where futures are nurtured

By Marlene Martinez and Jaslene Alvarado 

The City Peace Project has been an ongoing organization since 2012 and is serving multiple schools in San Jose including Yerba Buena High School. The organization is managed  by Danny Sanchez, who helps youth with difficult backgrounds who may be a part of gang violence and offers opportunities for better futures and also has students join their group. Yerba Buena High School was lucky enough to get two awesome representatives who helped spread peace around the campus. 

Some kids struggle focusing in school or even having behavior issues like students often skip class which causes them to fall behind or get used to bad habits such as not turning in work or missing important tests. 

The city peace project is mostly in school helping promising teens or students that are interested in helping the community. Vanessa Sapulvada and Jeannie Flores are two City Peace Project members whose role is to help students when they have a problem; they also do mentoring and grade checks when students are failing. 

Initially Sapulvada only worked with Danny during summers but eventually she started working with The City Peace Project full time at Yerba Buena High School.

Sapulvada: “So for me I worked two summers ago for Danny while I was keeping a full time job through the East side and then I came back as a city peace member full time so I will say probably two years something like that”.

Flores has been knowing Danny since her sophomore year of high school. Danny has told Flores when she graduates high school she can work with him, so she graduated college and before she was working at Catholic charities but then contacted Danny and has been working with the city peace since August.

Flores: “For me I have known Danny since I was a sophomore like I said so like he told me after I graduate I can also work for him so I did after college. I worked with Catholic charities for a bit and then I contacted Danny so I’ve just been working since august here”.

They both didn’t have a hard time becoming a City Peace member.

Sapulvada:”I don’t know if it was hard.I think. I had it a little bit easier. Maybe than most people through the interview process because Danny already knew that I worked here. So he saw that I worked really well, one with like the team that was here prior to me and Jeannie”. 

Flores: “For me, it was well he’s been knowing me, so yeah,It was pretty easy.”

They are seeing changes in the community starting with us because if we show the peace we learned from them, we can slowly change the community little by little.

Sepulvada: “I think the community changes starts with you guys,what we, when working with you guys. So if we can instill the small changes in you guys and you guys go into community,you guys little by little start teaching the community what we taught you guys that could be as simple as choosing peace, right? over like violence. walking away from certain situations and you're able to pass that on into the community.”

Jeannie welcomes people in and has a positive attitude that brings people in the program. This leads to expanding the community.

Flores: “ being welcoming, you know, like, obviously, if you're not welcoming, just kind of like, eh, you know? But if you are welcoming and having a positive attitude, I feel like it brings more people, students, families, and everything, and making them feel involved and like in the community event, whatever it is, or even the school event. So, and just being there for like students and families and parents, you know?”

Vanessa Sepulvada, PLA President Andrea Montelongo, and Jeannie Flores

Vanesa explains how she feels to have a big role in the Yb school and how she likes to help different students and not only individual groups and she also wants to create bonds with students so when they graduate they can still come to visit her.

Sapulvada:”I think it was really awesome because we come in with the role of helping all students. 
So, we don't come in just thinking like, I'm only going to help this one individual group and that's it. And I think that's a really nice role because, like, I see it, I see you guys, like, I see some of you guys graduate, you guys come back, and you're like, oh my God, like, thanks for helping me. Or you guys still come back and ask us questions? 
And it's just nice to be like a part of your life.”

Jeannie likes working with kids of different ages because they all come in with a different background and she can relate to us in some way and also puts herself in our shoes and can help us on stuff even if she didn't go through it.

Flores: “I feel like I like working with kids, but different ages like I really do cause everybody comes with different backgrounds. 
And for me, it's like I had to work, it's a background a little bit. But, um, and it's like, I see myself with each and everyone you of, like, any little thing, like, you know, like, whether it's family, emotionally or academically. So. 
For me, it's like, okay, let me put myself in their shoes, you know, and then like, how was I in high school and how did I navigate that? And now as an adult, it's kind of like, okay, now I could teach those positive”

This program brings a lot of peace to the community and we are very grateful to have Vanessa and Jeannie on our campus.

For warriors times this is Marlene Martinz And Jaslene Alvarado