Palm Desert, Calif. — Students from the Coachella Valley High School health academy and the school’s Active Minds club hosted a conversation about mental health and violence in America on Thursday night at the Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus.

Some of the panelists who participated in the forum were Riverside County District Attorney Michael Hestrin, Desert Hot Springs Chief of Police Dale Mondary, 42nd District Assemblyman Chad Mayes and James Alan Fox  the interim director of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Northeastern University.

The forum was moderated by former Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden.

Although he was not able to attend the event, 56th District Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia met with some of the students beforehand to help them draft up questions for the forum.

“For young people to lead this conversation is really important,” he said. “It is really great that they did this.”

The idea for the forum came from conversations that the students were already having in the classroom.

“We saw a need for there to be some discussion about mental health and what we are doing to move in a good direction,” Nicole Aguirre, HOSA and Active Minds advisor said.

Active Minds provides resources to students regarding mental health, so that they can be a resource for other students and the community at large.

“Today’s event was about opening up a conversation about mental health issues that we have in our community and how they relate to violence” Aguirre said.“Also to open up a conversation on what we are doing as a community to prevent acts of violence that are related to mental health.”

Some of the questions that panelists answered during the forum regarded access to firearms, safety protocols at schools and the services available to inmates dealing with mental health disorders.

The experts agreed that while not all acts of violence are directly linked to mental health issues, it is definitely something that should be addressed and considered.

Aguirre said she hoped the event also inspired some of her students to become mental health professionals.  

“We see a need for more individuals in the mental health field as a profession and we are hoping that some of our students will choose to go into the mental health field,” she said.

About the author:

Paulina Rojas joined Coachella Uninc. as a beat reporter in February 2016 after working as a city reporter in the eastern Coachella Valley for more than a year. Although born and raised in New York City, Paulina feels right at home in the eastern Coachella Valley. She loves the warmth of the people and buying fresh bread from her favorite bakery in downtown Coachella. Paulina is a graduate of the University of Houston, and her work has appeared in The Las Vegas Review – Journal, The Houston Chronicle, HelloGiggles and Vivala. View her author page here.

KARLA MARTINEZ / Coachella Unincorporated

COACHELLA — On Friday, April 3, The City of Coachella held a press conference at city hall to ask the public for help in preventing violence in the community.

“Today on Good Friday, we have organized, not individually, but as a community to stand here to send a message that the City of Coachella stands united and will do everything in its powers to combat the mindless menace of violence and gangs within our city,” Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez said.

The press conference comes five days after local youth, Anthony Delatorre, 20, was shot and killed on Marina Avenue in Coachella.

Delatorre’s death was the latest incident in a series of gun and gang related crimes in Coachella over the past four months.

During the press conference, Father Guy Wilson from Our Lady of Soledad in Coachella, offered condolences to Delatorre’s family members, who were in attendance, and he also urged community members to not encourage violence in their neighborhoods.

“We must stand together at this time to make sure that violence doesn’t beget violence.” Wilson said.

After the press conference, representatives from local organizations were on hand to field questions from community members. Many organizations represented at the press conference work with youth in Coachella to combat violence at an early age.

Hernandez said bringing these local organizations together is the first step towards preventing future violence in Coachella. But he also challenges local youth to voice their concerns about issues they see in their community.

Hernandez envisions creating a safe space for young people be heard, as well as organizing nighttime recreational programs and job opportunity fairs so young people can focus on creating a nonviolent future.

“We need to start listening to our youth. We need youth to come forward; we need them to be involved,” Hernandez said. “We need to know what is affecting them; what are the issues that they see? We need them here.”

Trinidad Arredondo, a project manager from the Regional Access Project Foundation (RAP), said RAP is working to develop a youth leadership program based on “Joven Noble”, a curriculum designed to discourage at-risk youth from continuing in a cycle of violence.

“What we want to do is work with [at-risk youth] to keep them safe, and to give them opportunities so that they build the skills needed to continue their education and go into the workforforce,” Arredondo said. “We want to offer opportunities to youth. We know these communities come together, but it needs to be an approach where all resources are put together to stop the violence.”

Vivian Perez, director of the Esperanza Youth and Family Center in Coachella, echoed Arredondo’s statement, and said she was encouraged by the show of support for ending gun and gang related violence in Coachella. But Perez said the community needs to keep working together if it wants stop the cycle of violence in their city.

“It’s very important that we need to keep this momentum going. I’m just excited that everyone is here, and we’re all working to fix this,” she said. “Is there a fix for this? We don’t know, but we have to start somewhere.”

Elijah Bañuelos died January 25 after being shot in the head while standing in an open garage with his father and another man in Coachella’s Rancho Mariposa neighborhood. He would have been three years old in April. Limited details have been released by authorities and family members. Coachella Unincorporated reporters share their thoughts on this tragedy that has left the community in shock.

