The safety of our students is always a top priority, and with the help of a partnership with the San Diego District Attorney's office, we shared with our students and parents ways to stay safe in the community through a workshop for parents with District Attorney Summer Stephan, Community Partnership Prosecutor and Deputy District Attorney Brooke Tafreshi and Community Partnership Prosecutor Cheryl Sueing-Jones.

On a Zoom call attended by 73 participants from BLCI, the presenters shared valuable information with parents that could help keep their students safe from the dangers of human trafficking and the importance of internet safety.

The virtual event featured statistics about human trafficking in San Diego and resources for families to use if they ever feel their loved ones are at risk. Additionally, parents learned about some of the common ways children are contacted by potentially dangerous individuals, including social media, online games such as Roblox and Fortnite and reaching out to children who seem "lonely" or who have trouble at home.

Information was shared with parents in English, Spanish and Arabic with families from our Barrio Logan and Chula Vista sites. The next session will feature speakers from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) who will discuss the dangers of drug use and will be held virtually on February 3rd.

Ariante Arenas-Lopez joined the BLCI Chula Vista parent program when her daughters, Luna and Kisha, started BLCI six years ago. While attending a holiday party, she witnessed other BLCI parents receiving recognition for their efforts in returning to school. After hearing this, Ariante realized, if they could do it, so could she!

In January 2019, Ariante enrolled in a Child and Adolescent Development program at Southwestern Community College. After two years of hard work and late-night classes during the pandemic, Ariante received an associate degree.

While studying, Ariante worked as a teacher's assistant at a pre-school facility to gain hands-on experience in a classroom setting. Currently, she is completing a training course at San Diego Continuing Education to gain experience working with students on the autism spectrum.

Ariante's next goal is to transfer to a four-year university and work toward a Bachelor's in Special Education. She has expressed that she stays motivated to continue her studies as a way to show her daughters that going to college is possible, and expressed her gratitude to BLCI for opening the door to her educational journey.

Save the date! BCLI's annual fundraiser, Opportunity For Impact, will be held on Thursday, May 12th from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. Join us as we gather once again in person at JULEP Venue in Downtown San Diego to honor BLCI's community advocacy, celebrate the successes of our students and prepare for all that is still to come.

Sponsorship opportunities are now available - contact Teresa Contreras for more information: teresa@blci.org