We The People I August 2016
@theemamarazzi
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ince age 12, I’ve taken pride in being involved within my community. The non-profit
organization of Hope Street Youth Development first located on 11th N. Hydraulic and then on the 1100 block of N. Piatt is where I spent most of my days. I was invested in improving the northeast Wichita community in which I lived. The organization empowered me to think, speak and act in order to be apart of the solution. The youth-led organization sought to improve community policing and to change policies set by the USD 259 school board which included policies we saw contribute to a disproportionate rate of suspensions and expulsions largely affecting minority students. When you’re pressing for positive change, accountability for city and school officials and then you turn on the television and see so many things wrong in society, it can be discouraging. It’s discouraging to see charges not even brought against police officers who kill unarmed men and women across the nation. But what helps me find the courage to stay involved are the grass root efforts taking place right here in the Wichita area. This issue of the Mamarazzi Entertainment Magazine publication was inspired in large part by the great things that I do see pushing us forward. David Wilkinson is helping felons find employment to get back on their feet after paying time to society. Bernia Williams is an ally for the women leaving the prison system who need love and healing. A.J. Bohannon and Elbert Costello are mobilizing hundreds of community members to get involved in protest and charity. Al Faheem Ejaz is educating through spoken-word and touching on some subjects that raise eyebrows. Also exciting are those who don’t look like us but seek to understand our movement like Mindy Hatcher who I recently had the pleasure to meet. I’m glad to connect readers to Brandon Johnson and Djuan Wash. These two are movers and shakers, often representing our views and voice in the presence of city and state officials. I hope that you’ll enjoy reading about each of their efforts and that you also get involved in some areas where you can make a difference simply because YOU CAN. May it light a fire in you in the way it has reignited mine! ##
Owner/Editor Ti’Juana Hardwell Cover Photo/Design Kingstun Graphics/Kwame Rowe Contributors Mike Shatz of Shotz Photography Mindy Hatcher Brandon Johnson Djuan Wash Paid Sponsors MixDown Studios 42 Degrees Below Mamarazzi Entertainment Magazine is based in Wichita, KS. The publication is available in print and online. For more information: www.mamarazzimagazine.com I mamarazzimagazine@gmail.com 2
WE THE PEOPLEPOWER LIST 4- Mindy Hatcher 7- Elbert Costello 8- Brandon Johnson 10- Al Faheem Ejaz
11- Djuan Wash 12- A.J. Bohannon 14– David Wilkinson 15-Bernia Williams
Notice: All Photos are courtesy of Shotz Photography and/or the featured guests. Mamarazzi thanks you.
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Self-proclaimed ‘White-ally’ Gives Her Take on First Step Cookout, the Day After
Written by Mindy Hatcher
Told to Mamarazzi Entertainment Magazine
[The First Step Cookout] made me proud to be a Wichitan for the first time in a very long time. Kansas is not known for being progressive on human rights/civil rights issues, and what I saw gave me real hope for our city and our state's future. I decided to attend because I am a 'white ally' and a staunch supporter of #BlackLivesMatter, and I was excited to see what our community was capable of. I feel that it's hard to say, seeing as how yesterday was truly just the '1st step' to building a trusting relationship between local activists/the community and the WPD, that it really produced any 'solutions'. However that being said, I feel like the outcome, overall, was very positive. I was at the event from start to finish and I felt that it was the right move in the right direction. There is a LOT more work to be done, especially regarding the building of that 'trust,' however the point is that SOMETHING is finally being done. Something is being accomplished, and I definitely saw that yesterday. I saw police officers in very little 'gear', standing with open body posture, and actively listening to community members as they approached them one-on-one. I saw smiles. I saw hugs. I saw overwhelming support. I also saw some concerns being addressed, and I saw them being addressed in a way that appeared welcoming, open, and receptive. I'm looking forward to our Police Chief making good on his promises. I'm looking forward to seeing his words put into practice, and for the WPD to 'put their money where their mouth is' so to speak. It won't happen overnight, but I'm anxious to see how they will gain our community's trust in the days to come. I think the most important thing for me to say as a white ally is: It's NOT about me. I mean of course I'm part of the community and of course my family matters, but when it comes to #BLM, I understand that fighting for equality and justice for black lives doesn't mean that other lives do not. People who don't grasp this concept frustrate me to no end. I can't imagine what it's like for those on the front lines every single day to have to be so redundant on that point! It impacts me because I am a humanist. I care deeply about the lives of humans around me, Mindy Hatcher with community activist especially those who are consistently marginalized based on characteristics that they have Tye Mcewen at the First Step Cookout. absolutely no control over—those who are treated differently and prejudged simply because they look different than [me]. Systematic racism will NEVER affect me, but the pain of my fellow humans causes me pain. I ache for those who are hurting and I want to my best to ensure that I use my privilege for good. I