Issue 13, Writing Our Reality

Summer 2016 Issue 13

Writing Our Reality

Also Inside From the Rubble of Faith and Depression, An Act of Creation

The Slum Lords of Fresno

Give Young People a Say in Fresno’s Parks

Women Empowered, One Year Later

The KNOW 2016 Summer Issue 13 Published by Pacific News Service dba New America Media YouthWire Collective Coachella Unicoporated South Kern Sol The kNOw We'Ced VoiceWaves

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YouthWire Program Director Tim Haydock

YouthWire Statewide Coordinator Alheli Cuenca

Program Manager & Editor Kody Stoebig

Beat Reporter Miguel Bibanco

Art Director

Jarrett M. Ramones

Translation Paulina Rojas

New America Media Founder & CEO Sandy Close

Chief Finacial Officer Maria Alvarez

Words. Art. Photos.

Patrick Antunez. Lauren Baker.

Ezekiel Benavides. Miguel Bibanco.

Alheli Cuenca. Johnson Del Rosario.

Adrian Diaz. Danyeal Escobar.

Sierra Frank. Charlie Kaijo.

Zyanna Maynard. Jarrett M. Ramones.

Aqeela Starks. Kody Stoebig. Alyssa Valdivia.

The kNOw Youth Media 2911 Tulare St. Fresno, CA 93721 Web: ThekNOwFresno.org Twitter: @ThekNOwFresno Facebook: /ThekNOwFresno Instagram: @ThekNOwFresno Email: ThekNOw@NewAmericaMedia.org The kNOw is supported by a grant from The California Endowment.

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From the Rubble of Faith and Depression, An Act of Creation

My Health Shouldn't Have a Price Tag

Fresno's Art Scene Flourishes Despite Lack of Support

The Slum Lords of Fresno

Why ABC30’s Youth Council Matters

A Tale of Two Schools: My Time At CART and Edison

With a Change in Wardrobe Came a Change In How I Felt

Women Empowered, One Year Later

Give Young People A Say in Fresno’s Parks

When Embracing Your Sexual Identity Threatens Your Faith and Family

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Index

editor's note

Writing Our Reality

Fresno is facing a choice and the choice is clear: action or inaction. We either work to eliminate the issues that plague our city or sit still while the problems get worse. The city’s youth don’t have the luxury of idly watching. They are choosing to act.

For too long, the youth of Fresno have been used as props or ignored. Policies have been created for them without input from them.

Not anymore. Youth are no longer content to let others decide what they need. They are choosing to act in their community.

They are creating commissions and joining councils. They are taking part in the civic process.

The youth at The kNOw are the perfect example of this. This passionate and informed group do not simply see problems in their communities, they see solutions. And, more than that, they know that they have to be a part of the solutions.

The honest stories that make up this issue should set an example for us all. From Ezekiel Benavides opening up about his struggles with depression to Sierra Frank reporting on the appalling living conditions in Fresno’s slums, they demonstrate courage and tenacity in a time when our city desperately needs it.

My hope is that, with this issue, the people of Fresno will take notice of what the youth are saying. They want a Fresno that they can be proud of. A Fresno that has green space made for young people to enjoy. A Fresno where artists are respected and nurtured. A Fresno where civic engagement is encouraged.

A Fresno where community members are taken care of, regardless of their immigration status. They want a Fresno that looks like them and respects who they are and where they come from.

This is the future that they see for their city and this is a future that they are working to create. All we have to do is partner with them as they write their reality.

-Kody Stoebig

Program Manager & Editor

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From the Rubble of Faith and Depression, An Act of Creation Words. Ezekiel Benavides Image. Kody Stoebig

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can’t put a date on when I realized something was wrong.

I was raised middle class, with loving parents, and two older siblings. I attended a Christian homeschool group, and was well versed in scripture. But by the time I reached my teenage years I started to have questions about my faith.

The questions bombarded my mind with wild thoughts and ideas. I’d toss and turn, try to sleep any way that I could, but nothing worked. I began to fear nights and mornings, and lose focus during the day.

Ezekiel Benavides in his home workshop.

The burning question in my mind was this: If God was all-powerful and all-knowing and still created humans knowing that most of us would go to hell, then isn’t God evil? I asked my parents, looked it up on the Internet and even asked my pastor. I never got a satisfactory answer and so concluded God was evil.

