

Graduating with Honors Choosing a Path to Success

The Mis-education of Arturo Sanchez

30

Life as a Semicolon

noun: a punctuation mark indicating a pause

34

Go Your Own Way

The Road Less Traveled

38

War Torn to Advocate

The Story of a Girl Who Would Not Be Silenced

Dear readers, We are honored to present the first Stories of Hope issue from our new editorial team led by Magazine Committee Chair, Joe Olivares and Executive Director, Coreen Campos. We are grateful for the hard work that has gone into past issues over the last number of years and to the previous Magazine Committee Chair, Susan Anderson. Thank you for your service.

We also want to thank our sponsors, advertisers, and storytellers for working with us through our first issue. It has been a learning experience, and we appreciate you.

The articles in this issue of the Focus Forward magazine are threaded together by strands of resilience. The overall message is about perseverance in the face of adversity.

Like when Kelsie went from an engaged child athlete to an incarcerated youth diagnosed with schizophrenia, she kept going, and as an adult, discovered the undiagnosed root cause (see page 6).

It’s about keeping going when life throws one obstacle after another, like in the case of Catarina, who overcame child abuse only to become homeless, an addict, and eventually incarcerated after stabbing her husband in selfdefense. She kept going until she found grace in a church with a pastor and his family who understood (see page 30). It’s about keeping going after retirement like Judy, when at 62 years old decided to raise a nonverbal fouryear-old who was born drug addicted (see page 14).

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Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

2019 • ISSUE V

It’s about keeping going when fighting a war against internal monsters developed through abuse and mis-education, like Arturo (see page 26), or persevering in the face of a civil war and creating a new life as a refugee, like Lesby (see page 38).

It’s about finding a new path after realizing the original plan led only to a dead-end, like Mayra’s desire to be with the ‘cool kids’ in high school (see page 10), or Gabriel’s lure of the glitter and gold of a rapper’s life (see page 34).

In the end, it’s hard work and education that pays off.

Just ask Beatriz who grew up in a gang only to turn her life around through a pre-apprentice program to become a Laborers Union member (see page 18), or Victoria, a mother of five, who is a recent Fresno City College grad and recipient of the President’s Medallion Award (see page 22).

It is our great pleasure to share these Stories of Hope with you. As you read each one, our hope is that you are as inspired by the storytellers as we are by the youth we serve.

Thank you for joining us on the journey. Since our inception in 2005, the mission of Focus Forward has been to create successful pathways for youth in the Juvenile or Child Welfare systems. We foster positive change and promote successful outcomes for the youth in our valley, and we keep going.

Sincerely, Joe Olivares Magazine Committee Chair, Acting Board President, Focus Forward

2019 • ISSUE V

Coreen Campos Executive Director, Focus Forward

Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

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Forward “Focus helped me get

”

my family back.

Creating Pathways to Success for Youth in County Systems At 90% success rate, Focus Forward exceeds state and national averages

I am usually a person who “does not share or open up

and overtime, I hear about the different experiences [of others] and realize I am not alone, and this made me more comfortable to share.

”

— Father of Teen

BY THE NUMBERS:

Our reentry work maintains an 11% recidivism rate The state rates reach as high as 74% source: http://www.cjcj.org/news/11350

The ‘I-Message “statements’ I definitely

utilize because it helps when I have an issue with my son. I am able to express my feelings without blaming him.

— Mother of Teen

” didn’t know that “aIjelly fish was a real animal. I thought it was a made up character on SpongeBob.

”

— PREP Program Teen

“

I liked learning more about my mom and the problems she faces.

— Teen

”

87% of parents we support in getting their kids back from CPS improved their parenting skills after taking our class WE SERVED:

90 parents through our First 5 services (FY 18‑19) [First 5 covers our parenting services for parents with children 0‑5]

81 youth and 54 families through PREP (FY 17‑18)

90 youth mentored (conservative estimate for FY 2019)

Your donation makes the difference.

Give today: @focusforward559

(559) 600‑4961 Focusforward.org

Metamorphosis Interrupted

The Butterfly Inside

ABOVE: Kelsie Igasan has connected with her internal butterfly. INSET: 15-year-old Kelsie, a high school freshman, during her cheerleading days.

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2019 • ISSUE V

An Engaged Kid

Kelsie Igasan was a gymnast, soccer enthusiast, and a nationally accredited cheerleader. She mastered watersports by age five, had a passion for theatre, and diligently kept a daily journal. As a young teen, she was an outspoken leader, encouraging those around her both on and off the field and tumbling mat. “Ninety percent mental, ten percent physical,” was the battle cry.

There were many times Kelsie used her head physically too, head-butting the ball in soccer, missing a tumble in gymnastics, or getting kicked at the bottom of a cheerleading pyramid. Years of drive and passion were thwarted during one cheer practice. Kelsie botched a tumbling pass and once again landed on her neck and head.

This time though, she felt uneasy about doing the move again. However, with encouragement from her coach, she repeated the move. Evidently, she performed the pass perfectly the second time; she had no memory of completing it at all. She felt different.

She left cheer practice never to return.

More than Hormones

The once effervescent and encouraging 13-year-old become inexplicably angry and sad. In theatre, she found herself unable to remember lines or entire scenes in her plays. Theatre, sports, and hobbies that once brought her joy left her feeling empty. Kelsie began to self-harm with cutting.

Doctors attributed it to pubescent hormones or problems at school.

Kelsie began to self-medicate with cocaine, and it worked. “I realized I had a lot of problems because the drugs started solving them.” Cocaine became her coffee. It woke her up. It got her to school and allowed her to focus in class, but mostly, it decreased her symptoms of depression. Realizing that cocaine was not going to be a long-term solution, after four months, she reached out for help. The cheerleader was admitted to a rehabilitation facility in Malibu.

Doctors diagnosed Kelsie with schizophrenia. She was prescribed two anti-depressants and a sleep aid. She went from bubbly to numb. After 55 days of treatment, 16-year-old Kelsie transitioned into a life of sobriety; 2019 • ISSUE V

she traded pubic school for home schooling and athletics for AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. Kelsie felt like all of her past accomplishments were eclipsed by her mental illness diagnosis. She ran from her sober life and her schizophrenia.

She ran away in hopes of feeling normal.

She ran towards friends who didn’t know her diagnosis, and with them, she started using drugs again. “I didn’t take my medications during the time I was a runaway. I ran to feel something.”

Deconstruct and Reconstruct One night, Kelsie returned home, drunk and defensive. A fight with her mom went from verbal to physical. The police were called, and Kelsie was admitted to the hospital under a 5150 hold, which refers to the California law code for the temporary, involuntary psychiatric commitment of individuals who present a danger to themselves or others due to signs of mental illness.

Charged with battery and vandalism, Kelsie was sent to a Drug Court Program.

“The justice system saved my life.” The judge sentenced her to 180 days. Two counselors in the substance abuse unit, Annette and Todd, were assigned to Kelsie. She credits the duo with teaching her how her brain worked. “The process was a deconstruction and reconstruction of my soul,” Kelsie shares.

Transformation Interrupted

Her life was transformed in juvenile hall, but the transformation was interrupted.

The next few years were an on-again, off-again battle for sobriety. At 19, Kelsie found herself homeless and pregnant. The event that made her sobriety stick, at least for the immediate future, was having her son. In addition to becoming a mom, she also became a licensed phlebotomist and wife. Together with her husband, they had a second child, another son.