recognize that people of color cannot do anything with my 'white guilt' or my 'white apologies', but they can benefit from what I choose to do with my privilege. I choose to act. I choose to get involved and I choose to be a part of this movement. What I have seen in the media regarding BLM versus what I have seen in action here in Wichita regarding BLM are two completely different things. I think that just goes to show that the media can be incredibly divisive. The media tends to only show the negative it seems like. They like to show when riots get 'rowdy', when protests aren't 'peaceful', and they tend to use language like 'thug' or 'looter' and things of that nature A LOT. What I've seen in action is completely different. I've seen local leadership straight up PROVE that things can get done. I've seen rallies lead to peaceful protests. I've seen protests lead to marches. I've seen marches turn into sit downs with police and then I saw an event like yesterday happen. That should speak loudly to the whole nation as to what BLM really stands for. If it doesn't, it's only because the media isn't showing people the whole story. As far as 'would-be-allies' being alienated by the hashtag? Don't get me started! LOL. They feel alienated because ever since there have been oppressed groups, the 'oppressor' (whether overtly or covertly as being implicit in a corrupt system) has always wanted to buck back and say: "But what about ME???" It's ludicrous really. I am beyond the point of frustration with these folks who don't understand that saying Black Lives Matter has an implied 'TOO' at the end. We aren't saying other lives don't matter. This is just the issue that we're pressing at the moment. People wouldn't go to a rally for Breast Cancer and shout "But ALL DISEASES MATTER!" I imagine an equivalent for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have been when he said "I have a dream," people would have shouted back "But ALL DREAMS MATTER." If people can't hear that and understand, then I'm really not sure how else to help them. But I still like to try. The more allies we have, the more the movement can grow.##
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s a teenager Elbert Costello ran the streets and hung with a group of friends who were gang affiliated. Naturally, he joined the gang life also. “I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and we didn’t have any mentors,” recalls Costello. “You had the neighborhood baller and the neighborhood crack head.” “That’s all you had in front of you,” says Former Gang Costello. Costello says that reflecting back, good came from being involved Member Now nothing in a gang. “I have a lot of friends in jail and they’ve Part of the been there since high school,” says Costello. “I lost a lot of friends who didn’t Solution & make it to 20 [years of age].” Costello’s desire to do more good than Giving Back bad was always there. But it wasn’t necessarily the trending thing to do. Fast-forward to July 2013. The nation cried out after the verdict was read for the Trayvon Martin murder-trial. It allowed George Zimmerman to go free after killing an unarmed 17-year-old in Sanford, Florida. Wichita community member Aaron “A.J.” Bohannon took to Towne East Mall to show his dissatisfaction with the verdict. He wore a hoodie (as Martin had) and a cardboard sign around his neck that read, ‘If I don’t stand for something, then I will fall for anything.’ He was arrested and taken to the Sedgwick County Jail. Costello learned about it via his Facebook. He went to the jail, as did others, to protest for Bohannon’s release. The two had never met. “I felt like me and my friends had been going to jail for a lot of foolish reasons,” Costello says. “But here he was going to jail for something he believed in.” After Bohannon’s release the next day, the two met and decided to rally others together for a boycott of the mall. Costello says some of his friends were shocked to learn about his involvement. “Some of them [were] like, ‘We from the streets--what you doing?’” Costello jokingly recalls. He admits that some of his friends, like other community members, were afraid to even come into contact with law enforcement. Despite some of the doubt raised about him getting involved, he never caved to the pressure of doing something he felt he should be doing. “I’m older now and I just felt like it was time to start balancing my life out with some good,” Costello says. “I wanted to change the image of the gang and how people look at me.” Although Costello no longer participates in gang activity, the Wichita Police Department still has Costello labeled as a gang member in their gang files. Work is being done to create a pathway for inactive gang members to have their names removed. While Costello is glad to hear progress being made to vindicate former gang members, he doubts that the law enforcement he comes into contact with will see past that. Costello says that he recognizes that his children and their children are looking to him to be an example of how they should live their lives. “I have teenage boys I don’t want following in my footsteps,” Costello says. Along with Bohannon, Costello helps put together several charitable community initiatives such as the annual “Barber and Beauty Blitz” which calls on hair professionals to give free hair styles to kids headed back to school in August. Each year they help more than 100 students look stylish and feel confident for the first day of school. This marks their 4th year of service. They have also put more than 500 turkeys on the table for families and Christmas gifts under the trees through their efforts. “I’m one of the lucky few able to see 40,” Costello says. “I’m blessed to be out here and not dead or in jail.” While Costello is okay with being in the background quietly doing his good deeds, it’s apparent that he is providing the type of mentorship he looked for as a teenager. ##
