WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHO WE're reaching
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VQ BLOG
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Together we can
prevent gun violence |
 The third and last youth conference took place on December 15th 2020 on Zoom and covered the tough topic of violence and its impact on our community, and especially our youth. We see familiar faces leading this conference – talented leaders that will positively impact other lives one day – Liana Parish, Griffen Castillo, Chloe Armstead, and Jonathan Piper II. But we also get to know several new young people that leave us amazed with their resilience, sense of optimism and most importantly, their messages for us as adults.
In this conference, we learn about important programs that address violence and offer a pathway towards healing and restorative justice. With a 40% increase in homicides in Oakland since 2019, after a long streak of decreased violence, these organizations are as important as ever. Joshua Rogers introduces Youth Alive, an organization that focuses on breaking the cycle of violence through prevention, intervention and healing. One of its programs is called Teens on Target (TNT) which trains high school students and young adults from neighborhoods with high levels of violence to be peer educators. They share their stories and experience with other kids and help them through their challenges. Kimberly Higareda, a Fremont High student is part of TNT and her passion for her community shows. She emphasizes the importance of giving kids the space in school to not only talk about academics, but also open the conversation to the things happening in their homes and neighborhoods. This is especially important during this pandemic, when kids are unable to interact in person with their friends. Kimberly shared a slide that lists several resources for young people in Oakland (insert slide). Valeria Ahumada from Oakland Technical High School introduces another program in the Oakland schools called Restorative Justice (RJ), a set of principles and practices used to build community, respond to harm/conflict and provide individual circles of support for students. RJ understands that conflict is a normal art of being human and focuses on building people up instead of tearing them down. This video shows the powerful impact of this program for students at Fremont High. Kenny Johnson is a victim of gun violence and plays basketball in a wheelchair. He is an awe-inspiring person who demonstrates that adversity doesn’t have to stand in the way of doing our best at all times. He motivates all attendees to keep a positive mindset during these challenging times. Staying active and being patient are his key ingredients to getting through the days and his recommendation for all of us: Never take life for granted and try to help the community. Kron 4 TV showcased his resilience. Towards the end of the conference, we hear from three adults that are active creating change in our communities. VanCedric Williams, educator and newly elected OUSD Board member representing District 3, West Oakland, Regina Jackson, CEO East Oakland Youth Development Center and Chair of Police Commission and Dr. Clifford Thompson, newly elected OUSD Board member for District 7, East Oakland. Regina’s work building bridges between the community and the Police department stands out as critical, especially in a time when police violence spans the headlines regularly in our media. She is on a mission to create a paradigm shift by helping police officers see all people as people first. Through her work with the officers, she gives community perspective around the trauma that people live through and how it shows up. She takes her focus on young people to the police and appeals to a culture of compassion first and foremost. Her big wish is that the community can trust the police again. And to end this conference, we experience a wonderful message from Oakland artists Wolf Hawk Jaguar, Santos Soul, and Dr. Lynne Morrow as they present their song from Oakland to the rest of the world: “I Love You!. Their performance says it all: I love you. Resources for Oakland youth include:
By Janine Grossmann @ Quest For You
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 Vision Quilt Coordinator Lynne Prather of Oakland, California in front of the White House. Vision Quilt is joining the Women's March in our local communities and in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 21. We are marching with our mothers, daughters, sisters and our male friends to send a bold message to our new government that women's rights are human rights.
Why is it important for Vision Quilt to march? Because we know that gun violence is a women's issue. The statistics are staggering. Guns make it more likely that domestic abuse will turn into a violent situation. The presence of a gun increases the risk of homicide for women by 500 percent, according to a comprehensive report compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety. By Cathy DeForest, Vision Quilt Founder
As Vision Quilt works with communities to find solutions to gun violence, we do our best to stay informed. What’s at the core of the problem? Where is the need the greatest? How can we make a difference? What types of interventions are most likely to bring change? To gain perspective we scour research and news articles on a regular basis. Sadly, we find the stories about specific acts of gun violence every day. But, the ones we want to share are the pieces that help us understand why and help us focus on which efforts to prevent gun violence are working. |
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