Jessica Reyes (2016)
WINGS
Jessicas project, WINGS, is a restorative justice program in East Los Angeles and Boyle Heights for the children of incarcerated adults. These neighboring cities form a community of predominantly Latina/o and immigrant residents that continues a historical legacy of political resistance. WINGS will recruit a cohort of 15-20 youth for a 48-week program. The goal of this program is to address the effects of incarceration holistically through a series of workshops rooted in health and wellness, art and creative expression, popular education, community engagement, skill shares, and emotional support. The program will entail 24 sessions (meeting every other week) of workshops, skill shares, and other forms of popular education. 14 of the 24 sessions will be pre-planned and include: an introductory retreat, a Know Your Rights workshop catered to youth of color, Sex Education, (4) skill shares, (3) healing/wellness workshops led by community members, a Healthy Peoples Series, an Environmental Justice seminar, and trips through the city to promote community engagement. Participants will decide collectively on the focus of additional workshops.
Letters Home
Biography
Jessica Anglica Reyes earned her degree in Gender and Womens Studies in 2016 and aspires to attend medical school with the intention of drawing deep connections between cycles of incarceration and poor health outcomes. She is from a lot of places including Los Angeles, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Jessicas passions are rooted in prison abolition work and reproductive justice for incarcerated womxn. She is a writer, poet, and finds reading literature by queer women of color crucial to her survival in academia. Currently, Jessicas research explores the relevance of cultural competency in a medical field that has structurally, and through practice, reproduced racism, homophobia, and patriarchy. Lastly, Jessica is an intern at the Multicultural Community Center at UC Berkeley, which has been the ultimate place of learning and healing for her.
