Ellie Laks started the Gentle Barn Foundation in California. Her group gives a home to animals it rescued from abuse or in need of care. When recovered, the animals spend time with troubled young people and disabled adults.

ANA GOLDBACH: “I’ve been here for a while.”

Ana Goldbach comes to the Gentle Barn once a week. Caring for animals is said to help people deal with their own problems. Often, the animals get months of special care before they can work with people.

ELLIE LAKS: “This place doesn’t work by just hugging cute animals. It’s the at-risk kids that have been through abuse and neglect and hardship and being misunderstood. When they come face-to-face with an animal that has the exact same story, that’s the healing element. That’s where a kid goes, ‘Wow! I’m not alone. There’s someone else that shares my story. And, if this animal can overcome and is safe here, then I can overcome and be safe in the world.’ So it’s the stories that are healing.”

Laks says her volunteers help educate people about abused animals.

ELLIE LAKS: “And they do so many things. We really count on them for so much. Like I said, all the horses are groomed at 10 o’clock every day. So we’ve got volunteers that come in and groom the horses. We have volunteers that come and take the animals for walks and to eat grass. When we have a special rescue, the animal needs supervision or company we have volunteers that come and supervise that animal, sometimes ’round-the-clock, all through the night.”

Janet Becht began volunteering at the Gentle Barn a year ago.

JANET BECHT: “And it was my birthday. And, I said I’m going to do something special on my birthday. I’m finally going to go. And I didn’t know where it was. It was four miles from my house. So it was very close, and I don’t know, I just never saw anything like this and fell in love with the horses. They scare me, they did. They don’t scare me so much anymore.”

Donations support the work of the Gentle Barn. Ellie Laks hopes to start Gentle Barns across the country so other people can have contact with animals and experience the healing. I’m Barbara Klein.

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In 2008, City of Lights was founded to increase visibility of cyclists of color, to provide legal rights and safety trainings, and to empower these cyclists so that they may advocate on their own behalf in their communities.

Along with the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON), the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), and the Popular Education Institute of Southern California (IDEPSCA), City of Lights began its legal rights and safety workshops for day laborers, as well as host bike rides.

In 2009, the Bicycle Kitchen began offering mechanic workshops to day laborers at CARECEN. Based on its success, people began discussing establishing a permanent location at a day laborer center.

By October of 2009, IDEPSCA offered a space at their Downtown Community Job Center in LA’s Garment District. With tools and used parts from the Bicycle Kitchen and donations from businesses and individuals, workshops at the space began; with day laborers, Bicycle Kitchen members, and City of Lights volunteers working side-by-side. They named themselves “La Bici Digna”.

The day laborers are the volunteers, teaching themselves bike mechanics in alliance with other volunteers and knowledgeable day laborers.

Day laborers and volunteers articulate their visions for the space through small meetings and assemblies.

In these assemblies, as consensus decision-making process, laborers develop as collective members and decision makers, creating the future of the program.

The laborers draw the connection between racist immigration policies and environmental destruction.

They hope to provide a sustainable example for others to follow in directly addressing real needs within a community, and doing so together, democratically, and with dignity.

[The structure and message of this video was decided on by the day laborers during their most recent assembly.]

La Bici Digna
http://ciudaddeluces.wordpress.com/?page_id=261&preview=true

City of Lights
http://ciudaddeluces.wordpress.com/

Bicycle Kitchen
http://www.bicyclekitchen.com

IDEPSCA
http://www.idepsca.org

CARECEN
http://www.carecen-la.org/

NDLON
http://www.ndlon.org

Popular Education Resources
http://www.colectivoflatlander.org/recursos
http://www.nnirr.org/shop/curricula.php
http://www.popednews.org/resources.html

Music: “Cariñito” by Los Hijos del Sol

Titles, Subtitles, and Editing!!! by Sasha

Thanxxx also to Luz

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