In 2017, Kelsie was involved in a minor car accident that caused her to slam her face into her steering wheel. The sensation was familiar, like falling during cheer practice. Not feeling quite right, she followed her training and pressed forward. “Ninety percent mental, ten percent physical.” When her young son accidentally kicked her in the same place as her car injury, it triggered an uneasiness; she didn’t feel like herself. Over the next few days,

she became increasingly emotional.

Kelsie unraveled and relapsed.

With a heavy sense of failure, Kelsie tried to end her life. She climbed to the top of a two-story building and jumped; she broke her tibia and fibula and suffered a brain bleed.

Butterfly be Free

At Community Regional Medical Center she met Dr. Brenna Hughes, the founder of the Central Valley Concussion Consortium. Dr. Hughes asked Kelsie about how many times she thought she hit her head over the years. Kelsie retraced old journals from fifth grade forward rereading through every game and practice, fall and fumble. Over the course of ten years, it seemed as though Kelsie suffered 80–100 head injuries.

She was reevaluated. Dr. Hughes concluded that the numerous brain injuries were the triggering factors that lead to Kelsie’s mental health issues. She was not schizophrenic.

Kelsie has transformed; she no longer uses drugs or alcohol to alter her mental state. “I’ve accepted my new brain. It’s broken, and I need to work every day on fixing it.” She maintains a daily routine to keep herself balanced.

Today, Kelsie says that a more accurate term for a concussion is Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI. She has chosen to adopt these initials to represent her new platform and battle cry, The Butterfly Inside, a hashtag she uses for TBI awareness. Along with her hashtag campaign, Kelsie has created a website that details her journey and public speaking services and events: www. thebutterflyinside.com. Kelsie herself has finally connected with her own butterfly inside, and it has set her free.•

TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES According to traumaticbraininjury.com over half of all reported traumatic brain injuries are the result of an automobile accident. A traumatic brain injury can occur as a result of any force that penetrates or fractures the skull; areas which are susceptible during an auto accident.

Please do not text and drive.

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Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

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www.americanambulance.com

“

The mistakes you make don’t define you as a person and they don’t define your future.

”

Rebel Without a Cause

The Cool Factor

Mayra Torres knew she was lucky to change her life; not every girl could pull out of her downward spiral — she now shares her story with graduating students at juvenile hall.

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Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

2019 • ISSUE V

E

xpelled from school and home alone, bored, 14-year-old Mayra Torres decided to take her parent’s car for a ride. She didn’t know how to drive and had never driven a car before, but she didn’t let that stop her. Pulling into a parking lot, she hit a vehicle as it was exiting. Panicked, Mayra fled.

She didn’t realize at the time that the vehicle she hit followed her home.

Mayra Torres was raised in a good, fairly strict, two-parent household.

Up until high school, Mayra achieved straight A’s. She was studious and enjoyed school. Life changed as Mayra transitioned into high school. “I met a group of girls who were rebels, and that appealed to me. I thought they were so cool.” With her new friends, Mayra found the freedom she craved.

Her new friends seem to do whatever they wanted. They liked to fight, and started altercations simply for fun or out of boredom. Wanting to fit in, Mayra proved to them through her fists that she was tough enough to hang.

Turns out her friends were gang members.

Unsurprisingly, drugs also became part of the scene — first with marijuana, then meth.

“At the time it didn’t feel like a bad thing.

It just seemed like a fun thing to do.”

One day while with Mayra at school, her friend started a fight. Her friend had a knife.

Because Mayra was present, she was also reprimanded and searched. School officials found binders and papers littered with gang symbols in her backpack.

Mayra was promptly expelled from school for gang affiliation and fighting.

2019 • ISSUE V

Hit and Run

Once Mayra realized the car she hit followed her home, she knew big trouble was in her future. She packed a bag and left. This was not the first time she ran away from home, and it was far from the last.

Upon her return about a week later, Mayra’s parents took her to juvenile hall—“juvie” as she calls it. Her parents wanted her to get the help she obviously needed. They were in total disbelief of the radical shift in their studious daughter; she went from straight A’s to a delinquent criminal in less than a year.

Same Old, Same Old

While at juvenile hall, she didn’t take away any sense of responsibility for her actions, but upon release she walked away with a batch of new friends that enabled, even encouraged, her poor choices. Mayra’s downward cycle had begun — runaway, become homeless, return home, start a new school, get expelled, return to juvie. Rap sheet. Rinse. Repeat.

Mayra received the news of her beloved grandmother’s passing while homeless and strung out. In no condition to travel to Mexico with her family for her grandmother’s funeral, she was heartbroken and hit her own personal breaking point. She returned for the last time to juvenile hall to serve her remaining sentence for her hit and run, which had been increased to the maximum, full sentence. This time, juvie wasn’t different, but she was.

Mayra was tired of running. She missed her family. Her childhood friends were graduating and moving on without her. It was time to reclaim her life.

Once released, she moved to Northern California to live with her older sister.

The new location gave her a new life.

But her challenges weren’t over. She met a nice boy her age, an athlete, with a baseball scholarship and a bright future.

Soon after they started dating, Mayra became pregnant. It was not the life the boy could accept. He had a different path in mind, and it had nothing to do with being a father. It had nothing to do with college, either. When her baby was just a month old, his father was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison for

a fatal drive-by shooting of a fourteenyear-old boy, the younger brother of Mayra’s best friend—a tragic twist of fate with which Mayra still grapples.

The Silver Lining

Despite this incomprehensible tragedy, Mayra persevered. She eventually married and had another child. However, when her father fell ill, her growing family returned to Fresno. Mayra boomeranged to Fresno with confidence.

She was a different person now; she was a mom with a new life and a family.

Her old life held no temptation.

Finding work wasn’t easy. Mayra had experience, but no formal education.

Frustrated by limited prospects, she returned to school, dually enrolled at Fresno City College and Caesar Chavez. She earned her G.E.D. and began her journey to become a paralegal. She received her AS degree in 2017 and has been working as a paralegal for the past two years.

Today Mayra is focusing on her marriage and raising her children. Once blind to their love, Mayra now spends as much time as possible with her parents.

Mayra knew she was lucky to change her life; not every girl could pull out of her downward spiral. She wanted to help. Recently, she was able to share her story with graduating students at juvenile hall. Mayra let them know they were not alone, that she once was them. “If you can ignite a spark in one, it spreads hope to others.”•

DID YOU KNOW? Fresno County Superintendent of Schools operates all of the juvenile and court school education.

Every youth who is incarcerated receives education through FCSS and any youth who attended a minimum of one enrolled day, FCSS offers a scholarship to go to college or trade school.

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we believe every student can thrive!

Every day, the Office of the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools works to positively impact the lives of more than 200,000 Valley children we serve. We believe that every child, no matter his or her circumstances and abilities, must have access to a quality education in order to thrive. Through our departments and services, we support programs such as Special Education, Migrant Education, Court and Community Schools and school district financial and educational services with a special focus on these fundamental areas: Career technical education – Allowing students to explore their interests and develop careers skills, while reinforcing their academics, creates a workforce ready to enter the trade jobs that are essential to our community’s success.

Arts – The arts bring joy and creativity to our schools while at the same time requiring rigorous practice, close attention to detail and critical thinking skills.

Poverty – School children cannot prosper in an environment lacking food, shelter and stability. We support community programs and partnerships to decrease the poverty rate in our county.

Intervention – Our schools need active involvement of parents, local businesses, community leaders and citizens to succeed.

Participation in the education process from mentoring to sponsorship of programs is the precursor to positive change.

Civility – Teaching our students to be givers instead of takers is the foundation to build true leaders who respect their neighbors, their community and their country.

Homelessness – Homelessness and poverty go hand-in-hand.

