Voices of Our Youth: Inspiring True Stories of Youth from South Central Los Angeles

By NEYDA YANETH

Inspiring true stories of youth living in South Central Los Angeles defying the odds in their community. A motivational book for everyone looking to be inspired in their journey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781387340958

Book preview

Voices of Our Youth: Inspiring True Stories of Youth from South Central Los Angeles

Voices of Our Youth

Copyright ©2017 Neyda Yaneth

All Rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

First Printing.2017.

ISBN: 978-1-34095-8

Published by Neyda Yaneth

Book Cover and Graphics design by Copycats, Whittier, CA

Author: Neyda Yaneth

Editors: Andrea Castellanos, Reggie Smith, Neyda Yaneth

Introduction

Like any child raised in a tough neighborhood, the hopes and dreams to be more than what is expected lives deeply in the hearts of our youth. They have visions of achieving the American Dream, and helping their community rise above the obstacles. The challenges that surround a neighborhood like South Central Los Angeles are many such as gangs, drugs, poverty, homelessness, and violence. Despite the barriers, it is home to families of hard working youth who value education and their neighborhood. They are strong and determined to change their lives and impact change in their schools, home, and community.

The stories streamed in the media show the high crime neighborhood they live in, and the obstacles faced daily in their environment. They experience quick labeling when they share that they were raised and or born in South Central Los Angeles an area known as the ghetto and troubled youth. They are portrayed as nobodies, and seen as troublemakers. The stereotypes that exist of youth in South Central Los Angeles are echoed in streets across America.

They are expected to immediately fail, without being given the opportunity to show that they can succeed. Their schools are not provided with enough funding because of low test scores, therefore, prohibiting the schools to receive money that help provide a high quality education. However, the youth in South Central aspire to be more than society expects them to achieve with their lives.

Many are first generation college students, whose parents did not have the opportunity to attend college or graduate high school. Their parents are field workers, factory workers, car washers, dishwashers, farm workers, seamstress, waitresses, grocery clerks, and warehouse workers, whose minimum low wage jobs barely pay enough for food, rent, and bills. They struggle to bridge the gap in their homes between education and work. The youth in South Central sacrifice to help their family strive and rise above poverty by helping to pay bills, put food on the table, while continuing to pursue their education. Those who set their mind to succeed are resilient and perseverant in their path for a better future.

In addition, to the barriers of their neighborhood, the conditions some of the parents’ work in create stress and added trauma to the youths’ lives. These conditions include things like improper air conditioning which is not always provided for those who are working long hours sewing pieces of clothing. Furthermore, their parents aren’t always paid fairly for the work they do. They are discriminated because of the color of their skin and lack of English language skills.

Many of our youth come from broken homes due to the strain placed because of financial circumstances. The current research shows that 38.7% are living in poverty. Some of the youth come from a rising group of single parent family homes, in which 28.7% are in South Central Los Angeles. The youth living in foster care is at 15.7%, creating a cycle of youth without a stable home environment. The necessity for parents to work more than one job leaves them to manage for themselves in their home. These circumstances speak volumes of the barriers yet many strive to choose the right path.

Our youth are a representation of others across the country that are living in similar environments, who are working towards beating and defying the odds. The stories we share with you in this book are from youth who were raised in the tough streets of South Central Los Angeles, and are now walking in college campuses across America in pursuit of the American Dream.

May their stories inspire you to Rise Up, Rise Above, overcome and find that fighting spirit within you to strive for the best in all areas of your life. May you be inspired to keep moving forward with courage, kindness, compassion, and love.

Chapter 1

My Family and Neighborhood

I remember going back and forth every day into the hospital. I was only a child, and did not understand what was going on around me. However, what I did know was that it was taking a toll on my whole family. I also noticed my father’s hair kept disappearing every time I would go see him. As the smallest child of six, I was never told what was wrong with my father. My family thought I was too young to understand, but I wasn’t, I knew what was wrong as I slowly figured things out.

My father had always been a strong and hard-working man. He was now lying on the hospital bed, tied by the hands of leukemia. I remember the months of chemotherapy and my mother’s sleepless nights by my father’s side. My father only showed me what he wanted me to see during this hard time in our lives.

Before my father was diagnosed with leukemia, his job was the only source of income for the entire family with three of my siblings attending college it was difficult to make ends meet. Unfortunately, my father lost his job due to his illness, survival was a constant struggle. Even after fighting cancer, there were still hospital expenses and bills that were difficult to pay. My parents had to borrow money from family members, hoping that one day we would have enough to pay it back. I remember helping my parents collect bottles and cardboard in exchange for money and up to this day, we still do. Besides dealing with economic issues at home, I had to face bullying, bad influences, and attaining grades at school.

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, being academically qualified, was not an asset that was particularly praised. I was prone to constant name-calling and threats. Bullying is common in my streets; I never really understood that part of my neighborhood. However, violence, gangs, drugs, and alcohol always seemed very holy. There were several times in which they tried to lure me into trying these temptations. I couldn’t do that to my parents or to myself. I wanted to do something different with my life.