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Brandon Johnson Says Strides Are Being Made, More to Come
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am appreciative of the opportunity to discuss some of the issues that I am most passionate about in our City, and thankful for the work that
Mamarazzi has done to highlight our local leaders, entertainers, and artists. We successfully pushed for police body worn cameras, and as of July all patrols have them outfitted. Prior to implementation, the City of Wichita had also completed a full departmental assessment in partnership with Wichita State University, which highlighted both good and bad issues within our department. Wichita’s new Police Chief, Gordon Ramsay, has committed to a more robust cultural competency training to give new perspective and provide more positive interactions with the many communities law enforcement serves here in Wichita. Chief Ramsay also has committed to building a community based independent review board for police involved incidents of excessive force and shootings, as well as supporting an independent prosecutor for those situations to remove the possible biases in prosecution. Local Poet Desmond Bryant has been making great strides on the gang file and the multiple issues that deride from keeping former gang members on an inactive list. Having an inactive list poses the high probability that police discretion will lean more negative due to having that cloud over someone’s name. While this progress is good, we still have much more work to do in not only holding WPD leadership accountable, but also addressing the lack of opportunity within our community. Large areas of Northeast Wichita currently have upwards of 75% of homes being rented and not owned. This lack of ownership leads to lack of good credit, not having a home to borrow against or build equity, and in some instances it hampers progress on issues like paving roads. Our transit system has shifted routes in a way that allows the system to remain as efficient as it can, but has made accessing the bus more difficult for some citizens. 67214 has the unfortunate title of highest infant mortality in the United Stated. Infant mortality rate (IMR) is the number of deaths of children less than one year of age per 1000 live births Unemployment and underemployment are serious issues that have been ignored for far too long, and as we see increases in gang activity as well as theft, we know that living wage jobs/careers counter those issues, yet we do not see those opportunities increasing. These issues and others are a large part of what inspired me to run for Wichita City Council in 2017. Our elected representatives on the City, school board, County, State, and federal levels need to understand what everyday life is like currently and has been for many of us for decades. Unfortunately outside of Vice Mayor Lavonta Williams, we have seen a lack of concern, significant divestment, and in some cases simply ignoring the issues plaguing us. That will change if/when I am elected. State Representative Gail Finney, State Representative Rod Houston, and State Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau have been fighting for solutions to the issues I have highlighted. Senator Faust-Goudeau and I worked on legislation entitled the Kansas Reinvestment Act (SB 317) that would re-appropriate state dollars into areas like 67214 to provide opportunities for small business. Unfortunately, the upcoming election was more important to the GOP leadership than looking at ways to truly benefit the citizenry. I always say that we are the change that we have been waiting for. We have the power ourselves to make a true impact in our community. Our dollars are powerful, we can and should use them with businesses that support us. Our time is valuable, more mentors and tutors are needed to show young people the positive path forward. Our energy is imperative, we must focus it and use to achieve our goals. Making phone calls, sending e-mails, showing up to officials meetings, and speaking up are all needed.##
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Poet-activist Says Education About Rights Is Key to Movement
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fter the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers, concerned citizens across the country shared their dismay through protest demonstrations. A group of more than 200 Wichita community members gathered to shut down the I-35 highway to send a message that injustice will not be swept under the rug. But following the July 12 protests which garnered local media coverage, the group accepted an invitation by Chief of Police Gordon Ramsay to host a joint community barbecue which was referred to as the “First Step Cookout.” While some learned of it and were excited about the effort to use the BBQ to bridge the gap between community and police, 25-year-old Al Faheem Ejaz was not thrilled and used his Facebook to challenge the efforts. The BBQ had more than 2,000 people in attendance and gained national attention after a video with a dancing police officer went viral. It was categorized as a Black Lives Matter effort--but the D.C. Chapter quickly corrected the association. “Black Lives Matter is gaining national traction and now they have a platform so whether people like them, hate them or love them, they have to listen to them,” says Ejaz. “One of my sharpest criticisms of the barbecue is that police brutality is not a primary issue in Wichita.” “Abuse of power and intimidation--now we can have a discussion,” says Ejaz pointing out what he views are the main issues with community-policing. Ejaz says that citizen interaction with law enforcement comes by way of traffic stops. Those