A WEEK IN WATTS premiered recently at The Grove. The documentary highlights two of our Belles, Jennifer Alvarado, Green Tie ’17, and Petra Avelar, Blue Tie ’20, who are part of Operation Progress Los Angeles.  The mission of Operation Progress is to empower underserved youth to become educated, capable, ethical and productive people who will in turn lead, mentor and contribute to society at large. They support students from kindergarten through high school and beyond through a comprehensive program called Ten Pillars of Success. Through Academics, Arts, Athletics, Coping Skills, Ethics, Long-term Commitment, Mentoring, Parent Involvement, Service Work and Skills Training they believe hope, opportunity and success can be achieved.  Thank you to Greg and Rick Caruso for making the film possible. And to LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck for support of Operation Progress.

Jennifer’s reflection on the experience:

“I was kind of nervous at first during the filming, because I was the center of attention at school and going home on public transportation as the film crew followed me but then I got used to it. Gregory Caruso, the director of the film really took the time to ensure we all felt comfortable and when interviewing us, he really listened. He also treated all the families featured in the documentary to go shopping for the premiere which was fun. I never imagined myself on the big screen honestly, but God works in mysterious ways.”

“It was an honor to be featured in the documentary. I feel really blessed to have been a part of this film to showcase a better image of Watts and policing. The documentary started with the Black Lives Matter movement and showed clips of people who have been abused by the police, which really put the documentary into perspective. Then the documentary presented Watts and what it’s notorious for such as drugs, gangs, and the violence. The film crew followed my LAPD mentors and really got some good action. It also highlighted the impact my LAPD mentors have made in my community and for myself. I’m happy I had this opportunity to talk about how I look up to my LAPD mentors and how most have become father figures in my life. I talked about how Operation Progress has changed my life for the better and gifted me with a great quality of education. I believe this documentary is powerful and meaningful. It proves wrong the statistics that undermine my community and brings hope. I hope this  documentary changes the way people view Police Officers based off of what they were fed by the biased media, because not all put on a badge to abuse over their authority and make people’s lives miserable. Although there could be bad people just as there are good people. A few of the mistakes some cops have made don’t justify for how the remainder of cops are. Some have big hearts and truly want to make a positive difference or unknowingly become heroes just like my LAPD mentors.”