Education is the great equalizer with which we must provide every student in the county.

Early education – Children need access to educational opportunities and school readiness programs before kindergarten to give them a foundation for a lifetime of success.

Changing lives – one future at a time! www.fcoe.org

Follow FCSS on

“I believe we can all make a positive difference in the lives of our children, not only through education, but in a shared interest in the well-being of others.�

Jim A. Yovino Fresno County Superintendent of Schools

On paper, Judy & David were a long shot. The moment they met, they started beating the odds.

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The Perfect Pair

A Match Made in Foster Care

“

They all just stopped to look at us. David never attached to anyone like that before.

Born Addicted

David Ramirez was born addicted to drugs. His mother was an addict long before he was born. He doesn’t remember much about his parents for the three short years he was with them. According to David’s maternal grandmother, his parents were into some “pretty dark” things. They lived with her when David was a baby and would sneak drugs into her home through David’s nursery window. Both of his birth parents were drug addicts and alcoholics, and at times, violent.

One incident is particularly memorable.

David’s mother approached her mom’s house, strung out. David’s grandmother was waiting there to ask for custody of David and his siblings.

The conversation irrupted into an argument. This was not unusual.

However, this time, David’s mother threw him, an infant, on the ground.

Retired Mother

Judy Ramos was a retired mother of two grown children and needed something to do. Previously, she kept busy raising her kids and working two jobs. Judy’s daughter was a foster parent and encouraged Judy to become one, too. There were so many children that needed care, that needed a good family.

Judy was 62 years old when she first met David. He was four years old and nonverbal. The Proteus Foster Family Agency warned Judy about David. He had been previously placed with three different foster homes, proving to be more than each could 2019 • ISSUE V

”

handle. Too young and too confused to comprehend his situation, David was violent, angry, and uncontrollable.

Judy knew that David was going to be a challenge, but she was up for it. She could see the torment in David’s little face and knew he needed someone like her—someone who wouldn’t hurt him, someone who would love him, and wouldn’t give up on him. “They just weren’t sure I could handle him.

Thank God I had the patience.”

David remembers walking up to Judy and calling her “mom”, the only word he spoke to her for the longest time.

Judy remembers the shock on the faces at the foster agency, “They all just stopped to look at us. David never attached to anyone like that before.”

A Godsend

When it was time to enroll David into Kindergarten, Judy had him assessed and it was determined that David was eligible for Special Education. The fact that his mother used drugs while pregnant with David directly impacted his mental well-being and behavioral issues. Even as Judy worked to get David the education and care he needed, he still regularly acted out at school by throwing tantrums and chairs. At home, he stayed in his own little world. Many school advisors thought he needed anger management.

What he needed was Mrs. Brosley.

Mrs. Brosley was David’s teacher from Kindergarten through fifth grade.

Together, Judy and Mrs. Brosley sat down to figure out ways to help David with his behavioral issues. Judy credits

Mrs. Brosley with her success, “Mrs. Brosley was a godsend. She gave me so much help and information.” Soon after Mrs. Brosley entered their lives, Judy started to notice a significant change in David, “He started opening up more. It just naturally, slowly became easier.”

Growing Up and Moving On

Through years of therapy beginning in middle school, David started learning coping mechanisms, healthy ways to express his anger, and emotional balance.

In junior high, he started asking about his biological parents and the reason he was in special education. He knew Judy was his “mom” but also knew she wasn’t his biological mother.

Because of the skills learned in therapy, David was able to accept the decision his parents made. “I’m still frustrated at what my parents did to me and my siblings, but it doesn’t make me angry anymore.”

Now at 19, David just completed his first year at Reedley College, something he didn’t think was possible. He is studying criminology and wants to work as a security guard while he finishes school. David has his sights set on the armed forces and knows it will be an uphill battle, but David and Judy are in it together.

Looking back, there was never a time Judy thought about giving up on David. “I always thought, tomorrow will be another day.”•

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A FOSTER PARENT? If you believe youth need love, even when they face challenges, and are interested in foster parenting, contact Proteus at www.proteusinc.org.

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The Payoff

How Hard Work Worked

B

eatriz Sias grew up in Corcoran in a traditional twoparent household.

“We are a very Mexican, old school, Catholic family.”

Her mother cared for the children and home, and her father worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. He had an amazing work ethic; he was physically strong and mentally determined. Her mom worked, too. A strong work ethic was something instilled in her, and she did chores for an allowance.

Corcoran is a small town. Over forty percent of the town’s 22,000 residents are comprised of inmates of the two prisons located there. Like many small towns, there wasn’t much to do. Her parents’ overlapping work schedules gave her time to experiment. She smoked marijuana for the first time in junior high. A year or two later, Beatriz tried cocaine and, soon after, meth. “There was no slow introduction into cocaine. I did one line and I was hooked.” The drugs gave her something to look forward to on the weekends. She used every bit of her allowance to buy drugs. To her surprise, the drug use didn’t affect her schoolwork. However, the gang members she began to hang out with did.

Her strong work ethic meant that she did what she needed to do to prove herself to the gang, harassing and taunting rival gang members into fights. By the time she was a sophomore, her hard work led to a couple stints at juvenile hall, solidifying her membership.

Stubborn and Strong

Beatriz’s family intervened and sent her to live with her grandmother in hopes that her behavior would change. It didn’t.

Her grandma sent her to live out of town with another family member. Stubborn and strong, Beatriz made her way back to Corcoran and continued gang banging, using drugs, and partying. She lost count 2019 • ISSUE V

of the number of times she was charged for assault with a deadly weapon. Despite this, she earned her high school diploma through adult school and attended a vocational school for medical assisting.

Pre-apprenticeship Program Opened Door

In 2016 Beatriz completed the preapprentice program. It wasn’t easy. She and her children were sleeping on a Beatriz was on track to a bright future couch in her aunt’s living room. To attend and a career. She was also a drug-using class, Beatriz had to figure out regular, gang member. “I was living a double reliable childcare while continuing life.” Her two lives collided when she got to focus on sobriety. “It was an uphill charged with assault and a drug related battle. I’m grateful that I was sober and charge while on probation. She lost her rehabilitated during job, a really good job, that whole process.” at Wasco State Prison.

The pre-apprentice Now a 19-year-old I’m grateful that program opened adult, she was sent to the door she needed I was sober and prison for two years. to set up her kids rehabilitated for a stable, happy, Even in prison, Beatriz bright future. worked hard. She went during that whole through rehab and She did it. Beatriz [pre-apprentice gained her sobriety. completed the The day of her release, program] process. program and was she made a quick hired at a union stop to see her family company in 2016, and then headed which got her into the Laborers Union. straight into an 18-month rehabilitation She’s been with Traffic Management program. She knew she would relapse Incorporated since 2017 and is grateful if she went back home or reconnected to be working for a company where with her old friends — it wasn’t the she feels valued.

The strong work ethic life she wanted. After completing the she learned from her father paid off. program, she moved on to a transitional It was instrumental in her success living program. “It’s where I learned — both in career and sobriety.• to get my life back together.”

“

”

Growing Family

Beatriz met a man, and together they had two children, first a son, then a daughter. She worked a few jobs, but nothing held. She heard about a warehouse program that sounded like a good fit and attended a free class through Fresno City Career College in 2015. That’s where she met Lydia.

DID YOU KNOW? The construction industry is anticipating a 12% growth rate and only 9% are females.

To learn more visit visit: www.local294.com.

Lydia was a career developer who worked at the vocational center to assist in hiring efforts and conduct mock interviews.

