2008

Hey, I'm on my way to making a better life for myself. I want to say thank you for everything you showed me and did for me. You taught me to believe in myself and showed me I am somebody and not a nobody. This is coming from my heart.

Clarence Cooper

2009

I saw my brother die right in front of me. At that time I was mad and sad, but most of all I was ready for revenge for my brother's death. I did something stupid to come to jail, and that's when I thought it was over. Then I went to The Jimmy Santiago Baca Library, Writing, and Publishing Center and started to write. I wrote about the streets and my brother's death and my time in jail, trying to make it day by day. I have been locked up for one year now, and now I know when I die I don't want people crying. I want people to smile and say he was a good writer. His words stopped me from hurting someone else. Can you believe it! Me, I am writing, trying to help people, and I know my brother is in heaven smiling down on me.

May 2010

Coming from a home where there was hardly any love shown, I sheltered myself from growing. So much was going on in my life and through the experiences, it only got worse. Finally when I was sixteen yrs old, I was sent to St. Joseph's Villa. No one ever wants to admit that being in lock up changes your life from a whole different perspective, but I can admit that I would probably be dead or in jail if I didn't go. But even though I was in a whole new world, I still wasn't able to express myself the way that I really wanted to.

I remember when we were being told by our staff that someone from NYSLC was coming to work with some of the teens for a project. At first I didn't want to participate because I thought that it was just another excuse for us to be away from the cottage. We later learned that NYSLC was an organization that gave youth the chance to be heard and to express themselves. I decided to participate and I'm so glad I did. For those few weeks that Dale Davis was there with us, I felt like I could express myself no matter what anyone said or thought. I've always written poems but I never shared any of them with anyone and they were usually short and dinky lol but they meant a whole great deal to me. Dale taught us how to express ourselves in a way that I wasn't used to. We would write our poems about how we felt, the experiences we've been through, and so much more and actually share them with the other kids in the program. It was different for me, but I appreciated it so much. The program sort of put me in the mindset of Def Poetry Jam. It was so much fun. In The Villa, they were very strict on things we could and could not do or say and while Dale was there I felt so comfortable because I was able to express myself without worrying about getting in trouble. It helped me a lot to come to terms with my past and to realize that things could've been a lot worse. I wasn't scared to say what I felt anymore. I was actually able to communicate better with others after the program. I wanted to be heard and I finally was. It was an amazing moment for me.

That was almost six years ago. I am now almost twenty-two years old, and I still have the Roc City Anthem CD. I listen to it when I'm reminiscing about old times, and it always reminds me of how I can always relate to others in more ways then I can even imagine. All of the experiences the kids and I in the project had been through, from poverty, to sex, to drugs, violence, neglect, every negative thing you can possibly think of, came together in one movement. It was like we knew where each one of us was coming from and understood what we were going through. We were able to help each other cope with the anger and pain we were enduring deep down inside. It was a wonderful experience for me and I carry that with me till this day. I changed a lot of my ways and became so much more mature, less angry, and more uplifting. I am so thankful for Dale and NYSLC for helping me cope with my troubles and helping me make it through with no worries. Love you guys to death. Keep up the good work and continue to reach out to the youth. You guys are a blessing! 

Sincerely, 
Ashley Debardlabon