A Beautiful Life

My Enterprise Story

2011-12-07T22:52:00.001-08:00

Homeless Couple FindsNew Opportunities at UMOM New Day Center

By Katherine Becerra

Phoenix, Arizona -- A happy couple is holding hands andsmiling as they reminisce on their relationship. The tattoos on their faces arepermanent reminders of their dark and troublesome pasts. Prison, domesticviolence and drug addiction are problems they have overcome. Their next obstacle --homelessness.

Lela Jose Harvey and Anthony Main are two of the over closeto 325 individuals currently in UMOM New Day Center’s transitional housingprogram. The couple, which entered UMOM’s program in 2011, is working to reentersociety and get off the street permanently.

Harvey, 28, is a mother of four and a survivor of domesticviolence. Harvey grew up on the Pima Reservation with her grandparents.

At the age of 16 Harvey moved out with her boyfriend. Theviolence started just a few months into the relationship and continued for fouryears. “I stayed because he told me he would change, I was scared and in love,”Harvey said.

“He hit me, punched me, threw me,” Harvey’s eyes filled withtears, “ and he had sex with me, when I didn’t want to.”

Harvey had her first two children, Dayton, 9 and Tyrell, 8,with her teenaged boyfriend.

She finally got out of her daily suffering when herboyfriend went to prison for the domestic violence charges she filed. But thepeace didn’t last long; Harvey entered a new relationship, “I started to pickup on it, he had a really hot temper,” she said. Her nightmare continued.

She came out of her second relationship with two baby girls,Shyle, 5 and Kuresma, 3.

“Jail was my out of the relationship, I was thinking aboutleaving him,” she said. Harvey was incarcerated for trafficking illegal aliens.After serving her time Harvey had nowhere to go and ended up on the streets ofTucson.

Harvey stayed at two different homeless shelters until goingto UMOM in February 2011.

“They helped me with my past but I wasn’t moving forward,”Harvey said.

UMOM was founded by the United Methodist Church 1964starting out as a park outreach program. In 1989 the program began to offer temporary housing and social programs tothe homeless.

Today UMOM New Day Center specializes in assisting homelessfamilies; they do not take in any singles. Their facility in downtown Phoenix currentlyhouses 117 families and provides services to stop the cycle of homelessness.

Complete with a wellness center, which can provide allurgent care and preventative services, childcare, after school programs,culinary classes and job boot camp, the program successfully graduates 92percent of their families, who enter permanent housing.

“Our New Day Center provides shelter, meals, education/skilltraining, employment assistance, case management, crisis counseling and muchmore! This program is focused on improving the families’ quality of life andpreparing them for permanent affordable housing,” said Michelle Davidson, UMOMpublic relations manager.

Main moved in with Harvey and her kids at the UMOM facilityin March 2011. “They saved my life,” Main said, “ If I was still on the streetsstill I wouldn’t be doing good for myself. But I’m not calling this place home.I’m not going to get comfortable here. Home will be the next step.”

Main grew up in a tough neighborhood and at a young age wason his own; both of his parents passed away and his brother moved toCalifornia. Main lived on the streets for two years, stealing to stay alive andcommitting crimes for money. His lifestyle landed him in jail.

Main and Harvey met at a halfway house in 2009. “She is stilliffy about trusting me but I would never put her through what she has beenthrough again,” said Main.

Not having children of his own, Main took on the role offather to Harvey’s kids. “I see a difference in them since he came around. Theyare more polite,” Harvey said

Harvey and Main stay in a one-bedroom apartment at the UMOMfacility. They will be able to receive services for up to two years as long asthey stay active in their programs.

“She got her culinary certificate and is working on herG.E.D. I’m looking for a job everyday,” Main explained.

UMOM New Day Center

UMOM accepts donations at any time at their location inDowntown Phoenix, 3333 East Van Buren St. Phoenix, Arizona. They are alwayslooking for volunteers.

I wrote this for an assignment in my news writing class this fall. It was a great experience to interview people who have such a different story compare to those I interact with everyday. I hope anyone that reads this realizes that each person on the planet has their own story and before we jump to conclusions and judge them we need to take the time to actually learn about them.

-Kat

Things I Tell Myself When I'm Sleeping

2011-11-14T13:37:00.001-08:00

I’m a dreamer, literally.