Lydia’s program helped students get into the Laborers Union. To Beatriz, a former felon, minimum wage worker, and now a single mother, this sounded like a dream.

Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

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Northern California District Council of Laborers Oscar De La Torre Business Manager www.ncdclaborers.org

Graduating with Honors Choosing a Path Towards Success

“

I am proud that despite the many obstacles I faced, I pressed through and showed my children that anything is possible regardless of your past.

”

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Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

PHOTOS COURTESY FRESNO CITY COLLEGE

Victoria Rocha with four of her children after receiving her two medallion awards, Dean’s Medallion in Social Sciences and Tony Cantu President’s Medallion.

2019 • ISSUE V

hen you first meet Victoria Rocha, you see a confident and sincere woman.

Listening to her life story, you wonder how she came to be this way.

Graduating with honors was not how Victoria, the second of six children, initially envisioned her life. In her youth, she found herself in the world of gangs and drugs.

In raw honesty, she will tell you about the poor choices she made in her youth.

As a teen, she stopped going to school and repeatedly ran away from home.

The only girl in her gang, she would commit car thefts and burglaries for fun and to support her drug habit. Victoria went to jail and then prison. She was incarcerated when, at 21 years old, she delivered her first child.

After Victoria’s release, she reunited with her young son. She met a nice man, and they created a family, having four more children together. Their relationship lasted a decade. Victoria’s sobriety lasted six years. When it ended, she returned to her destructive habits and to jail.

While she bounced in and out of jail, her parents cared for her children.

Six years ago, while addicted to meth, she stood before Fresno County Superior Court Judge Alan Simpson for her latest drug-related charge. Judge Simpson told her he believed in her and that simple expression of faith was the key for Victoria to choose differently.

She enrolled at Fresno City College after hearing an educational advisor talk about the opportunities available at the college. First, she decided to take one class, then two. Seeing she could be successful, she chose to attend full time.

While at FCC, Victoria received additional support services from EOPS, Extended Opportunity Programs and Services.

EOPS provided Victoria with personalized academic counseling and advising as well as additional financial assistance to help buy textbooks and other necessities.

EOPS Senior Program Specialist Mark McNiff remembers the day Victoria first came into his office and how her confidence grew as she continued in the program. “I remember how scared and unsure of herself she was on the first day she got here. To watch someone grow with the rate that she did each semester is nothing short of spectacular,” Mark said. “She’s always been an incredibly engaging smart person. I don’t think we did anything for that, but she’s now more confident, she’s learned to better conduct herself,

speak with others and maneuver her way through a system that it is very difficult.”

Victoria is now a mentor to other students, especially formerly incarcerated students, telling them about her path and bringing them to EOPS for services. “To watch her become a leader and watch her take on the responsibility for others was pretty cool,” Mark added.

In May 2019, the 35-year-old single mother of five graduated with honors, earning an associate degree in human services — alcoholism and drug abuse counseling. She was awarded both the Dean’s Medallion in the Social Sciences Division and the Tony Cantu President’s Medallion.

“I am proud that I actually finished something in my life. I am proud that despite the many obstacles I faced, I pressed through and showed my children that anything is possible regardless of your past. I am proud to be an asset to our community and not a burden. I am proud to be a part of the formerly incarcerated students of this campus,” she said.

Victoria says not only is she proud of herself, but so are her children and her parents. She says she never sees her father cry, but on the evening that she received her two medallions, with tears in his eyes he told her just how proud he is of her.

Victoria will next transfer to Fresno State to study social work and women’s studies. Her future plans include working with at risk youth in the juvenile justice system, women who have been system impacted, and with victims of domestic violence.•

FRESNO CITY COLLEGE EXTENDED OPPORTUNITY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES Formerly incarcerated students can receive special services through the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) office at Fresno City College. EOPS helps students break barriers so they can pursue their career and academic goals.

Regular EOPS services include priority registration, book service, individualized counseling, one-on-one tutoring, and financial assistance through grants to help with specific needs, such as childcare. Additional services include guided pathways to navigate through college environment and preparing for job interviews.

For more information, please call (559) 442-8231.

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Fresno City College

Award-winning programs During the Spring 2019 semester, FCC served 109 documented formerly incarcerated students.

Services included: • one-on-one academic counseling sessions • academic advising and social development through the formation of the new student club, All of Us or None.

The majority of formerly incarcerated students at FCC take full time class loads and have an average GPA of 2.4.

Fresno City College is proud of the groundbreaking work underway with the formerly incarcerated students and expects many more success stories to come!

fresnocitycollege.edu

Your Future Starts Here

making history at FCC Strong Workforce Stars Awarded by State Chancellor’s Office Gold Star Winners

Bronze Star Winners

Registered Nursing

Dental Hygiene

Administration of Justice

Radiologic Technology

Fire Technology

Respiratory Care Practitioner

Health Information Technology

Fire Academy

Automotive Technology

Alcohol and Controlled Substances

Silver Star Winners

Drafting Technology Graphic Art and Design

Air Conditioning (HVAC)

Welding Technology

Computer Aided Manufacturing

Business Administration

Electrical Systems Technology Control Systems

Business Management

Accounting

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Medical Administrative Assistant

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State Center Community College District

Police Academy

Child Development-Early Care and Education Educational Aide (Teacher Assistant) Foster and Kinship Care and Nutrition Foods Culinary Arts

PHOTOS COURTESY ARTURO SANCHEZ

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Art Therapy:

The Mis-education of Arturo Sanchez The Demons are Inside

When he was just a toddler, a family member molested Arturo Sanchez, and until he was about 13, he was regularly molested by three or four other family members —trauma he kept inside giving birth to his internal demons.

Bonding With Dad Over Meth

“ As a kid I didn’t

know why he was One day, Arturo came home to his dad telling me that…as smoking meth in the kitchen. His dad even tried to get him to try it. Arturo an adult I realize he was enraged. He was not about to was trying to prepare smoke meth. His drug of choice was me for the same ecstasy.

However, soon enough, ecstasy type of life he had, Arturo lived with his father after a led to cocaine, and cocaine to meth. a life in prison. nasty divorce between his parents.

This is where Arturo found himself His father battled his own demons, bonding with his father. “I learned more alcohol, drugs, and prison. about my dad than I ever knew about LEFT: Artwork by Arturo Sanchez, Hear My Heart.