I have always created. I remember playing at a park when I was 11, using a small pocketknife to cut down a branch that I crafted into a bow using my shoestring. I also wrote stories. In one I created an alien world with a family called the Oridans. I was in the depths of my own depression then and so I poured much of my grief into these characters.

It was terrifying. I became emotionally volatile, fearful and depressed.

I went to these imaginary characters for guidance, and protection. At some point I convinced myself that I was an Oridan, sent to this world without magic, or recognition. I became simultaneously prideful and self-loathing. I was angry with myself and with the world around me.

To cope with the turmoil I began to make things, and in that act of creation I found solace even as my own faith began to crumble.

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As my depression deepened, I became more and more dysfunctional. I couldn’t do anything during the day. I was awake all night, barely sleeping for weeks at a time. I wanted to call out to my friends, but I couldn’t, at least not in any healthy way.

There were many times that behaved irrationally. I couldn’t think.

how he wanted it, and knew everything that would ever happen, then how could anything I do matter?

Now, there are many answers to that age-old question, primarily explained via different religious structures, but these purposes didn’t work for me. I knew them and had tried them. Then, during a

still insanely difficult to get through a day without relapsing into depression.

My psychiatrist prescribed a nighttime medication that, he said, would lower my brain activity and bring on sleep. It did. And it was wonderful. I no longer tossed and turned at night, torturing myself.

I wasn’t cured. Mental illness cannot be cured. Rather, I was equipped with an array of tools at my disposal that I could use to keep the creeping, inky darkness that is depression at bay.

Eventually, I sought help. I told my parents that I wanted to speak to a therapist—prepared to force it, since they were biblical counselors, and didn’t believe in secular psychology. Surprisingly, they allowed it, and I soon attended my first session.

Together with my therapist I learned to explore my own psyche and to examine some of the causes of my mental angst. We spoke about my fear of the Christian God, about the Oridans, and more.

But a few therapy sessions and a prescription drug did not mean the problems disappeared. I still struggled with questions of faith and god. I felt hollow. Slowly, I was regaining sanity—but what was the point? If god was going to make the world

sleepless night on YouTube I came across a website, The Thinking Atheist.

Seth Andrews, the site’s founder, is a former Christian radio broadcaster who discusses and explains religion and culture in America through podcasts and postings. For the first time I realized that being an atheist, or, at least, an agnostic, was completely okay. I was able to look ahead, instead of dwelling on a paralyzing fear of god. I was able to find my own purpose, instead of having someone else’s purpose shoved onto me.

Still, despite the relief of having been freed from existential anxieties, I couldn’t sleep and it was

Benavides creating a sword for live action role playing (LARPing).

I woke up rested, and ready to face the day.

I revisited my desire to create anew. I have taken control of the Oridans. They are now just parts of my stories and not influencing my behavior.

I also started a bow-making business, Praeclarus Workshop. I design and sell bows for archery out of PVC pipe.

I wasn’t cured. Mental illness cannot be cured.

Rather, I was equipped with an array of tools at my disposal that I could use to keep the creeping, inky darkness that is depression at bay. It’s a constant fight, and it’s difficult, but I’m winning. And I feel alive. I feel awake, and aware. So much more than ever before.

Benavides and the bows that he has crafted.

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When Embracing Your Sexual Identity Threatens Your Faith and Family Words. Danyeal Escobar Art. Jarrett M. Ramones (Subject’s name has been changed)

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RESNO, Calif. — Sabrina Evans, 14, says she worries because her sexual orientation puts her at odds with her family.

“I can’t open up to my parents. They’ll never be able to know,” said Evans, who is bisexual and whose family belongs to the religious group Jehovah’s Witnesses. “If they find out, then I will be ‘disfellowshipped’ from the religion.”

The Jehovah’s Witnesses count nearly 8 million adherents worldwide, including the late performer Prince. The church maintains a strict policy against homosexuality. According to official doctrine, those “deemed unrepentant wrongdoers” for things including homosexuality, smoking or disagreeing with church teaching will be kicked out.

Annually about 80,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses — roughly one for every 100 members — are disfellowshipped and of these only two thirds are later reinstated. When a person is disfellowshipped, they are typically shunned by the community, including family and friends, usually for the rest of their lives.

