From Formerly Incarcerated to Forever Empowered — When Jessica Nowlan first came to Young Women’s Freedom Center, she was seventeen years old. “I was living and working on the streets. I'd been incarcerated so many times, and I heard about this organization that hired girls like me.” So she applied. Thinking YWFC was like most employers, Jessica lied about her history of incarceration, job experience, and living situation. “I said all the things I thought you were supposed to say to get a job....

Holding Space By and For Youth in South Phoenix  — A few years back, a young man—we'll call him Aaron—was released from an Arizona federal prison, where he had been incarcerated since he was 14 years old. Before he could return to his home in California, he was ordered to stay in transitional housing in Phoenix. Upon Aaron's release, community organizing and social services organizations in Phoenix came together to offer support services for his reentry into society from incarceration....

Flipping the Script on Progressive Politics in Rural Arizona — Emily was just 16 years old when she knocked on Frank’s door. An Indigenous, LGBTQ+ canvasser who works for RAZE (Rural Arizona Engagement), she had been sent to the tiny town of Coolidge, Arizona (population 11,825) to talk to folks about the For the People Act, a piece of federal legislation designed to expand voting access and curtail corruption in campaign financing. When Frank—a white, Vietnam Veteran in his 70s—answered the...

Healing Black Communities by Reimagining Mental Health Care — BEAM wants Black people and communities to heal.   That’s why, among its many programs that support Black people’s emotional and mental health, the organization gives people cash.   You heard that right. BEAM gives grants of $200 to $500 to Black parents living with or caring for children with mental health conditions. In 2021 they gave out over $30,000 (along with support in tailored group and individualized workshops). It’s called...

When the Lummi community of the Pacific Northwest heard about Afghan refugees coming into the United States, they quickly mobilized to provide housing and support. “We wanted to welcome them to our Homeland,” says Darrell Hillaire, former Chairman of the Lummi Nation. “We’ve been doing immigration since 1492, and we didn’t want to leave anybody out,” he chuckles.

Darrell may joke around, but he is serious about spreading indigenous knowledge. Doing so is a family tradition; around the year 1900, his great grandfather formed a song and dance group called Children of the Setting Sun, to educate newcomers to the Puget Sound region about the land and its original inhabitants. When it came time for Darrell—a playwright and film buff—to pick up the mantle, he evolved the group’s storytelling practice to include stage productions and short films.