I’m Crystal President of Sacramento Homeless Union, on the Board of the California Homeless Union Statewide Council, and an Executive Board member of the National Union Of the Homeless.
The struggle for survival is real in the USA. This is not the land of the free. People’s freedoms are oppressed by systemic racism. If you don’t know what that means I highly suggest you learn it, because it may be affecting you and you don’t know it.
I have worked in the medical field for 17 years. I have an Associate in Criminal Justice, and am 90 percent done with my Bachelor’s! Book smart sounds great right…?
My greatest knowledge is my lived experience. I was a foster group home youth. I was a ward of the court. I have been homeless, I have been a drug addict and alcoholic, I have been a victim of a violent crime, I am a domestic violence survivor – there is more, but for another time……
What makes me different is that I have taken my past, placed it as experience, and have become a social justice warrior. I understand where people are. What we must all understand is that where we are now is a chapter in our lives, that we write our book of life. Sometimes we need help to progress to the next chapter.
In the end what matters is who we were and who we become. We all come into and leave this earth. It’s up to you who you leave as. It’s not our role to judge. It is not our role to harm. It is our role to help our sisters and brothers. Live big love bigger be kind to each other, you never know where someone may be in their book, and it isn’t for you to write in your ideas about their story.
Much love and respect as always, Crystal Sanchez
Crystal Sanchez is with the Sacramento Homeless Union.