The Elephant of Santa Ana

Peterson just completed his first portrait of the year for his organization Faces of Santa Ana. Jonathan Pope, a man in his mid-30’s, suffering from intense acid-reflux and currently living in a Santa Ana shelter, was Peterson’s first subject. The painting has a realistic quality to it, featuring…

A Conversation With Trina Fleming, Chief Operating Officer of WHW

The WHW Organization (formerly known as Women Helping Women) is a non-profit organization and an effective vocational program that focuses on offering assistance to underemployed and unemployed individuals so they gain life skills with the end goal of finding a job. The intention of promoting life skills, in…

A Conversation With Jessica Romley, COO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Orange County

Big Brothers Big Sisters Orange County is a nonprofit organization that matches mentors with youth facing adversity in the hopes of providing a supportive individual to the youths’ lives. This mentor program strives to provide a guiding mentor in order to keep youth on a positive path despite…

A Conversation With Anita Tam: The PTA Mom Turned Wonder Woman

Anita Tam, 53, is an Asian-American mother of 2 who immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong as a young adult. Based in the San Gabriel Valley, Anita has spent over a decade participating in a multitude of community outreach and volunteer programs. She is currently a…

A Conversation With Dr. Martín Burt, Founder of Poverty Stoplight

Poverty Stoplight is a tool and platform that can be used to enable families to self-assess their levels of poverty and subsequently develop strategies for growth. The tool generates maps that will show the multi-dimensional ways in which individuals are socio-economically challenged and enables them to strengthen themselves…

MI CASA ES SU CASA: How Casa Youth Shelter is a Place of Home and New Beginnings

On a regular day, many pass the homeless on their way to the local coffee shop or night class and do little more than cast a sympathetic glance their way or, at times, even offer a few dollars as solace. This is the extent to which many interact…

Behind project FloodRISE and its efforts to mitigate disaster from flooding

FloodRISE is a program that predicts high-risk flooding areas. The program works with communities to present residents in Southern California and low-income communities world-wide with information to aid their survival. Helena CarlsonHelena Carlson is a UC Irvine student studying literary journalism. She hopes that in the years to…

The Fight to Empower the Neglected

The Orange County Poverty Alleviation Coalition (OCPAC) is a nonprofit organization and a local poverty think tank dedicated to helping and empowering the homeless in Orange County. Through policy advocacy, the OCPAC promotes social and legal change. Its founder, attorney Mohammed Aly, is an advocate for those who…

My Love, My Dear

The Tiyya Foundation is a non-profit organization that assists and accommodates refugees and their families. The foundation was co-founded by Owliya Dima and her daughter Meymuna Hussein-Cattan, who are refugees from Ethiopia. Since 2010, Tiyya has grown and nourished into an organization that supports and raises awareness about…

Sewing as Resistance

The Social Justice Sewing Academy provides a platform where disadvantaged students create art as a way of narrating, shaping, and making meaning of their experiences in the world. Aditi MayerAditi Mayer is the founder of InSight Magazine. As a Literary Journalism and International Studies double major, she is passionate…