Not Supposed to Happen

Something like this isn’t supposed to happen. No parent should have to bury their child, much less a child three months short of their third birthday. Home is where the heart is, especially for the Latino community.  To be robbed of precious life in the comforts of your home truly drives a spear through the soul of the large Latino community of Coachella.  Like many Eastern Coachella Valley communities, Coachella lacks ample outdoor recreational activities and facilities.  Many of these residents turn to the comforts of their own homes for leisure activities. But when a crime as heinous as this happens in a home, it serves as further proof that a once quiet city of humble working class citizens is coming under siege by shameless monsters.

-Tony Aguilar, 21, Thermal (College of the Desert)

Angry, Sorrowful, Shocked and Scared

I do not know if the crime in Coachella has escalated, or if I have come to the age when people will not sugarcoat anything. I do not know the hard cold facts, but in my opinion, the crime has gotten worse in my very own community. In the past two years, I have heard of at least four deaths of teenagers that I once had for a class or two. That is not normal. For some reason, our community has adapted into this culture that crime in the community is common; some say it may be due to gang violence. Though, when an innocent life is taken away after only two years on earth, people start to realize how unsafe our community is. This tragic news, about two-year-old Elijah Bañuelos and two injured men has left the community angry, sorrowful, shocked, and scared for their families and their own lives.

– Alejandra Alarcon, 17, Coachella (Coachella Valley High School)

Why Did This Happen in our City?

Over the course of the years living in Coachella and of all the shootings I have heard about in those years, this shooting, the shooting of the two-year-old boy is by far one of the most impacting ones to me. Not only because this victim was an innocent baby boy, but because this occurred a couple of blocks away from where my family and I live. As I heard the news in my government class on Thursday, I was completely shocked that even though it had occurred close to my home, I had been so completely unaware. I couldn’t help but reflect upon why someone would do that and wonder why this happened in our city. I feel helpless when hearing about these kinds of tragic deaths when innocent people die.

– Maricruz Cabrera, 18, Coachella (Coachella Valley High School)

Tragic and Heartbreaking

The incident that occurred late on January 25, ending in the death of a child is tragic, it is heartbreaking. I could not know the enormous amount of grief that has piled up on the doorstep of this little boy’s family, just the very thought of it leaves me a bit staggered. This happened in a neighborhood filled with families, filled with children, and filled with amity. It leaves me with a sense of anger and frustration knowing this could happen, and that it has happened in my hometown. People should have the right to live at home comfortably and peacefully, without fear. I understand death is a part of life, but no parent should ever bury their child. An innocent life was taken without warning, and my thoughts and prayers are with this family.

-Ivan Delgado, 20, Coachella (College of the Desert)

A Terrified and Grief-Stricken Community

Earlier this week, a two-year-old boy was fatally shot and two others were wounded in a drive by shooting in the Redondo Sur/ Rancho Mariposa community.  As a young person growing up in Coachella, this incident makes me feel scared. What was a joyful community of parents and their children is now a terrified and grief-stricken community.  There’s no escaping the fact that there is violence in our city. Tragedies like this do happen. This makes me wonder if we’re safe living in this city. Are we safe? We’re never safe no matter where we live. Tragedies will always happen no matter where we go. All we can do is take life day by day and hope. Hope that things like this won’t happen to us. Hope that we can all live safe without having to worry about our safety and our kids’ safety. Hope that we can look forward to a better tomorrow.

-Johnny Flores, 15, Coachella (Xavier College Prep)

Truly a Tragedy

To have an innocent life lost from this planet is a dreadful thing, even more so when that innocent life hasn’t even begun to really LIVE. When I heard about this story, my jaw dropped to floor and all I could think about were my own siblings. Though not as young, they are young enough to not know how cruel this world can be; I could only imagine how devastated the family of the two-year-old must feel. Another shocking aspect of this story is where it occurred. In the pictures that were shown, the house where the shooting took place looked like a really nice house. The entire neighborhood looked nice, with neatly trimmed lawns and clean streets, which got me thinking an event like this can happen anywhere.  My sense of security has lowered a bit. It also got me thinking what the Coachella police or Mayor Eduardo Garcia are planning to do to take on this issue. Overall, this was truly a tragedy and has gotten the residents of Coachella truly thinking on just how safe our neighborhoods really are.
-Rogelio Montaño, 17, Coachella (Coachella Valley High School)

Everyone is Affected

Being a resident of Coachella, this is very shocking. My heart goes out to the family on their loss.  A child should not be involved in any violence.  I hope this is a big eye-opener to everybody in the community and that everyone is being affected by this.  It is just sad a little boy’s life had to be taken like this.
– Santos Reyes, 17, Coachella (Coachella Valley High School)