I have always had very vivid dreams. I get a kick out oftelling people what I dreamt about “last night” considering how entertaininglyrandom my subconscious is.

I also have the occasionally predictive dream. Usually thesetypes of dreams have to do with something bad that will happen to me. I havemultiple stories where I’ve had some crazy dream that seems impossible giventhe current situation but then it happens in real life!

I’m really not sure if they are “psychic” dreams or if I’macting self-destructive because I had these dreams. Who knows?

What I know for sure is that dreams indicate the stressesI’m going through when I’m awake.

Just a few days ago I had a dream that a scorpion stungme.

So I was in a bathroom getting ready to give a friend a rideto school. I looked down and a small scorpion and a weird see-through crab where onthe floor. I killed the little crab and thought that I got the scorpion too butit was still alive a stung me on the arm.

The wound grew quickly and turned black.

Then I appeared in an E.R. waiting room. You know how indream you just randomly change scenes?

In the hospital I’m laying in bed and waiting for the nurseto bring me anti-venom. Then I get a text message from a guy who is mountainclimbing… don’t as me why.

I woke up that morning and couldn’t stop thinking about thisawkward dream so I did what anyone in my generation would do, I googled it.

This is what came up:

“To dream of a scorpion signifies anexperience that has caused you great pain or grief. It may also indicateinsensitive and resentful words or thoughts that an enemy holds about you. Yourdream warns that you may be treading into a territory that can only bring yousorrow and loss. The scorpion symbolizes change and a new beginning. It may benecessary for you to discard previous beliefs and ideals and adopt new ones. “

“To dream of a crabrepresents stubborn and determined aspects of your personality. You maypossibly be too reliant on others and refuse to let go of a fruitless ventureor dream. Crabs may also imply that you are feeling aggravated and frustrated.”

“To dream of a hospital implies a need to betaken care of physically and/or mentally. It indicates a need to restore orderin your life”

“To dream that you have come into contactwith venom, perhaps through a snakebite, is an indication that you arecurrently bottling up emotion such as anger and disappointment. You arebeginning to despise those around you and are no longer able to contain it. Itmay also represent the poor way in which you view yourself.”

“Todream that you are in the bathroom signifies your basic needs and desires. It'spossible that you are feeling overwhelmed and you wish to get rid of theseissues. It may also symbolize your need to cleanse your spirit and mind ofdestructive thoughts. You need to release negative emotions and feelings.”

Doyou see the common theme? Before I went to bed that night I had a verystressful evening. I think it is sostrange how my brain went through the days events when I’m not even consciouslythinking about all the things that frustrated me.

-Kat

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

2011-10-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

I've been writing a lot about my personal life and internal thoughts. This post is something different because I like to "broaden my horizons."

I finished reading "Safe Haven", by Nicholas Sparks about two weeks ago. It was one of those random target pick ups. I love when I get a book randomly and actually like it. That's the way it seems to work. The last time I went to Barns and Nobel to buy a book I picked one out that I couldn't finish (boring). "Save Haven" is about a young lady, Katie, who moved into a small east-coast beach town. She kept to herself because she was running away from a nightmare of a life; her husband was abusive. She got a job as a waitress in Southport, the small beach town she moved to. I wasn't able to relate to being abused but being a hopeless romantic, I related to the crux of the story. I don't want to give the whole plot away because that would be pointless but Katie finds love unexpectedly after escaping her past. I think this book was cathartic for me for many reasons. (ok here goes the personal stuff, oh well). This love story let me live out something that I don't have in my life right now, a relationship. Even though I'm not completely sure if I want one right now it's always nice to live vicariously through someone or something else. That's what books are for, right?

There is always SOMETHING new

2011-09-21T21:41:00.000-07:00

Whenever someone asks me "Whats new?" I always draw a blank. I know that life is continually changing but when your living in it all the changes seem to be ordinary. I'm trying to change my mind frame on this issue. My day to day life might be very close to "ordinary" but it's MINE. After stepping outside of my continuum, this is want's new in my life...