At 14, Arturo started smoking weed and him before.” They would smoke meth ABOVE: Arturo Sanchez with his Dean’s drinking. His grades started to slip. He Medal of Distinction in his 2019 Clovis together and stay up for days at a time Community College graduation photo. rarely went to school opting to instead talking and getting high. Any money spend his time partying and working either of them made went straight to on art. His father thought school was meth, they smoked it all away. “As a Arturo met his wife, Chiquita, useless, so he pulled Arturo out telling user, every waking moment was centered at the pizza parlor. In 2011, the him, “People want to teach you what around drugs – where to get them, where pair married and in 2018 they they want to teach you, but real learning to smoke them, when I can get more.” welcomed a son into their family. comes from working and making money His dad had stopped paying rent on the on the streets.” His dad taught him how Bright Spots house that now looked like a hoarder’s to fight. “As a kid I didn’t know why he Outshine the Dark den. His heartbroken grandfather was was telling me that…as an adult I realize Chiquita, the ever-encouraging spouse, forced to evict them. Arturo began he was trying to prepare me for the same nudged Arturo to get his high school living out of his car, breaking into his type of life he had, a life in prison.” diploma and return to his art. Arturo grandfather’s house late at night to graduated this past May from Clovis shower or escape the cold. “I know Lawnmowers and Life Community College. He was awarded now that my grandpa left the door Arturo had a good relationship with the Dean’s Medal of Distinction and has unlocked for me on purpose.” his maternal grandfather, Raymond. earned three associate degrees: one in His grandfather saw that Arturo’s life 2-Dimensional Art, one in AAT Studio Prayers Answered With with his father was unstable, so he took Arts, and one in Liberal Studies—all a Me’N’Ed’s Pizza Box him under his wing. He taught Arturo while maintaining a 3.95 GPA and Living out of his car forced him to spend how to repair lawnmower engines and time with himself, with his own thoughts, managing a pizza restaurant. Arturo minor vehicle repairs. “He taught me intends to continue his art education with his demons. After contemplating a lot about lawnmowers and life.” His suicide, he turned to his dad’s old religious and plans to transfer to Fresno State grandfather even let Arturo and his or Fresno Pacific University. books and The Bible to figure his life out. dad live in his house, which helped He prayed to God for sobriety. Arturo With sobriety, Arturo gets to enjoy every Arturo’s dad to get sober for a while. started weaning himself off of drugs, when moment. “There have been way more Always the stability in his life, his in late 2004, he says that God answered dark spots in my life than bright, but grandfather encouraged him to enroll his prayers with a Me’N’Ed’s pizza box. the bright greatly outshine the dark.”• into a continuation school where he met an art teacher, Miss Smith-Corvo. She While hanging out at a friend’s house nurtured Arturo’s dream of becoming an one night, another friend arrived with a artist by giving him books about artists pizza from Me N’ Ed’s and asked Arturo if STORY SPONSOR: and art education. Arturo daydreamed he was looking for a job. He was. Arturo interviewed with the company and started about art school but his demons got working as a delivery driver on January 24, in the way. He didn’t think he was 2005, the day he quit drugs cold turkey. good enough or even deserved to go.

“A voice in my head told me, God gave Arturo dropped out of school after the you what you wanted, don’t screw it up.” first year, leaving his dream behind.

”

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Clovis Community College is the college of choice for academic excellence, innovation, and student achievement. ...in completion rates for the Central Valley region. ...in completion rates compared to similarly sized California Community Colleges.

“2018 Champion” for higher education for exemplary work in awarding associate degrees for transfer.

FREE College Enrollment fees may be waived if you meet the following requirements: 1. First time college student 2. Enroll in a minimum of 12 units 3. Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at FAFSA.gov or the California Dream Act Application(CADAA) at dream.csac.ca.gov Financial Aid Office | (559) 325-5239 | clovis.financialaid@cloviscollege.edu

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Programs & Services • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

CalWORKs Career and Transfer Services Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) EOPS/TRIO Financial Aid First Year Experience Program Food Pantry Free Transportation Shuttle Health and Psychological Services High School Enrichment Program Leon S. Peters Honors Program Next Up Foster Youth Services Tutorial Center Veterans Resource Center

Demographics

Demographics African-American:

3%

American Indian/ Alaskan:

1% 8%

Asian:

36%

Caucasian: Filipino:

2%

Latinx:

43%

Multi-Ethnicity:

8% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

Proud to host the SBDC at the Herndon Campus

10309 North Willow Avenue | Fresno, CA 93730 (559) 325-5200 | cloviscollege.edu

35%

40%

45%

Life as a Semicolon noun: a punctuation mark indicating a pause

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n author can choose to stop a sentence with a period or use a semicolon to pause and continue.

Catarina Morales lived her life as a semicolon; instead of stopping, quitting, or giving up, she chose to continue.

She kept going when her alcoholic mother physically and emotionally abused her. She kept going between the ages of seven and eleven when her uncle repeatedly molested her.

She kept going when her mother and grandmother would battle using her as a pawn, a betting chip, collateral.

Growing up, Catarina didn’t know what each day would bring. Would her mother come home drunk and ready to fight? Would the familiar scent of alcohol from her uncle’s breath foreshadow another assault? She lived with feelings of shame, guilt, filth, and fear. Not surprisingly, she craved escape.

Unstable From the Start

Catarina escaped to the streets, where she found family in other lost souls, a family that loved her. They took care of her and introduced her to a way to cope with her unpleasant feelings, drugs. She was nine or ten years old when she starting smoking marijuana and huffing paint. At 13 she started injecting speedballs, a mixture of cocaine and heroine.

The love of her street family didn’t keep her out of trouble. She was in and out of juvie (juvenile hall) and group homes throughout her teenage years. Catarina even spent her 18th birthday in juvie.

She wondered if her gift would be being released or a transfer to county jail. She was released, but she was not free.

Searching for Sobriety and Stability

She struggled with her sobriety even when she became pregnant. Catarina delivered her first son in 1986, at just 19 years old. “He was so small he fit in a shoe box.” Her son’s father was given custody when Catarina went back to jail for drug violations, “I graduated from juvie to Fresno County jail after all.” While incarcerated, she met some 2019 • ISSUE V

women who made good, fast money as sex workers.

Once released she joined their profession; at 19 years old, Catarina began to make her living as a sex worker. At 21, she became pregnant by her pimp. Cocaine still had an overwhelming grip on her, and she lost custody of her second child as well. She was an addict.

Cocaine was the most reliable relationship she had ever known.

if “ II knew didn’t

change, I would have been found somewhere on Motel Drive dead from an overdose.

Catarina continued to look for love and stability. She met and married her first husband. Together, they had three children. Together, they sold drugs. She loved her children, and she loved drugs. The family would go from painfully poor to quickly flush with cash by peddling drugs.

Catarina’s quest continued. She was on and off drugs and on and off the streets. She moved on to her second husband and had two more children.

Theirs was a tumultuous relationship.

They fought often, and they fought hard.

One fight was worse than the others.

He came at her. She had to protect herself and her children. After he hit her, she stabbed him. This action landed Catarina in prison, but it was not the end of her time spent incarcerated, although she was paroled after serving a year of her two-year sentence.

Alongside his wife and son, they welcomed Catarina into the congregation with open arms. Catarina finally found the unconditional love she desired. A recovered addict himself, Pastor Daniel taught Catarina the tools she needed to find the strength to fight her battles, to keep going.

Catarina applied for housing with the Fresno Housing Authority, and in 2012, Catarina received the keys to her new home. “Getting those keys on January fourth was life changing.” On that day, she made a promise to God that she would make her life right with her mom, her kids, and her sobriety. “God opened the door for me, and I never took that for granted.” Catarina has been clean and sober for nearly eight years and loves her life. She is grateful for her seven kids and four grandchildren, and she is grateful for her reconciled relationship with her mother. She is even grateful to be sharing her story; “It just might give hope to someone else. Someone could pick up this magazine and their life could change.”

”

Catarina Morales knows life as a recovering addict won’t always be easy, but she says, “Put a semicolon behind my story because I am not done. I am not a quitter.”•

The Greatest Christmas Gift

Catarina’s last stint in jail was about eight years ago. During her incarceration her family was part of the Angel Tree Program – a program that, among other things, focuses on getting Christmas presents for children whose parents are incarcerated. A woman from Liberty Christian Fellowship selected Catarina’s family and invited Catarina to attend church when she was released. Catarina’s gift came early, for that year she was released a few days before Christmas. The time had come, “I knew if I didn’t change, I would have been found somewhere on Motel Drive dead from an overdose.”

Pastor Daniel Zabalza at Liberty Christian Fellowship became her mentor.

CREATING VIBRANT COMMUNITIES Fresno Housing develops and manages affordable housing communities to support the success of approximately 50,000 residents, in addition to administering the Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) program and providing permanent supportive housing to help reduce homelessness.

