Guardian Scholars

California State Bill 967 gives the resources to dependency kids, coming out of the foster care system to get room, board and tuition paid for at institutions of higher learning. We are interviewing these students around California to understand the turning points, people and events that often challenged them and at other times allowed them to not only survive but thrive. Our goal is to find if these positive markers are not only identifiable, but also replicable.

With this information, we will be traveling to another state that supports this same population with emotional support groups, some funds but not the blanket that California provides. We will work with these former foster kids, now in higher education and join forces with social advocates to create a compelling body of stories that can be used to change state legislative priorities and improve funding to the California levels.

With this successful model for change…..we will take this campaign national.

This story comes from incoming UCSB freshman, Ty Gregg, who is a part of the foster youth program on campus, Guardian Scholars.

“Growing up was hectic.

I was in the car with my Mom because we were living in the car and I said “I’m sick of it. I don’t want to do this anymore. There more out there for me.” Homelessness was boring. I did have my phone and I would leave the car around five or six am. I would go sleep under a bridge or at a park. It’s kind of quiet. From there I would just wander around, try to find food or entertain myself with my phone. This is Oakland. No one cares. Lae enforcement went past me multiple times at night and for the whole five months. I was just on my own. They didn’t stop for nothing. They just went about their business. They have more pressing matters than a 14 year old teen walking around. Vallejo, Oakland. It’s kind of typical. No one in law enforcement really cared to stop because there is so much homelessness our there. There is nothing you can change. You know that they’re on the streets. I ended up in a group home for about three years. I never had a foster home. I knew I had it in myself. Probably dating back to the 5th grade that’s where I knew I’m meant for something better. I can do more. What followed was a series of unfortunate events that sidetracked me. I see that as my test and I made it past it.

To use tools to get here, U really feel it just matured with me as I went on. There wasn’t a snap or I was enlightened. There have been people around me that supported me and I can’t say I did it on my own. I would say I am responsible for getting myself here. I was already on the right track to make it here. People just saw that I needed a little push. They saw I was bound. They just wanted to help me and support me and be a part of whatever I become. Why wouldn’t you want to surround yourself with greatness? We’re all underdog in my world. They don’t expect anything to happen but when someone does come up from under, everyone is behind that person. What am I missing? Maybe the good it,. The value of the experience. I wouldn’t be who I am without all that. I had to go through all of it to be me. If I didn’t go through all of that who knows…I could be dead, I could be more whitewashed. I just wouldn’t know a lot of the things I know now….so I am grateful. Yes I’m grateful for going through that…”

- Ty Gregg

Incoming freshman UCSB, Guardian Scholars program

Puerto Rico: Viewing "La Revolución" From Juvie

By Stephany Rubio

Juvenile-in-Justice Contributor

For the past few weeks hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans erupted in mass protests, resulting in the resignation of Governor, Ricardo Rosselló. The protests were in response to 900 pages of leaked chats between Rosselló and other Puerto Rican officials where they mocked 2017 Hurricane Maria victims and shared homophobic and misogynistic comments. 

Puerto Rico is not a state within the U.S. it is a commonwealth and an unincorporated territory. With a long colonial history, civil unrest has been building up for generations, especially for Puerto Rican youth today. Earlier this year in March, Director of Juvenile-in-Justice, Richard Ross, was in Puerto Rico interviewing youth in juvenile detention facilities throughout the island. Some of the children we have pictured in The Puerto Rico Project are in federal as well as commonwealth custody. 

Amongst those interviewed was 19 year old Puertorriqueño, Roberto G., who back in 2017 at the time of Hurricane Maria was incarcerated at the Departamento de Corrección y Rehabilitación Instituciones Juveniles in Ponce. We had the opportunity to interview Roberto again, in the midst of this political and social revolution on his home island. 

Pictured: Roberto G., taken by Richard Ross

“In certain aspects, I would say I was protected, but at the same time I was caged within four walls without being able to help my family and others who may have needed my help. But I do think that those of us that were incarcerated were better off within four walls because who knows who could have ended up dead out there in the streets during the hurricane,” said Roberto in response to Rosselló’s comments about Hurricane Maria victims.

Roberto now lives in the U.S., but is conflicted about being here while his family is still on the island. Upon his release he realized that coming to the U.S. was in his best interest, but he shares the same anger towards the Governor as the rest of his community that is on the island. “He was wrong and he has to deal with the consequences because if he was man enough to say all those things, he has to be man enough to take the consequences,” said Roberto.