“I believe everything the Bible says, except that homosexuality is a sin,” said Evans, who is still a practicing member of the church, which according to a 2015 study by the Pew Center is among the least tolerant when it comes to things like same sex marriage.

But despite the tension between her sexual identity and her beliefs, Evans wants to remain a Witness.

Which means she cannot come out of the closet to her family. Doing so would mean losing connection to her faith and her home, something she is not ready to do at such a young age.

The practice of shunning gained attention with this article in the Huffington Post, which stated that when someone is disfellowshipped, “Their former congregation and all Witness family members are instructed by congregation elders to cut the disfellowshipped out of their lives, not even to exchange as little as a hello on the street or an occasional email.”

Evans says she doesn’t want to pretend to be someone she’s not for the rest of her life, but accepting abandonment is tough. “It’s hard to imagine growing up without [my family], as an adult,” she said.

Evans’ own experience seeing a family member ostracized for being gay stands as a clear warning of what could happen to her if she decides to come out. When Evans was seven she saw her cousin be disfellowshipped.

“I was sad. I knew there was nothing wrong with him,” she said. “Even though I was just a kid, I knew he wasn’t a bad person.”

Now twice that age, Evans says that all she wants in life is to be happy and she knows that only she can

You shouldn't have to apologize for being yourself make that a reality. She said, “You shouldn’t have to apologize for being yourself, even if it means losing your family… I have no idea where my life is going, but when I picture my future, I see myself with the girl I love.”

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recipients avoid the kind of pitfalls she experienced.

Still, Fernandez’ own struggles with getting health care were not over.

When she went to apply for Medi-Cal, a county worker turned her away after she divulged her immigration status, despite the fact that Fernandez was qualified.

My Health Shouldn't Have a ‘Price Tag' DACA Youth Turned Away for Medi-Cal Story. Miguel Bibanco.

Photos. Courtesy of the Fernandez family.

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Maria Fernandez, third from left, with her family.

RESNO, Calif. – Maria Fernandez was three years old when she came to the United States in 1993. As an undocumented immigrant she’s faced a number of struggles, including gaining access to quality medical care. That might have changed after Fernandez – who suffers from chronic back pain – applied for President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Before DACA, Fernandez, 24, says the prospect of a substantial hospital bill “just wasn’t worth it.

I know it’s my health and that my health shouldn’t have a price tag, but it does and I’m not the one who put it there.”

Fernandez grew up in a mixed status household, with some of her relatives U.S.-born citizens, and others, including herself, undocumented. She was initially reluctant to apply for DACA, fearing widespread rumors that she would “be deported” and separated from her family. But on the urging of her parents, she decided to apply for DACA in 2012.

The federal program offers eligible applicants a renewable two-year reprieve from deportation, as well as work authorization and access to education.

For Fernandez, in addition to getting a social security number and the chance to work legally, DACA would finally allow her to get the kind of medical care she needed.

Soon after the Obama administration announced DACA in 2012, the president declared that undocumented immigrants, including DACA recipients, would not be given access to health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. But California is one of a handful of states that runs a parallel health insurance program, Medi-Cal, that is wholly funded by state dollars and is available to low-income residents, including DACA recipients.

According to a 2015 UCLA study, 60 percent of DACA-eligible Californians lack private health insurance and are low income. This means that as many as 262,000 DACA recipients in California are potentially eligible for Medi-Cal. In June, Governor Jerry Brown approved a $40 million budgetary allocation to help cover the cost of providing Medi-Cal for the state’s 170,000 undocumented children.

Maria Fernandez, 24, was incorrectly turned down for Medi-Cal by an uninformed county worker.

But after Fernandez applied for DACA, she soon learned that her family had fallen victim to fraud, paying $2,000 for an application that should have only cost $465.

Fernandez now works with a group called Students Without Borders, which helps potential DACA

Her case is not unique. State lawmaker and chair of the assembly health committee Richard Pan acknowledged at a press briefing last year that the California Department of Health Care Services had failed to issue new guidelines to county agencies on DACA eligibility for Medi-Cal. The failure, he noted, led to hundreds of eligible applicants like Fernandez being turned away.

“They are being denied the opportunity to see a doctor, the opportunity to get their medication, being denied access to treatment,” said Pan. As if to prove the point, when Fernandez told the county worker that DACA recipients were eligible to apply the county worker simply replied, “I don’t know anything about that.”