About a month ago I quit my job as a waitress. Long story short, the restaurant hours weren't working well with my school schedule. I felt like I could be spending my time learning my field and building my resume instead of working my self to exhaustion. It's a funny thing, I always say that "everything works out" That concept isn't an easy one to whole heartily believe in but once again God (the universe or whatever you call that higher being) proved my doubts wrong. The week after I quit my job I got an internship at a P.R. firm. I had submitted my resume to a few places but I didn't think I was a shoe in for any of the positions. Believe it or not I got an interview and got the job on the spot. There is nothing more invigorating and intimidating then being handed a job that you always wanted but having no idea what your doing. I've come to learn that I (you/anyone!) can do almost anything with a little guidance. We are our own worst enemy in the fact that our internal dialogue isn't always the most positive. So far I've learned a lot. I went into this internship having the dream of one day doing Public Relations and here I am almost three weeks into it and I can actually say I've done some P.R. After getting my feet (or maybe just my toes) wet in the industry I'm happy to say that I'm reassured that I'm going after a goal that is extremely suiting for me! It makes me more excited for my future knowing that even as an intern I love what I'm doing.

Yes I love my internship but I also have a recent motivation problem when it come to everything else in life. These last few weeks I've been LAZY(er). I'm calling myself out; my room is a mess! My room is only a reflection of what I've been feeling. I don't know what my problem is. Maybe it's my sleep schedule; if I mess with it just once I'll be off for at least a week. Possibly it's my diet. I'm one of those weirdos who is always trying to self-improve. So I'm now trying to eat less animal protein and more fruits and veggies, hoping it will boost my energy. I don't know if its just a girl thing but I feel like my energy level is such a roller coaster! I would love if it could just be a little stable! Someone give me some answers haha.

I also started to dabble in Radio at the wonderful world of Cronkite. I've been doing weekly News updates on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. My friend got me into it but it's good to experiment in all different areas of media.

-Kat

MSM Steven Levy

2011-09-21T21:09:00.001-07:00

Steven Levy, author of “hackers” and “in the plex”, joinedCronkite students this Monday to discuss his experiences working as a businessjournalist. Business journalism encompasses many different topics includingforeign affairs, economics and technology. This specific field of journalism isbooming right now with the recent economic crisis and release of continually evolvingtech gadgets. Levy reported on the tech industry by getting inside of theircorporations early. He met with Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, before thecompany’s big break to propose the idea of writing a story on the up and comingMacintosh computer. Levy said,Job’s agreed under one condition, if the article would be on the cover ofRolling Stone, the magazine Levy was writing for. I found it extremelyinteresting to hear of the evolution of the topic of Technology in journalisticwriting. Levy discussed how in thebeginning tech articles were mostly covered by hobbyist magazines. Thetransition from hobbyist magazines to news publications legitimized the generain the Journalism world. Beingfrom a generation that has grown up with technology as a part of everyday life,I can’t imagine the world of journalism without tech being a part of the mix.Technology is not going anywhere and will continue to evolve. This constantevolution provides huge opportunities for young journalist.

Must See Monday

2011-08-31T23:41:00.000-07:00

The Cronkite school holds events every Monday appropriately called "Must see Mondays". At these events speakers with careers in the Journalism field talk directly to students. Monday, Aug. 29th I attended a M.S.M titled "Meet the Women of AZ TV News". Five female anchors from the Phoenix area formed the panel and revealed their personal stories about working in the industry and spoke of their opinions on issues relevant to today's journalism students. Each anchorwomen had insightful information for us.
When asked about their view on social media the women of AZ news all agreed that it is useful in the industry. They did have differences in opinions on the issue of how much personal information to put out there. Lin Sue Cooney of 12 News cautioned, "it does change how people perceive you and feel about you." Carey Pena, anchor at KTVK 3, stated, "you need to be accessible." in regards to being a source for news in the mediums of Twitter and Facebook. Carey sympathized with our generation by realizing the difficultly in growing up with social media as a daily part of our early life. It's interesting to hear how these women, working in the journalism field, take advantage of a medium that was not around when they where learning the industry.
The ladies where asked to tell us about their experiences reporting their first stories. ASU alumni, Katie Raml of ABC 15, first commented that, " gear is way better here", then went on to us that while filming her first story she was given a camera with a tripod that didn't want to cooperate; summarizing some of the difficulties that she faced when first starting off. Catherine Anaya of CBS 5, had what most onlookers would call a luxury; she started off as an anchor right away. Catherine explained the difficulties of doing all the jobs of production when she first started off. She explained the multitasking it took to run the tella-promtor and keep up with her scrip at the same time. These stories gave me a chance to see that behind the camera and pretty smile the women of AZ news are human. They worked hard to get where they are in their careers. Monday's meeting gave me hope and inspiration to stay with my dream. Linda Williams of Fox10, gave some advice that has stuck with me, " don't listen to the nay-sayers, there are so many niches." M.S.M. was a chance to look into the future and see what my life can be. I'm grateful to be part of a school which allows for opportunities
like this.