For more information on Fresno Housing’s affordable housing communities, programs, or services, please visit fresnohousing.org.

ft$ @fresnohousing Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

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Create and sustain vibrant communities throughout

Fresno County The Fresno Housing Authority works to create vibrant communities, build quality affordable housing, and support the success of approximately 50,000 residents throughout Fresno County.

ft$ @fresnohousing www.fresnohousing.org

Go Your Own Way

The Road Less Traveled 34

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successfully “ Gabriel completed his work

experience with Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce and is currently the Youth Ambassador for the Green Project there.

Gabriel knows how his poor choices and actions affected the trajectory of his life. He had to grow up young and fast, but uses his past experience to propel himself into a positive, productive future.

”

Young, Wild, and Free

Gabriel Recek realized, during a long few months in prison, that the lifestyle he was chasing in L.A. wasn’t for him.

He wanted the lifestyle of the rappers he idolized – rich, free, and an endless party. Upon graduation from Clovis East High School, he moved to Los Angeles and quickly learned that living a fun, independent lifestyle didn’t come cheap.

Growing up, his friends and family members sold drugs to make good money. Now on his own, he needed to support himself and reached out to some old friends for an introduction and reference—a connection—with a local dealer. Right away, he started selling weed, Xanax, and syrup, a combination of codeine-based prescription cough syrup, soda, and hard candy. The party started.

Violation of Position

This was far from the 14 year old wrestler that landed an invitation to the State Wrestling Championship. All throughout elementary and middle school, Gabriel fought hard, match after match, to become a wrestling champion.

2019 • ISSUE V

However, it was the fighter inside him that kept him from competing. A friend of Gabriel’s was being bullied at school, so Gabriel defended him in a fight. Because Gabriel took his skills off the mat, he was disqualified from competing at the State Championship.

Between the fight and blooming disobedience at home, his parents moved Gabriel to a charter school in Visalia.

The courses, primarily independent study, gave Gabriel freedom—perhaps more than he was ready to manage productively. Not believing that anyone cared, he did as he pleased…making poor choices, drinking, and smoking weed.

The Party’s Over

After a morning of smoking, taking syrup and Xanax, Gabriel and a few friends made a pit stop at a gas station.

That is where they spotted a guy and his friends who had jumped one of Gabriel’s friends a few days prior. Both groups jumped out of their cars and started fighting. One of Gabriel’s friends pulled out a crow bar and started smashing in car windows. They held up the other group for their phones and wallets and took off. It took about 15 minutes for the police to catch up with them. “I was so high I didn’t realize we were being pulled over until I saw the cop in my window telling me to get out of the car.”

Gabriel and his friends were surrounded by seven police vehicles, cuffed, and arrested. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon, possession of narcotics, and armed robbery and was sent to prison for four months.

The Right Connection

A family friend, who was an attorney, took Gabriel’s case to trial and won.

Gabriel was looking at serving 15 years in prison, but was absolved of his charges and taken off probation all together. This was just the chance Gabriel needed to get his life back. Once released, Gabriel started looking for an honest way to make a living. What he needed was another connection.

While walking through Manchester Center one afternoon, he stumbled upon the connection he was looking for—Workforce Connection.

Gabriel met Michael Munoz, the man he credits as his mentor, at Workforce Connection. Michael went above and beyond to ensure Gabriel made it through completion of his training program. He still checks in on Gabriel today.

“He got me through job training and helped get me where I am today,” Gabriel says of his mentor.

Michael proudly adds, “Gabriel successfully completed his work experience with Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce and is currently the Youth Ambassador for the Green Project there. Gabriel knows how his poor choices and actions affected the trajectory of his life. He had to grow up young and fast, but uses his past experience to propel himself into a positive, productive future.”•

Double Life

After he was released, Gabriel began leading two lives—one of a community college student trying to get his life together and one of a drug dealer.

Even though he thought he was making it work, Gabriel was always looking over his shoulder. He felt like he needed protection from his past, but it was his double lifestyle that eventually caught up with him. Gabriel was pulled over for driving recklessly after leaving class one day. Since he was on probation, the officers searched his vehicle and found a loaded gun inside of his backpack. Gabriel went back to jail, serving eight and a half months for possession of a firearm.

DID YOU KNOW? Fresno County Workforce Development Board invests in programs that help with job training for young people who have been involved in the justice system, to help them get their lives on track.

Workforce Connection offers employment and job training to people from all backgrounds—if you or anyone you know needs a job, go to a One Stop Center.

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The Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board (FRWDB) has programs to assist young adults with academic preparation and work experience opportunities and adults in their job search.

Our Young Adult Services provides assistance to: Young Adults 14-24 years old High School Diploma and/or GED Assistance Tutoring Career and College Preparation Leadership Skill Development Workshops Work Experience Opportunities Vocational Training Guidance

Call 1-888-409-6884 www.workforce-connection.com/yas

Our Workforce Connection One-Stop locations offer adults:

GREAT WAYS TO FIND A JOB Get one-on-one assistance from our trained staff when you meet the eligibility requirements to enroll in staff assisted services!

Search on your own using the computers, phones, copy machines and more at any of our Resource Rooms!

Log on to America’s Job Center of California at Caljobs.ca.gov to access career information and training availability!

Call 1-877-954-HIRE (4473) www.workforce-connection.com

One-Stop Resource Our Young Adult Services program specifically addresses the needs of the young adults in our community between the ages of 14-24. Services are available at One Stop Centers located in Fresno (two locations), Coalinga, Mendota, and Selma. The focus for the out-of-school young adults is to prepare them for employment by encouraging continuing education for diploma, degrees and training certification. The major emphasis for in-school young adults is to assist them in academic improvements, encouragement to stay in school and preparation for later employment.

Employment and training services are provided to a diverse spectrum of adult job seekers through a unique combination of five (5) Workforce Connection One-Stop Centers located in Fresno, Coalinga, Reedley, Firebaugh, and Selma. At our One-Stop locations, adult job seekers have access to free workshops, information on high demand jobs, career exploration, referrals to community resources, and job board listings.

“

There is no barrier you cannot overcome.

I did it. You can do it. I will help you.

”

War Torn to Advocate

The Story of a Girl Who Would Not Be Silenced 38

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I

t was the 1970’s and Nicaragua had become a war zone. The daily reality of Lesby Flores’ life became that of war—witnessing fighting and death. Even kids her age were fighting. “It was eye-opening as a child seeing children being killed.” It instilled a deep need for her to fight injustice. She felt the urge to speak, to scream, on behalf of herself and the children she saw being persecuted and murdered. Her father knew he had to get her out of Nicaragua before she got herself in trouble with the government—or worse.

Born in Nicaragua, Lesby was one of six children in a family of eight. They lived a comfortable, happy, upper-middle class life. Lesby attended a private school, and her father was a successful CPA with his own business and a sense of pride.

Lesby was just 16 years old when her parents put her on a flight alone, without knowing the language, to America. She lived with her older sister who had previously immigrated to the U.S. Afraid, confused, and angry, Lesby didn’t know when, or if, the rest of her family would join her.

Transition to U.S.

Lesby’s father was granted political asylum. Her family safely arrived to the United States, but with nothing.

The life they knew and cherished, their friends, their home, their status — it was all gone. They were not welcomed with open arms. Their home was vandalized, and their neighbors berated them. “They yelled at us to leave and told us we didn’t belong.”