Fernandez says at the time she didn’t feel like she could question the worker. “You feel like they’re more informed on the topic than you are. It’s their job after all.”

As a result Fernandez remains uninsured. “I honestly haven’t wanted to go back after I was rejected.” Between a busy school schedule and work, Fernandez is hard pressed to find time to return to the county office and restart what she describes as “not an easy process.”

Still, she says she does plan on seeking help from Centro La Familia, a non-profit organization based in Fresno that offers assistance with health enrollment and that she is hopeful that she will one day become insured.

Information on access to health insurance can also be found at the Covered California website.

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Fresno’s Art Scene Flourishes Despite Lack of Support Story. Jarrett M. Ramones Images. Adrian Diaz Art. Andreyna Cazares

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he sky darkened over the San Francisco Bay as a young woman collapsed into a heap on a green plastic seat.

For Fresno-born painter Andreyna Cazares, life in San Francisco is more about survival than expression.

She was winded from running to catch the bus after work. She settled in for the long commute from Emeryville across the bay to her rowhouse rental in San Francisco.

“I would make time to create in Fresno—here my main concern is how I make my living,” she said.

“I told myself I’m going to do it tonight,” she said.

“I told myself I’m going to draw before I go to bed, but I don’t know.”

She leaned her head against the glass window absently staring at the concrete buildings and city lights that zipped by out of focus.

Cazares moved to San Francisco over a year ago in hopes of finding artistic growth but because of the high cost of living she has been struggling to find the spark.

“I thought that this would be a great source of inspiration for me—I feel like I was way more inspired in Fresno,” Cazares said. “Here people are nice, but they are very focused on the everyday grind.”

Cazeres on the F-line bus.

It’s no wonder people are focused on making ends meet. The median cost of a 1-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $3430 per month, which makes it the most expensive rental market in the state.

Cazares’s current work as a hair stylist in Emeryville leaves her with little time or energy to create.

“I was surrounded by a lot of creative people in Fresno—I hung out with a lot of passionate people, they dedicated so much time and effort in craft,” Cazares said.

Back in Cazares’s hometown of Fresno, artist and professor of Art, Teresa Flores settles into a quiet room in the Conley Art Gallery at Fresno State.

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“I would make time to create in Fresno—here my main concern is how I make my living,” she said.

Transbay Temporary Terminal Station

200 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94105

“In San Francisco and in LA artists are being priced out of affordable housing,” explained Flores.

Flores knows that not many artists can afford raising rents in neighborhoods long known for their creativity in bigger cities.

Flores explains Fresno is not known for its art community because of a lack of education and understanding.

This makes Fresno an attractive place for artists, since the median price for a 1-bedroom is only $660 per month.

“We don’t get a lot of art education in schools,” Flores said. “The city of Fresno contributes zero dollars to the Fresno Arts Council, yet they’re marketing the murals like ‘come see our murals, come see the fantastic talent that we have here!’”

“Fresno always has had an art scene,” Flores said.

“It’s not oversaturated with artists like L.A. or San Francisco, which is why something like the feminist art movement really flourished here and then moved on to California Institute of the Arts.”

The travel website Thrillist named Fresno one of best cities in America for murals and street art recently because of the high concentration of murals in what some call the Mural District just north of downtown.

Alvaro Romero, a multimedia artist and business owner based in Fresno, said that while the art scene is alive in Fresno, “patrons are few and galleries are severely lacking.”

“It’s frustrating as an artist because the city is benefitting off the work of the artist but they’re not really giving back to artists,” Flores said.

“[Fresno] has talented artists but its audience is undereducated, appreciation of art is next to nonexistent,” Romero said.

Still, Flores and her artist friends believe “Fresno is special and that it’s our home and it’s what drives our work.”

“[In San Francisco] the incomes are higher and the education is much higher,” Romero said.

“Education is crucial to [art] appreciation.”

While the rent might be cheap, the lack of investment from City Hall and a severe lack of arts education in schools means that the Fresno arts

Thursday, January 21. scene remains in the shadow of larger cities-- at least in public perception.

“It’s a good testing ground. Fresno is a good place to experiment, but we do have room for growth.”

As for Cazares, she remains uncertain how much longer she will continue to live in San Francisco.

