Meet Francis Martinez
Sitting with Francis Martinez, one couldn’t image what has happened to her over the past two years. After
the tragic death of her husband that occurred across the street from
the Kern County Sheriff's east Bakersfield Sub-station, she had to
learn to become a self-sufficient person. The transition was hard and
arduous; however, by the grace of God and the loving support of her
family, Francis was able to persevere.
Her
touching and personal testimonial helped spark the movement and
organization that is now Faith In Action Kern County. Looking back, she
has trouble admitting and realizing that she had such an impact on the
grassroots movement of community organizing—“I don’t think what I did
was anything special; what happened to my husband could’ve happened to
anybody.” In the beginning, she wasn’t sure if she had the courage to
speak about her personal loss; as she passionately expressed later, “If
it wasn’t for the continual support of Andrae [Former Executive Director of
Faith In Action Kern County], I don’t know if would’ve had the courage
to speak out to help the community get more Sheriffs patrolling our
neighborhoods.”
Now,
Francis Martinez has a leadership role in taking back the streets of
“Our Neighborhood” for the children, parents, and friends so that they
can have a safe environment to socialize and grow as moral human
beings. “Our Neighborhood” has been designated as the area between
Flower St and Niles St, Mt. Vernon St and Virginia St. Because of the
leadership of Francis Martinez, more and more people in the area of
“Our Neighborhood” are taking up the banner for community
transformation.
So,
what’s next for Francis? With her help, ‘Our Neighborhood’ is going to
start a block-by-block effort to change the landscape of our
neighborhood. We are planning clean-up days and efforts to collaborate
with the sheriff sub-station and its deputies to create ways to
initiate more community involvement with public safety—“I am so excited
about the future of this community!”