In the midst of our calls for justice and due process, we must remember the loved ones taken from us, not defined by their last moments or by their killers, but by their unique ethos of creative energy.
The ordinance represents the intensifying war against unhoused people occurring all over California. “Every day someone is being swept off the road. They are being told to relocate and they are losing everything they have and being arrested.”
During the six week program, we have been working with 20 campers—ranging in age from 5 to 22—to expose them to climate issues such as air quality inequity, environmental toxins and our fragile ecosystem. Campers are also learning about community organizing. “One of the things that has been most fascinating is watching the kids take something that they are passionate about and understand, like the video game ‘Among Us,’ and applying it to what they are learning about climate justice."
Mass policing and mass incarceration do not create safer communities. Instead, we must move to fully examine the root causes of criminal activity and violence and commit to dismantling the social determents that drive these behaviors.
Faith in the Valley joined a coalition of partners who are following the lead of the unhoused community to bring needed housing solutions to the Central Valley, uniting students, unhoused community members, clergy and residents.
Faith in the Valley is partnering with Advance Peace and the Fresno Black Metro Chamber of Commerce to lead a cohort of 20 hard-to-reach youth in Fresno who are learning about and acting on the intersections of restorative justice, pollution and environmental justice.
Last December, our participatory defense team began working with the teen in detention, his family and Ashok. The team, composed of Faith in the Valley grassroots leaders and congregations, works to accompany individuals facing criminal charges and their families. To support this young person, the team created a “socio-bio packet” highlighting the stories gained from talking to him and his community. When submitted, the packet provided the court with a more humanizing picture of his life and circumstances.
After much advocacy for eviction protections, Fresno students, resident leaders and partners celebrated the passage of an Eviction Protection Program, which allocates $750,000 to provide legal counsel to Fresno tenants facing unlawful evictions, mediation services between tenants and landlords, and…
Our partners joined us to hold a press conference in Fresno highlighting the arrival of the Biden Administration's temporary Child Tax Credit and calling on elected representatives to make the benefit permanent.
In this next installment of our Faith in the Valley Justice Interview series, we talk with Dr. Karen Crozier about what it was like growing up in Fresno and what drew her to a life of serving the church.