“Like it’s cool and stuff but, I’m not in love with it,” Cazares said. “I’ve always told myself I would go back to Fresno after I’m a little more established in my career.”

The Conley Art Building at CSU Fresno.

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The Slum Lords of Fresno “It’s only by the grace of God that me and my kids are here today as we speak. The humidifiers, vicks, vaporizers and breathing machines is what kept us going. That is what spared our lives and the lord, I believe that.”

-Danelle Scoggins

Words. Sierra Frank Images. Kody Stoebig Art. Jarrett Ramones

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RESNO, Calif. — When news broke about conditions in the Summerset Village apartments in Central Fresno late last year, it highlighted a problem that many in this city struggle with. Across Fresno there are numerous apartment units that, because of owner negligence, do not meet legal safety and other standards. The tenants are left to suffer.

“No one has exact data on the issue because the city has not kept records,” explains Sergio Cortes, media director and co-founder of Fresno’s advocacy group No More Slumlords. “All we know for sure is that there are hundreds of families living in slum housing. We are working hard to document these stories.”

Cortes started No More Slumlords with his wife,

Ashley, after the couple experienced slum-like conditions in a Fresno apartment they were renting.

Earlier this month the group organized a rally in front of City Hall to call attention to the issue and pressure city leaders to take action.

Almost a third of Fresno residents live below the poverty line, many in substandard housing conditions.

In the case of Summerset Village, tenants — many of them low-income immigrants from Southeast Asia — were found to be living without heat, hot water and smoke or carbon monoxide detectors for several weeks.

In January, they filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit

against owner Chris Henry, who also faced hundreds of thousands in penalties assessed by the city.

“We are addressing a systemic issue that has plagued our city for decades,” says Cortes. “Many people see the symptoms of Fresno’s slumlord industry, but fail to make the connection to slumlords. We are helping people make that connection and encouraging people to be civically engaged with our city leaders.”

Danelle Scoggins, 34, knows the issue first hand.

She spent five years living with her two sons at Millbrook Country Club Apartments, during which time she had to be moved into seven different units within the complex because of severe vermin and

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I lived there for five years and lived in seven different apartments. In every situation, there was something wrong,” says Scoggins, explaining that in addition to the mold “there were bedbugs and termites coming from the drain in the bathtub. It was so sickening. mold infestations.

who suffered from breathing problems.

“I lived there for five years and lived in seven different apartments. In every situation, there was something wrong,” says Scoggins, explaining that in addition to the mold “there were bedbugs and termites coming from the drain in the bathtub. It was so sickening.”

“[They] did not take any considerations to think of my kids’ health,” Scoggins says. “The office manager moved me into a unit where, I know for certain, there was mold coming out of a brick wall.”

She says her two sons, ages 3 and 14, were hospitalized multiple times due to toxins caused by the pests and mold. “Very horrible, it was stressful,” Scoggins recalls. “Not only was it stressful for me, but it was stressful for my kids.”

Complaints to owners, meanwhile, went unanswered, even when she returned home from the hospital after giving birth to her youngest son

Scoggins blames the mold for her youngest son’s seizures and for continued respiratory issues.

“We told them about the mold, they never tore it down,” Scoggins’ eldest son says. “They would just paint over it and you will never know it was there until it grows out of the bricks.” He went on to say, “Every time we moved there were problems; mold, termites and rats.”

The complex is operated by Warren Properties, which runs similar complexes across the country.

The owners of Millbrook Country Club and Warren Properties did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Scoggins’ advice to others in her situation is to inspect their apartments thoroughly before moving in, to ensure the unit is habitable.

“Tenants should check the borders for holes.

Checking for proper ventilation is important because without it mold can form.”

As for her landlords? “Not everyone has a heart,” she notes. “If you don’t have any money, they feel they can take advantage of you. They feel that you do not have the education to get help.”

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Why ABC30’s Youth Council Matters

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Words. Johnsen Del Rosario

ften times, youth voice is disregarded.

Ignored. Silenced.

Many see how young we are and instantly correlate our age to being naive and uninformed about the issues and what’s going on around us. They tell us to “stay out of it” because it’s “grown-up talk.”

As if you need to be an adult to understand that another white cop has gunned down an unarmed black kid and got away with it.