-Kat

Following my happiness

2011-08-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

A lot has been going on over the last few weeks. School started on August 18th and I've been working a little too much. The wonderful world of Cronkite is going great. I'm enrolled in five classes. So far my favorites are News writing and Italian. I was never very good at Spanish in high school but surprisingly I'm pretty darn good at Italian. The language must be programmed in me along with my love of food. News writing is a great class, I get to hone my skills in writing along with discuss current events both of which are right up my ally. The only downside to my writing class is that it is at 7:30 a.m. and that is way to early for this morning hater.
Work has been keeping me beyond busy. I was working five days a week but now that school has started I cut my hours back to only three days. That point brings me to the title of this post, "following my happiness", a phrase I pick up somewhere a few years ago. Following your (my) happiness means that you follow your heart and make discussions based on what makes you happy, not only now but in the long run, bringing you closer to your bigger goals. This mind set brought me to Arizona. After a year of readjusting I decided to take a chance and move even farther away from home in order to attend a school that will foster my growth and help me reach my career and life goals. Along the way there were people telling me it might not be the best decision and I took their arguments into account but in the end Arizona was on my happiness road so here I am! A lot of small events have reassured me that living this way has brought me to the right place. The hard thing is holding on to that lingering feeling of knowing your on the right road when life starts to get overwhelming and an easy way out comes along. Staying focused on what you know you want is the only way to keep from wondering off the happiness road. For me that means remembering that I came here to attend a great school which offers an abundance of opportunities and resources to help me find my way.

Stay happy!

-Kat

The count down begins !

2011-08-16T23:31:00.000-07:00

A month from today I'll be celebrating my twentieth birthday. I can barely believe that I'm not a little kid anymore. For the longest time I've felt like a child while ordering my double scoop of mint chip at Baskin Robins even though the ice cream scooper is a peer. I feel a early mid life crisis coming on. I'm beginning to realize the many responsibilities that comes with growing up and I'm a little iffy about excepting that as my reality.

In the last few months an escalation adult responsibilities became part of my life. I might not be doing everything on my own but I'm scratching the surface of independence. I started a new job working as a server here in Tempe. It's hard work but it definitely pays off on busy days. For the first time in my life I'm coming home absolutely exhausted. It makes me wonder how I'm going to do this working thing everyday until my 60's. Luckily, I'm pretty sure I wont be a server forever but just the thought of life revolving around work makes me tired. I hope that I can find a way to have a fun and fulfilling job. I never want to fall into that rut of an unsatisfactory life and settle.

On that note, I'm extremely excited to start school at the wonderful world of Cronkite (ASU, Cronkite school of Journalism and Mass Communication). Yes, I just made up that nick name, I think its great! School starts on Thursday. Although I might not be one hundred percent prepared, I'm ready to jump in head first and see what I can get from this semester of learning. Lets see how I handle 7:30 AM classes every other day... wish me luck on that one.

Wish me luck!

2011-08-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

I've been here in Arizona for two and a half weeks. I felt like I wasn't getting anything done but when I really thought about it I've actually accomplished a lot. The roommate search is still going on. I'm thinking about making a short questionnaire and having all of the "candidates" fill it out. It sounds corny but honestly it might be the only way I can make this decision. I figure I'll pick who ever gets the most check marks on my "must have in a roomie" list. That is just the way I am about these things!

On another note I've been job hunting with some initial success. I have a second interview at Cadillac Ranch tomorrow for a server position. It's a bar and grill, I figure I can make pretty good tips working there during the rush. I was offered an interview at this delicious Japanese place but passed on that because the managers where extremely moody. I don't need anyone killing my life high right now because I'm on a roll. So wish me luck !!!

I'm thinking about doing vlog (video blog) giving a tour of my new place just so everyone who has been asking about it can see it but I'm not sure yet. Lets see how much motivation I have tomorrow :)

Long over due update '

2011-07-26T23:45:00.000-07:00

So obviously I've been neglecting the blog. The neglect is understandable under the conditions of my life over the past few months. Here is all the news on my life. Ready to get back on track?