Roberto does not believe in the two party system and wants his government to let go of the battle between themselves and actually address the bigger issues the island is facing. “Why don’t they all just unite and stop doing whatever they damn please with Puerto Rico? Their families are safe and that’s all that matters to them,” he said, “we are all equal, even if some identify as homosexual or bisexual, that is not enough to judge someone, one has to realize that this could be their family member too.”

Upon Rosselló’s announcement to resign, Roberto is not too convinced that he actually will. “I think he’s psychologically playing with Puerto Rican minds,” he said, adding that his family thinks he will resign because everyone on the island will no longer listen to him. 

Pictured: Roberto G, taken by Richard Ross

For youth that are still in detention on the island and even those that aren’t, the future is more uncertain than ever. Julian Gotay, the director of C.T.S., where Roberto was incarcerated, told us that a young lady who was also interviewed back in March has managed to leave the institution, but has fled away from her group home and cannot be found or located. 

In response to all the instability, Gotay said, “We are in the middle of a political meltdown. People are on a rampage, protests everywhere. As for our work it is getting harder, but I can manage.”

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Este artículo está disponible aquí en español para nuestros queridos Puertorriqueños y hispanohablantes:

Durante las últimas semanas, miles de Puertorriqueños salieron a las calles y organizaron protestas que resultaron en la resignación del Gobernador Ricardo Rosselló. Las protestas fue la respuesta del pueblo a las 900 páginas que salieron al público de conversaciones y mensajes entre Rosselló y otros elegidos del gobierno donde se burlaron de las víctimas del Huracán María en 2017 y también compartieron comentarios homofóbicos y misóginos. 

Puerto rico es un territorio no incorporado y no es un estado de los Estados Unidos pero más bien una mancomunidad. Con una historia de colonialismo, la frustración civil ha estado creciendo por generaciones, especialmente para los Puertorriqueños jóvenes de hoy. En marzo de este año, nuestro Director de Juvenile-in-Justice, Richard Ross, estuvo en Puerto Rico entrevistando a jóvenes en centros de detención por toda la isla. Algunos de los  jóvenes que pueden ver en The Puerto Rico Project están bajo la custodia federal de la mancomunidad. 

Entre los entrevistados está Roberto G., un Puertorriqueño de 19 años que estuvo preso en 2017 cuando la isla fue afectada por el Huracán María. El estuvo en el Departamento de Corrección y Rehabilitación Instituciones Juveniles en Ponce. Tuvimos la oportunidad de entrevistar a Roberto otra vez en medio de esta revolución social y política. 

“En cierto aspecto digo que si estaba protegido [durante el huracán] pero a la misma vez digo que no porque pues estaba encerrado en 4 paredes sin poder ayudar a mi familia y los que necesitarán de mi ayuda. Pero creo que nosotros los confinados estábamos mejor encerrado en esas 4 paredes porque estando en la calle quién sabe si alguno de nosotros estuviese muerto,” nos dijo Roberto en respuesta a los comentarios de Rosselló sobre los afectados del Huracán Maria. 

Ahorra, Roberto vive en los Estado Unidos, pero se siente en conflicto de estar aquí cuando su familia está en la isla. A su liberación del centro de detención el supo que tenia mas oportunidades en venirse a los EE.UU., pero igual a su comunidad en la isla el también tiene los mismos sentimientos contra Rosselló y el gobierno. “Pues él estuvo mal y tiene que bregar con las consecuencias porque si fue hombre en decir todas esas cosas también tiene que ser hombre para asumir las consecuencias,” dijo Roberto.

Roberto no cree en el sistema de múltiples partidos políticos y piensa que los elegidos del gobierno deben dejar la batalla que tienen entre ellos y deben de unirse todos para ser un solo partido y reunirse todos para combatir contra los problemas reales que enfrentan la isla. “Pues entonces por qué no se unen todos pero no cada quien que haga lo que le dé la gana con P.R.,” dijo Roberto, “porque sus familiares van a estar bien pues y que se fastidien los demás y yo estoy en contra de eso por que todos somos iguales y solo porque unos se identifican como homosexuales o bisexuales no es razón de juzgar o criticar porque primero el único que puede hacer eso es Dios y segundo que antes de hacer eso uno debe de ponerse en el lugar del otro o pensar que puede ser un familiar de uno.” 

