ARTS Attends Peacemaker Awards
Join our Master of Social Work Intern, Amanda Castro, as she shares her experience at the National Conflict Resolution Center Peacemaker Awards. ARTS had the privilege of attending the gala as a partner organization involved in the Juvenile Diversion Initiative (JDI). ARTS Program Manager Olimpia Vázquez Ojeda and Amanda, who plays a significant role in the JDI program at ARTS, represented our organization at the event.
Amanda Castro, ARTS Master of Social Work Intern representing ARTS at the NCRC Peacemaker Awards
On April 5th I had the opportunity to attend the National Conflict Resolution Center’s Peacemaker Awards where they celebrated both local and national Peacemakers in the United States. It was a glamorous night with attendees dressed in their best. The night uplifted three honorees: Frederic B. Luddy, for the Philanthropy in Peacemaking Award, Monarch School Project for the Local Peacemaker Award, and Bryan Stevenson for the National Peacemaker Award.
As an Masters of Social Work (MSW) Intern at ARTS I have had the opportunity to work closely with the ARTS 4 Justice program and the Juvenile Diversion Initiative (JDI) that is in partnership with NCRC and the San Diego District Attorney’s Office. Having attended quarterly meetings, the annual JDI convening, and over 15 JDI workshops here at ARTS, I have grown to truly cherish this program as it has expanded my vision of what is possible when we lead with community rather than punishment.
“I have grown to truly cherish this program as it has expanded my vision of what is possible when we lead with community rather than punishment.”
Once I found that I was invited to the Peacemaker Awards, I was very excited to attend knowing that Bryan Stevenson, a person who I have looked up to for many years, was going to be speaking during his acceptance of the National Peacemaker Award. His work as a public interest lawyer as well as his organization, the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) has been a source of inspiration for my own activism work personally and as MSW. I first learned of Stevenson’s work through a program called the Pilgrimage to the South while working at a Seattle-based non-profit called Sankofa Impact (SI). The Pilgrimage to the South is an immersive place-based learning experience that takes a group of adults through 5 states in the American South to learn about the Black American freedom struggle. A key stop on a pilgrimage is EJI’s Legacy Sites that detail the history of racial injustice in the place where the history happened. As a coordinator for the Pilgrimage to the South program, the work that EJI and Bryan Stevenson have done in the space of racial equity and the acknowledging of history has been integral to my own knowledge building and understanding of the United States. My appreciation for his work was further cemented through my internship at ARTS with the JDI program and directly working with systems-involved youth in the South Bay.
Amanda watching Bryan Stevenson accept his award
Bryan Stevenson’s words at the Peacemaker Awards were timely. In this era of uncertainty Stevenson spoke so eloquently about hope and perseverance. I found myself in a state of complete attention. Throughout his speech we heard anecdotes about his life from his adolescence, his time at Harvard Law School, and his work founding EJI. A notable theme of his speech was that of proximity, the idea that in order to understand the issues facing our society we must be close to them, willing to interact and learn. I was particularly moved by this sentiment because it rang true to my education as an MSW student, as well as my own values. We must be able to quite literally stand with our neighbors in our communities and actively be involved to recognize the needs and strengths that the collective has. We have always known that there is strength in solidarity. The way forward has always been together. Stevenson’s sentiments came to me as a reminder of why I love the work I do as a community-focused social worker: to be connected to people and to uplift our collective strengths toward the betterment of our community and society. My internship at ARTS has reinforced that sentiment in me, and allowed me to be proximate in the South Bay.
ARTS is an organization that intentionally cultivates a welcoming environment for all who enter through its doors. My time as an MSW intern is quickly coming to an end, and as I reflect on my work with the ARTS 4 Justice program the theme that continuously comes to mind is that of being proximate. Throughout my time interning with the program I have gained so much more insight and perspective into the needs and lives of systems-involved youth and the greater systemic issues in place that inform their lives. My work as an MSW is only just beginning. At ARTS I have found community, a passion for the work, and a strong drive to be proximate.
Thank you to the National Conflict Resolution Center for inviting Olimpia and myself to the Peacemaker Awards as Community Partners.
We are so grateful to the National Conflict Resolution Center and the California Justice Department for our continued partnership as part of the Juvenile Diversion Initiative. Thank you for inviting us to be part of this fantastic and inspiring evening! We look forward to bringing all that we learned about racial equity and social justice into the work that we do.