Or that government officials tried to cover up their actions that left an entire city with poisoned, undrinkable water.

Or that a small-minded, loud-mouthed bigot can potentially be our next president.

We’re often told our voices don’t matter that we start to believe it doesn’t.

But some folks recognize the importance of youth voice and the potential it has to impact our

Often times, youth voice is disregarded. Ignored. Silenced. community. One such organization is ABC30, who recently selected a group of youth advocates, like myself, from Fresno to Merced to be a part of the station’s first ever Youth Advisory Council.

It can be hard for the station to be aware of everything happening around Fresno and its surrounding areas. So, ABC30 partnered with Fresno Building Healthy Communities to create the Youth Advisory Council in January to help the news station build a stronger relationship with the community, especially with the youth.

The Youth Advisory Council is a culturally-diverse group of 15 individuals between the ages of 16

and 24, who are able to bring in stories from the many different cultures of their lives, including but not limited to race, religion, academics and the communities we live in.

As a council, our primary goal is to help ABC30 better understand the issues and concerns of young people in communities it serves. The council meets quarterly with ABC30 staff to provide ideas on stories that the council members feel are important or that they would like to see covered more extensively.

Council member Jasmine Romero has already expressed that she would like to see ABC30 highlight more on youth achievement. Romero shared with the council that several news stations picked up a story where a Roosevelt High student punched a teacher, but never once did a station report on Roosevelt’s Academic Decathlon’s win at a competition.

But it’s not just what the Youth Council can do for ABC30, it’s also what ABC30 can do for us.

As an aspiring journalist, being a part of this council gives me first-hand insight into the media world. It allows me to dip my toes into a field that I hope to one day be part of. Not only will we be able to get a behind-the-scenes look on how broadcasts are done, we’ll also be able to meet with professionals in the field and get to pick their brains about the industry. We’re also being given the opportunity to shadow a professional at ABC30 to get a sense of what their day is like inside the studio.

The council gives me and the other members a platform to voice our opinions and know that they will be heard and that they matter. It encourages us

to speak up and to not sit idly by when we want to see a change.

Having a voice is important and ABC30 recognizes that.

I believe, to paraphrase the late singer Whitney Houston, that youth are the future. If they are constantly told that their voices don’t matter, you have to wonder what that future will look like. By taking part in the ABC30 Youth Council, I do my part in building a better future.

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A Tale of Two Schools: My Time At CART and Edison Words. Zyanna Maynard Art. Lauren Baker

When I’m at CART I don’t just feel like a student, I feel important.

This is a time when around the country people are looking for ways to improve our education system to make it more effective at preparing students for the real world.

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ince starting high school every year has been incredibly hectic, but none can measure up to what my junior year has been like. That’s because this year I became a student at the Center of Advanced Research and Technology, or CART. And even though going to CART has been hectic, I am absolutely in love with it.

CART combines rigorous academics with career and technical learning and is open to eleventh and twelfth grade students in Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified. Students who attend CART spend half their day there -- in either the morning or afternoon session -- and spend the other half at their home school.

At CART when I have an idea, the teachers hear me out and encourage it, and when I need help, they listen and try to understand. And that’s what works best about CART. It treats its students with respect, like the young adults and budding professionals that they are.

CART launched in the fall of 2000. The school serves around 1,400 students a year from 15 different high schools in Clovis and Fresno. It offers career oriented courses in four main clusters: professional sciences, engineering, advanced communication and global economics. Within these clusters, students can choose to focus on more specific career-oriented classes.

CART’s success shows in the school’s impressive graduation rates. Seventy-one percent of CART students enrolled in community college after their senior year, compared with 60 percent of other students in area high schools, according to a sevenyear study released in 2011. CART students also had higher rates of university enrollment.

This is a time when around the country people are looking for ways to improve our education system to make it more effective at preparing students for the real world. I think there are a lot of lessons that other schools can learn from CART. And I’m not the only one.

IngenioMind, a California-based research collaborative focused on creative thinking and innovation, have studied CART and plan to use it as a model for reform.

At my home school, students are more often than not treated like children, instead of like aspiring professionals. Because of that the students show less respect to teachers, and learning suffers. At CART not only do the students give the teachers respect, but the teachers give respect back. I know, crazy, right?!