without a license or a suspended license are victimized and restricted from the mobility to work, school, or wherever else they need to go. He feels strongly that law enforcement’s need to meet a quota and its use of traffic stops as a means to contain individuals is apart of the problem. “Driving is a right--not a privilege,” says Ejaz. “How do you license a right?” He says it’s a problem that needs addressing and claims Supreme Court rulings support the notion that driving is a right and therefore cannot be taken away. Through spoken-word, Ejaz chooses to educates about culture, reflects on life and also about the unjust. He has only lived in the Wichita area for five years and before, he called several places home during his father’s service in the army. After graduating from Lansing High School he attended college right outside of Wichita. After learning about the Poetic Justice Cafe, a quiet-kept hub in West Wichita for independent poets, he cemented himself into the area and chose to relocate to the area. “I think I am meant to be an educator of sorts,” says Ejaz. “What’s missing from the movement is education as it pertains to what rights we have--even before we approach law enforcement.” Ejaz is glad that discussions are happening to strategize what can be done to hold police accountable, but he says parts of those conversations should include looking at systematic issues such as the correlation between poverty and crime. “Our distrust [of law enforcement] is born out of terrorism,” says Ejaz. “Law enforcement was created to help contain slaves […..] So when you look at the relationship between law enforcement and black people it makes perfect sense that there is mistrust in police.” Ejaz wants Blacks in the community to take pride and find solace in supporting each other even when counterparts are not at the table. He wants to see a greater attendance at community-centered events like Juneteenth events and independent entertainment efforts. Ejaz has confidence in Wichita’s ability to press forward and wants to be apart of helping find solutions. He recognizes some of his ideas include a very slow process but says they are necessary to get us from “point A to B.” “All around the country, Black people want to do something,” says Ejaz. “They want to see something change, something that looks like change, [and] feels like change.”##
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Djuan Wash Says Focus is Needed To Improve Northeast Wichita: Remains Hopeful
I look around Wichita, particularly in in the Northeast part of Wichita and I see a doughnut hole. Particularly in 67214. That one zip code, the 7th most unequal area in America is in a perpetual state of crisis and something has to give. 67214 suffers from a 56% unemployment rate, 25 % high school dropout rate, low home ownership, high illiteracy rates, and the highest infant mortality rate in the country. These crushing statistics have happened due to policy failures on all levels. In many parts of North East Wichita, few job opportunities are present and those that are, pay poverty wages. Due to a failure to expand Medicaid, health care costs are skyrocketing making insurance unobtainable for many. Funding for schools is being cut leaving our teachers, many of whom don’t look like us, unprepared while our schools close around us. Because credit is obscenely high, few will know what it’s like to be a homeowner, but many will know what it is to be a payday loan borrower. These policy failures don’t happen by accident, they happen because of a system designed to allow them to and only we can cease it from continuing. Change never comes easily, it is something that is slow, arduous and toiling in it’s development. We can only realize change by both being at table while simultaneously building our own. Together, we can work to address the concerns of our community while loving and building our community from within. The first steps of this process have been taken by many and it’ll take many more steps to see them through. I don’t only see despair in North East Wichita. In addition to the health and economic disparity that exists, I also see a community full of smart, beautiful, vibrant and proud people, I see more than just a statistic. My hope for 67214 and indeed all of Wichita is to work together to address these issues. To build Black while dismantling the system. To support our existing black businesses, to encourage increased economic development, while cultivating measures already underway to build new ones. I see a 67214 with increased presence at programs and schools meant to shorten the education gap while holding city council, school board and state and federal legislators accountable to our tax dollars. I see hope in 67214, and the willingness to reshape a police force that has been used as the boot heel of a system designed for us to be statistics against that very system. I see power in 67214. ## 11
By Radio’s Rolls Royce
A.J. Bohannon Mobilizes Community Members, Earns Critics