Not being able to speak a word of English, Lesby started taking classes. In California, the class sizes were huge, and her classmates seemed so superficial. They had no idea what was going on in the world. Lesby was silently suffering from anxiety, depression, and PTSD from the horrors of war. While her dream was to become a social worker or journalist, Lesby was aware that upon her graduation at 19, she still had not mastered the English language; she couldn’t follow her career aspirations if she couldn’t speak fluent English. She chose a different path and became a dental hygienist. “I figured I could do that because I didn’t think dental hygienists talked a lot.”

Fighting for Her Dreams

Lesby didn’t give up on her dreams. While working full time as a dental hygienist, she enrolled at Hope International University taking 21 units a semester to earn her master’s degree as quickly as possible. “I was working 8–5 at the dental office and the rest of my time was either spent in class or studying. I didn’t see my family for 18 months. I just didn’t feel like I had the time to waste.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Development, a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and eventually received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from California Southern University.

2019 • ISSUE V

Commandas, Nueva Guinea zone of southeast Nicaragua, 1987.

PHOTO DN & ARDE FRENTE SUR, UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS

In 2005, thirty years after fleeing Nicaragua to live with her sister, she again relocated to be with her sister, this time to Clovis, California. She started working for the County as a licensed clinician providing one-on-one services to kids and families – mostly Spanish speaking – who needed assistance navigating their own trauma and hurdles.

Coming to the United States as a teenager with layers of trauma, Lesby never imagined herself to be where she is now. “I feel like I have come full circle from seeing the struggles of children in Nicaragua to where I am now. I am truly humbled.”

Lesby always knew she wanted to make a difference in the community. Everything she has accomplished and everything she hopes to accomplish is motivated by this goal. From staff meetings to community outreach, her purpose is to provide education about mental health. “There is a purpose for my life, and I am trying to fulfill that purpose.”

Promoted to Clinical Supervisor in 2012, Lesby has been the Division Manager for Children’s Mental Health since 2017. As the Division Manager, she oversees all of the mental health services in Fresno County for children and youth. Lesby is responsible for the Department’s Children’s Services staff and programs, and in this role has the ability to shape how to effectively render services for all children and youth in the community.

Fighting for Others

Lesby belongs to the National Hispanic Christian Convention, traveling across the country to educate both the Christian and Latino communities about the barriers of mental health. Lesby says there is a stigma about mental health in both of these communities, which is why she conducts workshops and trainings on how to identify and overcome the challenges regarding mental health. “There is so much work to be done I don’t think I will ever fully retire.”

She still has a voice to speak, to scream, on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves. Her message for those who have come to this country with nothing or those who feel defeated by their barriers: “There is no barrier you cannot overcome. I did it. You can do it. I will help you.”•

STORY SPONSOR:

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Kirk Haynes Chief Probation Officer The Fresno County Probation Department provides protection for the community, support for crime victims, and an array of services to the Courts. The major functions within the Department include Adult Services, Adult Realignment Services, Juvenile Services, Juvenile Detention and Commitment facilities at the Juvenile Justice Campus, and Victim Services.

As Chief Probation Officer, it is my vision to strengthen the Probation Department’s partnerships with the Courts, law enforcement, and community stakeholders to create a balanced approach to our law enforcement and advocacy efforts to victims of crime and the clients we supervise. This message is not only for our peers and the agencies we work with but also for our community. We want to make sure that no matter the assignment, we are treating others respectfully. It is our desire that when an adult or youth client leaves after receiving services from us, they leave better than they initially came.

Our goal is raising awareness about the amazing work that community corrections professionals from the Fresno County Probation Department do every day. By educating the community, we make a better connection with the public about our role in the criminal justice system and accessing probation services.

Within the last year, the Fresno County Probation Department has made a conscious effort to tell our “Probation Story” to the community by hosting resource public events targeting juvenile and adult services. We are now frequently collaborating with local justice partners, schools, nonprofits, health programs, cultural organizations, and annual holiday charity events to promote our efforts in prevention, rehabilitation, victim advocacy, and community protection.

Thank you,

Kirk Haynes Chief Probation Officer Fresno County Probation Department

WE ARE NOBLE

WE ARE NOBLE CREDIT UNION! “Noble” is our promise. It’s our promise to treat members with kindness, dignity, honor, and respect.

Our commitment is to our members, to help them make sound financial decisions.

Trustworthy, honorable, dependable, reputable.

Those are four of the words to describe the commitment that we have been providing members for over 76 years.

The Credit Union was established in 1941 as Fresno County Employees Credit Union to represent the founding sponsor organization, the County of Fresno. In the 1980s, we began to welcome members from local businesses and organizations, which led us to convert to a federally chartered credit union in the 1990s and alter the name to Fresno County Federal Credit Union. Early in 2017, the Credit Union changed the name to Noble Credit Union, a name that represents the principles of the Credit Union, and describes our commitment to the members.

“The name Noble represents our core values to our members and to our team,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Susan Ryan. “We honor our members’ dignity and treat their needs with the utmost respect. We are dedicated to improving the financial strength of our members. Our commitment to team values is absolute, and we all contribute to being part of something special.”

Noble’s mission is to provide low cost financial services to its members in a culture of dignity, honor, and respect. This has resulted in a Net Promoter Score of 94% - indicating very positive and enthusiastic support from its membership base.

Serving just over 85,000 members from eight full-service branch locations (five in Fresno, one in Clovis, one in Selma, and one in Madera), Noble has a variety of products and services that continue to save members money.

Noble’s greatest virtue remains our most competitive difference: we are cooperatively owned by the members and exist only to serve their needs. Thousands of our neighbors benefit from big-bank services without any big-bank strings attached. In fact, generations of Central Valley residents have achieved financial stability, and flourished, as members of Noble Credit Union.

If you’re interested in being part of a financial institution that exists to serve you with lower loan rates, higher savings rates, no fees for the financial services you need and personalized service, you’ve come to the right place.

NobleCU.com | (559) 252-5000 FRESNO | CLOVIS | MADERA | SELMA

Supporting families and increasing the safety and well-being of children The concept of a neighborhood resource center has been around for over a century. Its

center (also known as a Family Resource Center) is a recognized strength-based, research -being of children, youth and families.

Neighborhood Resource Centers (NRCs) are value-added to a community. Through support and access to a variety of services and resources, families are strengthened and less likely to experience child abuse and neglect. Core services are neighborhood-speciďŹ c and focus

that show a high area of family need, these NRCs are currently open and welcoming families.

donate to, collaborate with, or refer a family to any NRC, they are a phone call away.

Counseling / Parenting / Addiction / Social Supports / Job Assistance / Food

Sponsored by the County of Fresno Department of Social Services

Coalinga NRC Westside Family Preservation Services Network 160 W. Elm Street Coalinga, CA 93210 (559) 821-8054

Huron NRC Westside Family Preservation Services Network 16846 4th Street Huron, CA 93234 (559) 945-1022

Kerman NRC Centro La Familia Advocacy Services 275 S. Madera Ave, Suite 400 Kerman, CA 93630 (559) 840-0656

Reedley NRC Comprehensive Youth Services 920 F Street Reedley, CA 93654 (559) 230-6304

Sanger NRC Comprehensive Youth Services 1110 Tucker Ave Sanger, CA 93657 (559) 524-6310

Selma NRC Comprehensive Youth Services 1940 E. Front Street Selma, CA 93662 (559) 230-6305

Fresno 93703 NRC

Exceptional Parents Unlimited in partnership with Valley Dream Center 1835 N. Winery Ave Fresno, CA 93703 (559) 492-3324

Fresno 93705 NRC

Comprehensive Youth Services 1398 W. Indianapolis Ave Fresno, CA 93705 (559) 230-6303

Fresno 93706 NRC

Centro La Familia Advocacy Services in partnership with West Fresno Family Resource Center 302 Fresno Street, Suite 102 Fresno, CA 93706 (559) 621-2967

Fresno 93722 NRC

Centro La Familia Advocacy Services 4718 N. Polk Ave Fresno, CA 93722 (559) 237-2961

Fresno 93727 NRC

Exceptional Parents Unlimited in partnership with The Fresno Center 4879 Kings Canyon Ave Fresno, CA 93727 (559) 255-8395 Hours of operation vary by location.

