“I Have Become a Social Justice Warrior”

Latest

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

+ Articles by this author

Crystal Sanchez is with the Sacramento Homeless Union.

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

Pushing People into a Really Bad System Will End Really Badly

President Trump's executive order fuses drug use and homelessness, ignoring that homelessness can cause or exacerbate substance use because people use drugs to cope with pain. Forced institutional settings rather than housing will not help the ill or unhoused.

Chicago Resistance Speaks: ‘Until All Are Free, None Are Free’

An uprising is growing as the government tries to impose a dictatorship. Chicago resistance leaders recently offered their thoughts in public remarks made at demonstrations and press conferences.

Los Angeles Continues to Rebuild and Resist

Angelinos, suffering from the profit over people economy, continue to rebuild after the fires and to protest immigration raids, while also experiencing joy in such difficult times.

Chicago Teachers Union Says: Trump, Stay Out of Our City

Chicago Teachers Union rejects any unlawful federal occupation of their city, while welcoming federal leadership that fully funds public education, restores SNAP, and expands Medicaid to healthcare for all.

Journalist Says Why ‘I Can No Longer Work With Reuters’

A photojournalist says why it is impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Reuters "given its role in justifying and enabling the systematic assassination of 245 journalists in Gaza."

More from the People's Tribune