The Beat Within wishes you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Thank you for your love and support while we continue to grieve the lossof our beloved founder, David Inocencio. We think perhaps San Quentin News summed it up the best… “Founder of The Beat Within touched countless lives, leaving behind a powerful legacy of service and compassion with his ever present smile and the power of encouragement, legendary advocate for incarcerated youth, David Inocencio died in July after losing a courageous battle with cancer. His service to those impacted by the juvenile and criminal justice systems will live on
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David Inocencio Memorial Fund
The David Inocencio Memorial Fund honors our trailblazing founder, David Inocencio. For nearly three decades, David was a light in the dark world of detention facilities across the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. This fund will support workshops, magazine publication, and general operations of The Beat Within. With your support, The Beat goes on. LINK
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Editor’s Note
In July, The Beat Within announced with great sadness the passing of its founder and executive director, David Inocencio. Over the past six weeks, our Beat Within team has worked tirelessly to publish a special tribute issue of The Beat Within Magazine. In this issue, youth, David’s colleagues, former and current TBW participants, and community leaders shared their reflections on the impact of The Beat Within, David Inocencio, and the topic of grief. The issue was empowering and almost therapeutic, rallying our team to stand up and ensure that the beat goes on, as David always said. With passing the
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The Beat Within Tribute Issue
Our latest magazine is here! Inside you can find all the incredible and powerful tributes to David. Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
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Volume 29.33/34
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 29.33/34
We welcome you readers back to another double dose edition of the one and only Magazine that’s being published every other week. It’s the one and only OT tasked with bringing you guys the golden message of positivity this week. I was planning to give my opinion on a couple of these weekly topics, but because one of you amazing young people wrote about something that really struck a chord within the strings of my heart so I’m gone take a different route. Take a look at where you’re at. I take a look at where I’m at every single
Continue ReadingHomelessness
-Zion, San Mateo An important issue in the world is homelessness. Many people in Cali face this problem due to being unable to get accepted by jobs or having family issues as little kids, and not having the resources to help them survive. You can see more than five hundred people downtown in the city on crack, meth, pills, and other stuff toxic to the body. Even myself and my grandma faced being homeless many times due to her health issues, which stopped her from working and me being unable to provide for her because the jobs I would apply
Continue ReadingRinse Repeat
-DC, Sonoma When I was locked up in the county jail, it was essential to keep myself busy because you’re locked up in a cell for twenty-three hours a day. I would start my day at five am sharp and have the “mod workers” pass me some steaming hot water so I can drink my morning cup of coffee and get my day started. Before I drink my coffee, I make sure that I drink two large cups of water and pace my cell back and forth so I can wake up. I enjoy reading the press and saving the
Continue ReadingCherish Life
-JSM, Sonoma My most cherished possession is life because no matter what there is always something to gain, negative or positive. There is always something to gain. No matter what you gain it can be a new lesson, skill, new anger cooperating skills, or whatever. Life is always full of amazing, exciting ideas, stuff, and adventures. Just take advantage of it, have no regrets and don’t put life to waste. There is a lot of time, but not a lot of life.
Continue ReadingMothersota Makes Me Cry Lakes
-Chris Krych All the time spent cannot be given back to me to relive with my familyAging poorly within a political systemThat stacks the deck against freedomsOnce you are gone, you are gone, but hopefully not forgotten!Another avenue of punishmentLucky to escape with your life, the dead speak(One hundred and three plus so far)!Nobody gets to relive life that has already passed byMothersota makes me cry lakes (ten thousand tears)Angry citizenry pain for lack of political shame!Layered barriers of political fraud, democracy cremated!Eight hundred plus wounded and breathing humansNeed to be made whole againAnother avenue of punishment Is freedom worth having?
Continue ReadingLegacy
-Jeremiah G KelleyBefore I am dead and goneAnd I finally rest in peaceI hope to leave behindAn unforgettable legacyEver since I was a childI wasn’t confident or convincedI would never reach my full potentialLife never made too much senseOne day I picked up a penAnd my hand began to writeI couldn’t believe what I wroteSuddenly so much came to lightI wanted to be successfulBut my mind would have to expandIt was obvious I had a giftThat gift is in my handI had to keep on writingSo, my talent would be exposedAnd as I kept on writingSomething beautiful began to unfoldI
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Volume 29.31/32
Please contact Lisa Lavaysse if you would like to purchase the full PDF or a printed copy of this issue.
Continue ReadingEd Note 29.31/32
The month of July was hard, July hurts. Marking one year since our fearless leader the founder of The Beat Within and my dearest, beloved husband, best friend and business partner David Inocencio left this world. I believe his heart was too pure, gentle and good for this cruel world, so the Lord called him home, I hope you are resting in peace by his side. July also marks our wedding anniversary and we also matched the day of our first date. This July we would have celebrated fifteen years together and nine years married. I thought we were going to have
Continue ReadingMy First Summer Job
-IL, San Francisco “When I see people of my likeness, or somebody that I feel connected to doing something great, I feel like I can do it. It gives me some hope and vision.” -Common I feel like this quote is actually pretty good because I feel like most people feel like they can’t do something but see people that are just like them doing something that they feel they can’t do. It pushes them to do it as well and it makes it easier for them to do so. For example, I would always tell myself that I never
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