Please call for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Together we can nurture children, support families, promote safety and well-being, lower stress, preserve culture, build strong neighborhoods, ‌ PREVENT CHILD ABUSE!

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FOCUS FORWARD

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I had a unbelievable first year experience at Focus Forward and their staff. This is a great learning facility and possible future place of employment. More of our students need to be placed there as it gives direct experience in applying theory and interventions to clients. Absolutely priceless.

”

-Intern Fresno State Department of Social Work Education Master’s Program

CONTACT:

Volunteer Coordinator Maria Savageau (559) 600-9491 marias@focusforward.org

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Imagine your organization inspiring hope throughout Fresno County An engaged kid

soccer Kelsie Igasan was a gymnast, enthusiast, and a nationally accredited cheerleader. She mastered watersports theatre, by age five, had a passion for As journal. daily and diligently kept a a young teen, she was an outspoken her leader, encouraging those around tumbling both on and off the field and ten mental, mat. “Ninety percent cry. percent physical,” was the battle

The Butterfly Insid

Kelsie Igasan has connected with her internal butterfly. INSET: Kelsie, (grade), during her cheerleading days.

ABOVE:

6

2019 • ISSUE V

next few days, she became increasingly relapsed. emotional. Kelsie unraveled and Kelsie With a heavy sense of failure, tried to end her life. She climbed to the top of a two-story building and and jumped; she broke her tibia fibula and suffered a brain bleed.

Butterfly be free

At Community Regional Medical the Center she met Dr. Brenna Hughes, Concussion founder of the Central Valley Kelsie Consortium. Dr. Hughes asked about how many times she thought Kelsie drunk she hit her head over the years.

One night, Kelsie returned home, grade mom retraced old journals from fifth and defensive. A fight with her game The police forward rereading through every went from verbal to physical.

Over the to and practice, fall and fumble. were called, and Kelsie was admitted as though which course of ten years, it seemed the hospital under a 5150 hold, for Kelsie suffered 80–100 head injuries. refers to the California law code Hughes Dr. . psychiatric She was reevaluated the temporary, involuntary brain concluded that the numerous commitment of individuals who or injuries were the triggering factors present a danger to themselves illness. that lead to Kelsie’s mental health others due to signs of mental ic. issues. She was not schizophren Charged with battery and vandalism, longer no she ; Program.

Kelsie has transformed Kelsie was sent to a Drug Court her life.” The uses drugs or alcohol to alter “The justice system saved my new Two mental state. “I’ve accepted my judge sentenced her to 180 days. to work unit, brain. It’s broken, and I need counselors in the substance abuse a to every day on fixing it.” She maintains Annette and Todd, were assigned teaching daily routine to keep herself balanced.

More than hormones Kelsie. She credits the duo with g process The once effervescent and encouragin a more accurate her how her brain worked. “The ion Today, Kelsie says that 13-year-old become inexplicably was a deconstruction and reconstruct term for a concussion is Traumatic found she theatre, shares.

In sad.

Kelsie chosen angry and of my soul,” Brain Injury, or TBI. She has or herself unable to remember lines to adopt those initials to represent Transformation interrupted The entire scenes in her plays. Theatre, her new platform and battle cry, brought Her life transformed in juvenile uses for sports, and hobbies that once Butterfly Inside, a hashtag she Keslie hall, but the transformation was hashtag her joy left her feeling empty. were an TBI awareness. Along with her interrupted. The next few years a website began to self-harm with cutting. created has Kelsie sobriety. campaign, on-again, off-again battle for Doctors attributed it to pubescent details her journey and public that homeless herself found school. at Kelsie At 19, www. hormones or problems made speaking services and events: and pregnant. The event that herself with the thebutterflyinside.com. Kelsie Kelsie began to self-medicate her sobriety stick, at least for own I had her son. has finally connected with her cocaine, and it worked. “I realized immediate future, was having her free.• drugs she butterfly inside, and it has set a lot of problems because the In addition to becoming a mom, became st started solving them.” Cocaine became a licensed phlebotomi also to her got It up. her coffee. It woke her and wife. Together with her husband, TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES in class, daughter. a child, school and allowed her to focus they had a second According to traumaticbraininjury.com but mostly, it decreased her symptoms brain cocaine was In 2017, Kelsie was involved in a minor Over half of all reported traumatic of depression. Realizing that to slam injuries are the result of an automobile car accident that caused her not going to be a long-term solution, The out for accident. A traumatic brain injury her face into her steering wheel. after four months, she reached that during can occur as a result of any force sensation was familiar, like falling help. The cheerleader was admitted areas right, skull; the quite fractures feeling or penetrates cheer practice. Not to a rehabilitation facility in Malibu. pressed which are susceptible during an auto she followed her training and ten Doctors diagnosed Kelsie with Please do not text and drive. accident.

SPONSORSHIP forward. “Ninety percent mental, STORY two young son schizophrenia. She was prescribed percent physical.” When her She same place anti-depressants and a sleep aid. accidentally kicked her in the 55 went from bubbly to numb. After it triggered an uneasiness; injury, her as Kelsie the days of treatment, 16-year-old she didn’t feel like herself. Over 7 sobriety; of life a into transitioned Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

used There were many times Kelsie g her head physically too, head-buttin in the ball in soccer, missing a tumble at the gymnastics, or getting kicked Years bottom of a cheerleading pyramid. of drive and passion were thwarted during one cheer practice. Kelsie once and pass tumbling a botched head. again landed on her neck and This time though, she felt uneasy However, about doing the move again. coach, with encouragement from her she repeated the move. Evidently, the she performed the move perfectly of second time; she had no memory completing it at all. She felt different. to return.

She left cheer practice never

Metamorphosis Interruptede

she traded pubic school for home Alcoholics schooling and athletics for AA, of her past Anonymous. Kelsie felt like all by her accomplishments were eclipsed ran from mental illness diagnosis. She ia. her sober life and her schizophren normal. feeling of She ran away in hopes didn’t She ran towards friends who them, she know her diagnosis, and with didn’t take started using drugs again. “I was I time the during my medications ” a runaway. I ran to feel something.

Deconstruct and reconstruct

2019 • ISSUE V

Focus Forward: Stories of Hope

Juvenile Justice Campus 3333 East American Avenue, Suite B Fresno, California 93725 (559) 600-4961• www.focusforward.org

Consider sponsoring a story in Focus Forward’s Stories of Hope Magazine. The purpose of the publication is two-fold; first, it is to feature voices that are too often stifled. Second, it is to inspire hope in youth and young adults who have been involved in juvenile justice or foster care systems. Stories within our annual periodical are real life tales of redemption emphasizing that we are more than our current circumstances and past experiences. We can overcome our history to achieve great success—often beyond our wildest dreams.

• Annual publication with year-long+ shelf life.

•A ssociate your organization with triumphant, human-centered, inspiring stories.

• Exclusive invite to the magazine launch party, an evening of fun, food, and networking to recognize storytellers and story sponsors.

•A minimum of 10,000 copies are printed and distributed across Fresno County.

Check out past issues on our website: https://www.focusforward.org/read-me

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