Last year Fresno Unified’s board approved a spending plan that puts almost $10 million toward funding career programs. The plan was created after months of discussions with community members and parents. That money should go to expanding programs like CART in other schools.

When I'm at CART I don't just feel like a student, I feel important and needed. All schools should make students feel welcome. Everyone should feel like they’re getting the education they deserve.

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With a Change in Wardrobe Came a Change In How I Felt Words. Aqeela Starks Photo. Charlie Kaijo

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rowing up, my mother’s focus was on keeping her little girls presentable and on the right track. She really liked to dress me and my two sisters nicely, with our hair combed, clothes pressed and socks folded.

to stay young forever. My older sister on the other hand gave me a really hard time and often started rumors to my cousins in Fresno that I was gay or wanted to be a boy.

But as much as I appreciated my mother's hard work, I often found myself feeling really uncomfortable when she would make me wear bright pink, tutu skirts and girly print dresses. I enjoyed being able to have fun without having to worry about my clothes.

With a change in wardrobe came a change in how I felt and how society perceived me.

This made me realize at a very young age that I was different from those in my household and as time went on, we would only grow to be more different.

When I was 11, three new additions to the family came along, making a total of four girls, two boys and a new stepfather. Together, we moved southeast of Los Angeles to Menifee Valley, California because it was easier for my stepfather to find work.

I often spent my days alone and away from most people. I needed to take advantage of the free time that I had away from my family and the rest of the world to find out who I was.

I looked back at my previous life in Fresno, what was influencing me and what was naturally accruing in my life. This is when things began to change.

One of the biggest changes was my wardrobe.

I went from bright florescent colored outfits to a much more tomboy feel, with more pants and tights.

The type of shoes I chose to wear also changed from flats and Sketchers to a more durable shoe, like Timberlands and Nikes.

My mother was confused with the changes I decided to make, but she understood that I wasn’t going

Before, I was quiet and bullied.

After I turned 13, I was bold and demanded respect from others. I was more confident, almost cocky.

I didn’t let people push me around anymore or pick on me. My comeback game was strong.

I really found myself in Menifee, and as a result my overall perspective on what it means to “be yourself ” changed. I decided that I wasn’t going to let my older sister or the bullies at school affect my happiness or diminish the person I wanted to be.

I would venture off onto my own path and become my own person, and this started with choosing how I wanted to dress.

I also started exploring other interests. I started playing softball and basketball, and took up wrestling. I discovered that I have a passion for things like animals, plants and writing short stories. I was able to express my passion for art of all types.

After a year in Menifee, my mother and stepfather decided to split. So my sisters, brother and I packed our things and headed back to Fresno for good.

Having reinvented myself in Menifee, I was more

Starks outside of The kNOw office. than ready to start fresh in a known environment.

When I was 15 we were once again settling in, with a new stepdad. All was looking up at this point. I began letting people in my life and I didn’t have to act or dress a certain way to fit in. I was simply being myself and I noticed people enjoyed my company just as much as I loved being comfortable in my own skin.

Throughout my journey to becoming me I learned that it’s best to embrace all that you are instead of hiding from the truth, because when you're comfortable and true to yourself you will truly shine and everyone will notice.

15 l Valdivia

Women Empowered, One Year Later Words. Alyssa Valdivia Photos. Cortesía de Deniz De La Mora

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RESNO, Calif.,-- I am going to the University of California, San Diego to major in Sociology in the fall so that I can give back and make a difference in my community. How did I get here?

It all started at camp.

I was asked last summer to attend Sisterhood Rising Camp, a five-day retreat in the Sierra Nevadas.

I didn’t know much about this retreat, but I was fortunate enough to be invited.

This gave me the opportunity to escape from my city.

To disconnect from the people I am surrounded with in order to reconnect with myself.

I trusted in the goals of the camp which were to practice self-healing and build community.

The very first memory I have of arriving at the beautiful camp was the inevitable feelings of anxiety.

I was surrounded by large trees, clean air, and about 100 other women I did not know. But because I had already bonded with the four other girls from Fresno, I knew I could face the camp.

On that first day the adult allies gathered every single one of us into a huge room and had us sit in a huge circle. Here we had the opportunity to work in a collaborative group and create community agreements to keep the space safe.

My emotions automatically went from unfamiliar and uncomfortable to positive and extremely trusting.

