{"id":1269,"date":"2011-09-15T08:32:03","date_gmt":"2011-09-15T15:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.57.196.122\/~gdatwofo\/theavtimes\/?p=1269"},"modified":"2019-05-30T14:08:29","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T21:08:29","slug":"an-unlikely-hero-offers-one-way-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2011\/09\/15\/an-unlikely-hero-offers-one-way-up\/","title":{"rendered":"An unlikely hero offers One Way Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cynthia<\/a>
Cynthia has not courted attention for what she does; still, she has appeared in several news articles due to her advocacy on behalf of disadvantaged youth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PALMDALE – The name Cynthia Beverly may not register in high profile philanthropic organizations or local charities. But Cynthia Beverly is known throughout the poor and disadvantaged communities of Lancaster and Palmdale, as the woman to call when your kids are in trouble and need some real help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bring it for real,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

If your son is about to be kicked out of school, you call Cynthia. If you suspect your child may be at risk for selling drugs or on the cusp of getting into gang-related activities, you\u2019d better see Cynthia. If your child might be on his way to jail, you can\u2019t afford an attorney, and you feel as though the entire system has given up on your son but you don\u2019t want to, you knock on Cynthia\u2019s door.<\/p>\n

\u201cCynthia is an actual icon for people who were disadvantaged and grew up in the ghetto,\u201d says NAACP President Juan Blanco.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Ms. Beverly is a true advocate of students,\u201d says David Vierra, Superintendent for Antelope Valley Union High School District. \u201cShe continues to advocate for all kids, whether it be in the district or outside the district at any age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Problem students who don\u2019t listen to teachers, principals, law enforcement or even parents, are likely to listen to Cynthia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bring it because I\u2019ve been out there — the gang banging life, the street life, the drug life — I\u2019ve been there,\u201d Cynthia says. \u201cBut because I\u2019ve been there, I can bring [problem teens] something. I can speak their language and encourage them to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than anyone, Cynthia understands hardship and struggle.<\/p>\n

In 1985, Cynthia\u2019s mother was murdered by her stepfather in the family home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came home and I seen my mother on the ground dead,\u201d recalls Cynthia. Then 19, and mother to an 8-month-old son, Cynthia took refuge in the street life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to the streets hard and heavy and my lifestyle was crazy,\u201d said Cynthia. \u201cThere was nobody there to tell me don\u2019t go that route.\u201d<\/p>\n

While in the street life, Cynthia had another baby, and sent both children off to her grandmother\u2019s so she could continue doing dirt on the streets. But somewhere along the way in her early 20s, Cynthia decided to get her life together.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted my kids to be proud of me because the way I was living, I wasn\u2019t proud of myself,\u201d she said. \u201cSo I had to do something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something different for Cynthia meant moving to Long Beach, enrolling in a nursing program, getting a place of her own and a car, and reaching out to kids of all ages who faced similar predicaments. Soon Cynthia was transporting needy kids in her neighborhood to church on Sundays.<\/p>\n

By 2004, life was looking good for Cynthia. She had her fifth child, Marcus, whom she nicknamed Doodle-Doo. But six-months later, her baby died.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put my baby down to sleep and he never woke up again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

But this time, tragedy did not send Cynthia into a downward spiral. She willed herself into the opposite direction instead. She started a youth choir \u2013 the Doodle-Doo Youth Choir \u2013 at House to House Ministries in Long Beach. She taught the girls how to praise dance and the group took their act to various hospitals around Long Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mainly went to convalescent hospitals,\u201d she said. \u201cI wanted my kids to bring some joy and happiness into these people\u2019s lives because these people had nothing to live for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cynthia\u2019s journey eventually took her to Palmdale in 2008 because she was attracted to what she thought to be a nice quiet community. But Cynthia found herself battling with the school system instead.<\/p>\n

Her son Antone, who was 17 years old at the time, had learning disabilities and anger issues. He also had an individualized education plan (IEP), which is a program designed to meet the unique educational needs of one child, who may have a disability, as defined by federal regulations. Cynthia claims school officials were not following her son\u2019s IEP and as a result, his anger management issues often got the better of him and got him suspended practically every day. Antone\u2019s problems culminated in October 2010 when he got into an altercation with school security guards, was handcuffed, and eventually shuffled off to juvenile hall.<\/p>\n

The incident mobilized Cynthia to take action on behalf of her son and on behalf of minority students in the school system like him. Cynthia began meeting with parents, principals, and superintendents on her own to advocate on behalf of disadvantaged students.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially our first manner of getting to know one another was through her child who was at one of our schools,\u201d said Vierra. \u201cIt was a little bit of a rocky road at the beginning, but I think we struck a positive relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cynthia\u2019s positive relationship with Vierra and several other officials in the school system has made her the go to person for parents whose students are at risk of getting suspended from school or entering the prison system. She created the non-profit foundation One Way Up in 2010 to serve her purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne Way Up was her idea to help young people with problems in school,\u201d says Blanco. \u201cShe\u2019s stepped up to the plate and made a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like Cynthia\u2019s son Antone, high school student Natasha Hill was also on an IEP. Natasha says her teacher was going over her scores with her one day and told her she might need to get medication for mild retardation. The news sent Natasha into a tailspin.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy daughter was about to start running away because she felt like the teacher said she was retarded and stuff,\u201d says Natasha\u2019s mother Beverly. Beverly contacted Cynthia who ushered mother and daughter to the district office, as well as to an attorney\u2019s office. After several meetings and discussions Natasha was put back into regular class.<\/p>\n

Another mother, Minetta Johnson, recalls when her 11th<\/sup> grade son was jumped by a group of boys while walking home from school. Johnson says her son defended himself, but was later on the verge of being suspended due to the school’s no tolerance for fighting policy. That\u2019s when Cynthia stepped in. Cynthia met with the principal and superintendent and pushed for an investigation into the incident. Johnson\u2019s son was eventually allowed back to school with an apology.<\/p>\n

Cynthia says there are many other stories like these and estimates she\u2019s touched the lives of hundreds of students in the Antelope Valley alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether if I was a friend, a mom, a sister, or just somebody they can talk to or somebody who can give them a hug and let them know that it\u2019s okay, they will be alright,\u201d said Cynthia. \u201cI look at some of these kids who don\u2019t have parents, some of these kids that are going through some real issues, and all people want to do is lock these kids up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey say you\u2019re supposed to know wrong from right at a certain age, but that is not necessarily true, because these kids don\u2019t have the right influence in their life, so how will they know?\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked whether it gets exhausting trying to be so much, to so many people all the time, Cynthia can only shrug.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do it because I have to. I do it because it\u2019s therapy to me,\u201d she says. \u201cBecause from where I been to where I am today, I have to say I am truly blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PALMDALE – The name Cynthia Beverly may not register in high profile philanthropic organizations or local charities. But Cynthia Beverly is known throughout the poor and disadvantaged communities of Lancaster and Palmdale, as the woman to call when your kids are in trouble and need some real help. \u201cI bring it for real,\u201d she says. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29,11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}