Jesus is 21-year old student at City College of San Francisco. His parents immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico. “PODER has made me aware of issues affecting my community and its people such as immigration, environmental justice and housing,” he says. “PODER also helped me become a more well rounded person by providing me with opportunities to travel and meet other people in the movement.”

Jesus joined PODER after attending the Movie Night in the Excelsior in 2012. “I learned to appreciate the resilience in my community by witnessing everything that went into the free open air Movie Night such as the food being provided by the PODER members’ food cooperative.”

Jesus joined the Common Roots program and now works with the Urban Campesinos. “PODER has made me more concerned and, in turn, sparked the will to stand with my community against injustices”

Recently, Jesus worked as an outreach worker with San Francisco Rising’s Civic Engagement Program educating voters about important issues on the ballot.