Cuando Rosselló anunció que se iba retirar de su puesto, Roberto no quedo bien convencido de que si en verdad lo va ser. “El lo que está haciendo es jugando con la sicología del pueblo de Puerto Rico,” nos dijo Roberto, agregando que su familia de él si cree que se va resignar porque la gente ya no le va hacer caso nunca más. 

Para los jóvenes en la isla que todavía están encarcelados y hasta los que son libres, el futuro es más incierto que nunca. Julian Gotay, el Director de C.T.S., donde Roberto estuvo preso, nos dijo que un muchacha que fue una de los entrevistados por Richard Ross en marzo, logró salir de la institución, pero huyó de su hogar grupal y no la pueden localizar. 

En respuesta a toda la inestabilidad, Gotay nos dijo, “Estamos por medio de un desafío político. La gente está alborotada y hay protestas por todos lados. En el caso de nuestro trabajo, si se está poniendo más difícil, pero tengo que seguir.” 

Girls-in-Justice: Wrong placement, detention, sex trafficking

“I’m eight months pregnant. It’s exciting, but really scary. My sisters both have kids. I was running away to my boyfriend’s in XXXX. He’s a junior. I always felt I needed him to be loved and to help out. I got pregnant on purpose. We don’t believe in abortion. My only crime was running away. And I’ve been here more than nine times. I’ve been here two weeks. I was very selfish for not thinking of the baby. CPS says they’re going to take the baby away but I’m going to fight for her. My mother and sisters visit. My dad died six years ago. They shot him 18 times. He was in the Mexican Mafia. He died when I was 10. I’ve been messing up since them. Heroin. Meth. E. Inhalants. Crack. I was doing a lot of drugs when I was first pregnant but now I’ve been sober for four months. This unit is the drug treatment unit.”

— C.M. Age 16

This Girls-in-Justice story is brought to you through our Curricular Prompts, a supplemental writing aide for any syllabus in criminal justice, political science and more.

Why I love Hallways

“I rob banks because that’s where the money is.” - Willie Sutton

I make images of a certain scale and accessibility because I want them to be shown in the hallways and institutions where the policy makers are.

An extensive exhibition of the work is currently up at American University. All are 24”x37” images mounted to the walls with magnets. Next to recycling, trash, vending machines, couches. It doesn’t matter. It’s where the future policy makers of American are studying. In the Fall the work will be at Georgetown Law. I am a nightmare for facilities management. They have never done this before, but they do buy in after a bit. They are simply not used to the walls being this activated.

A lovely artist friend who will be showing at the American University Museum next year suggested the work should be bigger, have more of a presence, stature. I tried to explain that by doing them larger would make them less accessible to this population. It would commodify the work and make it into an artifact rather than a conduit to tell the story of these people.

Hallways of institutions where we frame the conversation for a new generation.....are where this work has to be.....

Where people need this critical discussion.

Somehow it comes down to the Willie Sutton quote…..

It’s where the money is.

The Prison/Museum Dilemma

I am slightly diverting from posting about juveniles in the justice system to ask a parallel question. Where do we learn to treat people who are different from us, as something other or something less?

There is something about the world I am working with now that resonates with the world that I inhabited in my past- the world of natural history seen through glass displays. These worlds have an eerie commonality.

Growing up visiting the world of natural history and ethnological museums, I decided to join the army of elementary school students that press their snot-glazed noses to the glass windows to look at the life-sized depictions of motionless, exoticized, eroticized and voiceless figures.

These figures have an odd similarity to the actual kids I have been visiting in juvenile prisons for a decade.

Who are they?

People of Color.

Time has been suspended for them.They are separated from physical touch.They are isolated from Nature.They are viewed from spaces where the artificial light is controlled outside the display or cell.The environment is extremely confined.Decisions about their placement has been made by others, often from another culture.The subject is from a culture that has been subordinated or abused by the dominant culture.They are often from a position of economic deprivation.They are isolated and not seen unless you enter a formal institution.

A “curator” is defined as a keeper or a caretaker of a cultural institution. How different is this than a judge or even a correctional institution that takes care of a society through isolation?

Children learn and build empathy to peoples they are otherwise not exposed to. If these natural history institutions present people in a manner that is harmful, dated and out of touch with the way we understand people who we live among today, do we do a disservice to these children who are forming the patterns of tolerance and intolerance for the rest of their lives?

What do we do with these displays? Are they the confederate soldiers’ statues of some of our most basic cultural institutions? Do we erase history rather than acknowledge and re-contextualize it? Or is it too damaging to remain as part of life’s curriculum?