I didn’t expect to build that trust so quickly, but the camp was structured to make us feel safe and heard.

In the next few days, I had the opportunity to challenge myself physically, mentally and emotionally. I was able to hear the struggles of other young women and also share part of my own struggles. I was empowered hearing the struggles of the adult allies and the way each one of them has overcome those struggles.

I had the chance to find my spirituality, be cleansed with sage and learn how to meditate.

I found my voice by being reminded that I had one. I was constantly practicing my ability of using my “lioness” voice and I was also able to find out what kind of leader I was. I learned the effects of patriarchy, classism and racism, the very root issues that impede access to health, education and success.

The retreat was like an emotional rollercoaster for us. We shared our tears, our laughter, our anger, our fear and even our personal complications. We even faced some new obstacles together, like climbing a 30 ft. rope course, bungee jumping from an area above 20 feet, attempting to zip line and even canoeing. We also found the strength to break wood and release negative energy from people who have put us down before.

In the end, each person still had their own problems back in their city, but each one of us helped empower each other to continue fighting our fight and to get involved with our community.

We left the camp empowered to bring our new skills and sisterhood back to our communities to implement change.

Valdivia after speaking at Fresno's #GetLoud event.

Like at the camp, we have adult mentors who have guided us through the process of creating community agreements and have supported us throughout the year. They do not forget to remind us that we are in a safe space and if we wish to share something personal about our life that it is okay to do so. They provide us with a space that makes us feel comfortable and research opportunities for us to grow as young women and leaders of our community.

We found inspiration in each other and clung to each other so tight that some of us even cried when we had to let go and return back to our homes.

The good news is that I returned from camp to Fresno where we started Women Empowered (W.E.), Fresno’s chapter of Sisterhood Rising. And over the last year, I have learned so much from W.E. I have developed a strong friendship among my sisters and my mentors, from dedicating an afternoon once a week for sister-circles to sharing via social media accounts and cell phone numbers – and making it a point to go out with my sisters as much as possible. I’ve grown to love and support them as they have done for me.

Valdivia with Cynthia Escoto and Deniz De La Mora.

16 l Antunez

By implementing a youth parks commission, youth will have the chance to work with the city to resolve the issues around parks. Just like they did with Romain Park.

Give Young People

The revitalization of Romain Park allowed youth to have a say in the creation of a brand new skate park in Fresno. It also led to a park clean up day, a revamp of the park’s interior gym, a new mural – created by youth – and a community garden. Also, at the opening of Romain’s skate park, there were hundreds of local skaters ready to shred the scene.

Words. Patrick Antunez Image. Alheli Cuenca

It continues to be a central avenue for many teens and skaters.

Romain Park should serve as an example of what direct youth involvement can achieve. Youth took leadership and showed our love for parks. We were allowed to share our voices and it inspired us to take action and tackle our park problem. We brought raw insight and fresh ideas to what our park space can be and it manifested our power.

A Say in Fresno’s Parks

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RESNO, Calif. – As a child of Fresno I grew up loving parks. From the late nights hanging out with my friends to the days of scraping my knees at the skate park, parks have served as a place of community, self-expression and a judgment-free zone.

But over time I started noticing something about the parks that I loved – they weren’t growing with me.

Fresno comes in 97th out of 100 in the annual ParkScore rankings, which look at available park space per resident in the nation’s largest 100 cities.

Opening day of Romain Skate Park.

A lack of park space is nothing new for the people of South Fresno but solutions are not coming quick enough.

And while residents have ideas about how to solve the problem, they are repeatedly left out of conversations about expanding park access.

Specifically, Fresno needs to create a policy designed to incorporate youth, something that could be a vital tool in fixing our park problem.

It only makes sense to look to the expertise of those who are most knowledgeable when it comes to Fresno’s parks; after all, who knows parks better than those who use them every day?

The revitalization of Romain Park allowed youth to have a say in the creation of a brand new skate park in Fresno.

We need to invest in our parks by investing in our youth. We need to make youth involvement in parks a reality to keep our momentum going.

Let’s take a step in the right direction by first creating the policy to make sure that youth get a spot in the discussion and then making sure that they stay in that discussion.

Involving youth would not only help our parks, but it would make us stronger and more connected as a community. With unity we can create a healthier, more beautiful Fresno.