I finished up my spring semester at the community college I was attending. Proudly getting all A's - oh and one B, but that isn't important. At the end of the semester I was feeling extremely torn in my decision for my next move, either ASU or USD (arizona or san diego). In San Diego I would be living with my best friend in one of the most spectacular cities in the world. The problem was that my heart wasn't captured by the school I would be attending. I took a trip to Arizona at the end of Spring semester and found everything I was looking for in a school at ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

After the trip my decision had be made. I was dreading telling my friend that our plans to move down south where going to fall through. Even in my distress I couldn't help but be excited about what I had ahead of me.

Fast Forward 2 months------->

I moved to Arizona approximately two weeks ago. Deciding where to live was a drama in itself. Originally I set on living downtown walking distance from the campus I was attending. At the last minute I decided that I wanted a guaranteed college experience so I flipped the switch completely and restarted my apartment search in Tempe, where the made campus is located. I ended up finding fab place with everything anyone would ask for in an apartment. At this moment I'm still looking for a roommate. I'm trying to be optimistic, believing that my search will yield a roommate who meets my wish list. I think it will all work out, doesn't it always?

Most recently, I found some great girls today while at Orientation! I love that in an age where socializing sometimes begins and ends online, the best company will always be hanging with great friends. I'm even more excited for the my new life to continue to unfold. It can only get better because you attract what you put out and over the last few months I've done nothing but follow my heart :)

Couch Potato Philosophy

2011-04-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

"Even if your on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." - Will Rogers

This quote is posted above my desk right now. I printed it out one night when I had a motivation spur. Most people can relate to these short lived bursts of motivation that energize you and make you feel like you can achieve anything. I've been trying to figure out how to makes these last longer then a day. Im having a real problem keeping motivated. Although my lack of motivation hasn't effected reaching any of my big goals yet, I want to be able to keep the momentum of my "good" days as an everyday thing. In Economics I've been learning about opportunity cost, the cost of forgoing your next best option. This fundamental principle of economics had me talking to myself today. "You really need to stop wasting your time on the couch. You can be doing something more useful, like that blog you started". So there it is, stuff you learn in school is really relevant to everyday life! Opportunity cost became my new motivation to stop sitting there and take action. It can be held responsible for this post.

A look for Romance

2011-02-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

The month of February is synonymous with romance. This month we look forward to being a part of that fairytale romance of the movies. The problem is that perfect leading lady look that everyone desires to embody for their valentine date night doesn't seem realistic with the everyday girls, frizzy, limp, dull, and out of control hair! A lovely romantic look that you might want to replicate for your date this Valentines is Amanda Seyfried's do in Letters to Juliet, this soft look will be perfectly suited for a dinner out with a your Romeo.

Amanda's Some up Some down

Things you will need:

1) inch and a half barrel curling iron

2) smoothing hair serum, I love "Its a 10" serum

3) A medium hold hair spray
4) Finishing shine spray
5) Two brushes, a rat tail brush and any padded brush
6) bobbie pins and a flower clip or any decorative clip you like

Step one: Blow dry clean and conditioned hair, make sure you always use a heat protectant spray when using hot tool.
Step two: apply Styling serum to dry hair, if your hair is very limp you might want to use volume moose before drying the hair in step one.
Step three: Divide hair into two sections, bottom and top. Curl the bottom section with your curling iron, making sure that the curls are not too tight. Spray your curls with hair spray.
Step four: Take you paddle brush and gently brush out your curls. You want the end result to look like romantic waves.
P.S. do not curl the top section just yet
Step five: divide the top section of your hair into two parts, the upper front and the back.
Step six: make a center part on your top front section and pin this area behind the upper back section. You don't have to make this part perfect, the wispy pieces add to the romantic style.
Step seven: Tease the upper back section of hair slightly and then slightly curl this section just at the bottom.
Step eight: pin this section back to create the look in the picture. You might want to use a hand mirror too see exactly what position looks best for the style.
Last Step: place your decorative pin on the back of your hair to hide any showing bobbie pins and one final spray of hair spray.

These are my own quick results when trying the style.

I hope you all have a great February. There will be more styles and product reviews to come.

-Kat