I have lived a relatively privileged life, yet still I am only a generation removed from homelessness. My parents were migrants. Prior to my birth, home security was something my family didn’t have. Then with the pandemic it became all too real and close to home how quickly families can become homeless and how my own family was just a couple of paychecks away from it. The pandemic highlighted the stigma I unintentionally held about people who were experiencing homelessness. Working with Art from the Streets and Texas After Violence Project, I have continued to find out how different my perspective on homelessness and incarceration was from reality. Being able to process my internship experiences weekly through a Jewish lens has been more helpful than I initially thought. One of the takeaways that I found in the Jewish religion is the idea of being aware and making conscious decisions. This is extremely important to the interpersonal interactions I will only continue to have through my internships. - Amy Ruiz, Intern, Art from the Streets and Texas After Violence Project, Fall, 2020
Top: Student presentations about lessons learned in their internships, including Cruz Zamora's presentation on Workers Defense Project (top), Sofia Hobb's presentation on Migrant Clinicians Network (middle), and Amber Jones's presentation on the AFLCIO. Right: Intern Students, Christine Carranza (left) and Ben Chanditeya (right), each receiving their "Freedom Seder in a Box" for the Passover event, spring 2021.