Aaron “A.J.” Bohannon has become a bit of a public figure following his 2013 arrest at Towne East Mall. All over the country people were upset about the acquittal of George Zimmerman who senselessly murdered Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old. The verdict compelled Bohannon to carry out a lone-man protest. He put on a hoodie just as Martin had worn at the time of his murder and he made visible a sign that read, ‘If I don’t stand for something I will fall for anything.’ Despite the silent protest, he was charged with trespassing and escorted out of the mall. He was taken to jail. Hundreds joined him when he boycotted the mall following his release. But 28-year-old Bohannon is also known for his communitycharity efforts like his Thanksgiving turkey giveaways and Barber & Beauty Blitz back-to-school event where more than 200 families come to receive free hair styling. He founded “IGYB (I Got Yo Back)” and continues to give back in numerous ways. “I’ve always been about giving back to my community,” he says. “It’s what you should do and that’s what I was raised to do.” A.J. Bohannon (left) and Djuan Wash (right) pose with WPD Chief of Police Gordon Ramsay. Shotz Photography But Bohannon has endured an interesting mix of reaction to his community involvement--both support and criticism. He has felt the brunt of the social movement. Bohannon alleges that more-seasoned community leaders and some community members have questioned his intentions, accused him of being involved simply for the media recognition, and also ridiculed his action steps. “They say ‘You’re not conscious enough,’” Bohannon says. “But there’s something I bring to the table that they can’t and it’s that I know how to get people to come together whether it’s for a protest or to give back.” “People are so critical of what I do for the community,” he adds. While Bohannon admires historical leaders like MLK and Malcolm X, he does not strive to fill their shoes through his local activism and says he should not be held to such high standards. “I’m not MLK [Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.],” says Bohannon. “I’m me and I can’t do it any other
Continued on next PG.
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Basic Includes: Interview Bio Graphic design
way.” “I can’t do it how you want me to do it.” Following national news about the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police officers, concerned citizens across the country again were outraged. This time Bohannon organized a group of more than 200 Wichita community members who gathered to shut down the I-35 highway as a protest demonstration demanding police accountability. But following the July 12 protests which garnered local media coverage, Bohannon accepted an invitation by Chief of Police Gordon Ramsay to host a joint community barbecue which was referred to as the “First Step Cookout.” The BBQ had more than 2,000 people in attendance. A ‘Q&A’ session allowed community members to share their questions and concerns with more than 200 members of law enforcement present including the Chief. “Black people were talking to white people and police were talking to gang members,” Bohannon says describing the event. “Gang members were talking to pastors and Bloods and Crips were sitting two tables apart.” But it was video footage of a dancing police officer that the media ran with after the initial coverage. It gained national attention and Concerned community members like Desmond Bryant were able to ask many headlines questions during the First Step Cookout. Shotz Photography highlighted that piece from the event. Bohannon contends the bigger picture is that lines of communication were opened between community and police. More work is being and he’d rather some of the detractors come to the table with solutions. IGYB’s founder says those disagreements amongst the “conscious” and the alleged “unconscious” on how to be involved or what to do in the movement take away from the goal of unity. “Two men standing in a burning house have no time to argue,” Bohannon says, quoting an African proverb. “We have to do something to find a solution but instead, you want to argue.” “Why not help?” says Bohannon. Despite the challenges he is met with, he says he will continue to humbly serve the community. “It can be ‘A Million Man March’ or it can just be me and my shadow marching as a one man march,” says Bohannon. “What I’m doing is bigger than me.” ##
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Email: mamarazzimagazine@gmail.com
A.J. Bohannon and Djuan Wash keep calm as a man on a motorcycle tries to agitate the crowd of hundreds. Shotz Photography
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David Wilkinson Helps Felons Gain Employment
David Wilkinson has dedicated more than 30 years to volunteer within the community and nearly 16 years serving in prison ministries. Through Saint Marks United Methodist Church’s prison ministry he seeks to provide advocacy for those incarcerated as well as re-entry to the workforce upon the completion of their prison sentence. “They say that the cost of incarceration is $30,000 but that’s just the cost to incarcerate,” says Wilkinson. “But they’re not even talking about the cost of caring for the children with parents in the system through social welfare.” David Wilkinson recently attended a rally in downtown Wichita. Here he is pictured with Oletha According to Whitehouse.gov, more than 2.2 million Faust-Goudeau. Americans are behind bars. About 50 percent are there due to drug offenses. Wilkinson says that instead of demonizing the people who fall into the system, the focus should shift to addressing societal issues that lead to the incarceration of the disenfranchised. On August 3 President Barack Obama surpassed nine presidents total for most commutations granted. He shortened and pardoned prison sentences (some life-terms) for 562 men and women. A majority of them are nonviolent offenders who were serving harsh time handed out by the judicial system to be hard on drug crimes. Wilkinson is proud of the President’s commutations and remains adamant that the real change comes with reforming the prison system altogether. He feels that can be accomplished through changing and also creating legislation. “If the conversation isn’t about taking a million or more people out of the prison system, then we’re playing around,” says Wilkinson. “It’s something we have to do.” Wilkinson feels there is something special about humanizing people who have made mistakes and need a second chance. He knows first-hand the impact that the prison system has on its inmates and pain inflicted on their families.
David enjoys volunteering with the Saint Mark United Methodist Church prison ministry group.
Photos courtesy of David Wilkinson
“In prison I was able to give my life to Christ and it has taken me all over the state, preaching and helping those who are in the same situation I was in,” says Wilkinson. “I believe that there is life after prison.” Saint Marks prison ministry helps to prepare felons seeking re-entry into the workforce through resume building, interview preparation and even coaching them how best to explain their incarceration to potential employers. They are gearing up to host their 4th job fair within a two-year time period on October 27. The last expo helped more than 250 applicants to gain meaningful employment. Wilkinson knows there is a need to help more people and is pressing to double the number of applicants in the Fall. Employers who hire felons include Koch Industries as well as sectors within Sedgwick County and the City of Wichita. The social activist is steadfast on completing a manuscript which will detail experiences of pre-prison, prison and post -prison and will release it in the next year. For more information or to connect with David Wilkinson, please reach him at 316-247-1349 or email him at dhwilkinson007@gmail.com. You may also find him on Facebook.## 14
Bernia Williams Continues to Lend a Hand in Healing for Women Leaving Prison
The U.S. has more than 2.2 million people incarcerated. According to an article by the Huffington Post, a little more than 201,000 of them are women offenders. Before helping more than 6,000 formerly incarcerated female offenders through Woman to Woman ministries, Bernia Williams was one. Williams was using drugs and also selling narcotics. Eventually she was charged and sentenced for ‘intent to sell.’ Upon her release, she decided she would help others through her experience. Coming out of prison she very quickly noticed that there were more resources available to men than there were for women offenders leaving Sedgwick County Jail or the Topeka Correctional facility-the only in the state serving women violators. “There aren’t a lot of services for the women coming out,” says Williams. “Lack of support is what got them there in the first place.” Williams says not having a support team is why so many women enter the jail and prison cycle. “How are you going to pay rent--are you going to put up a bad check?” says Williams. “It’s survival mode.” Williams feels that men serving time in prison have the support of their women, the mother of their children and also their families. But on the other hand, women are often abandoned. “Women are nurturers by habit,” says Williams. “But when we are going through something, people don’t realize we need that too.” “To have your children taken away from you, your husband or your boyfriend leaves you,” Williams says as she describes the situation for most of the women who experience incarceration. “They have no support and they’re just totally lost.” The women referred to the Woman to Woman program have offenses that vary in nature. Some received time for drug use and trafficking, sex trafficking, theft, fraud and even child molestation. But Williams believes that all of them deserve another chance. Her sincere faith in God and His ability to allow the recovery of people convinces her that her work has purpose. “I knew I was a product of killing the land,” says Williams in reference to her negative contributions in society. “Now I want to rebuild it.” Her non-profit organization has helped to provide temporary housing, resources for food, clothing and help with job searching. But there’s also focus on healing. “We [don’t] judge them for how society portrays them to be,” says Williams. “They don’t know their self-worth sometimes and so we help them with that.” What is surreal is that Bernia has carried on this work for years without the help of grants or federal funding. It proves to be a challenging labor of love and she recently had to downsize her Bernia Williams with city council representative Lavonta Williams. capacity to house women. She hopes that a source of funding will allow her to sustain the housing portion of the program for women who really need it. Williams keeps in touch with those who have gone through her program and estimates that more than 85 percent of the women are leading productive lives outside of prison walls today. It has been 20 years of sobriety for Williams and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It’s hard for people to forget your past,” says Williams. “And all you want to do is to get past it.” “That’s why I operate with forgiveness,” Williams adds. For more information about Woman to Woman ministries or to make an in-kind donation to the program, please visit ‘Woman to Woman’ or connect with Bernia Williams on Facebook. You may also email her at w2wprc@gmail.com. ##
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