Crime survivor for safety and justice (CSSJ) coordinator

Ariel Jeanjacques is a proud native of New Orleans and mother to Wylae Lenox. She has been involved with community organizing since she was 10 years old. Growing up, she was the youngest person that sat on the Board of Directors for the Peoples Institute for Survival and Beyond. During that time, she was also a trainer with the Peoples Youth Freedom School, through which she educated youths about undoing racism within poor communities. In 2008, Ariel was deemed an outstanding youth organizer by the Bert and Mary Meyer foundation out of Atlanta. In 2005, during Hurricane Katrina, Ariel was stranded in New Orleans, which was flooded under water with no food, water, or electricity for nearly 10 days. Ariel endured so much trauma from Katrina she started to get into trouble with law enforcement. Ariel believed that the law enforcement ought to be a system to protect and serve not a system to arrest the victim, and every time she called for help she was arrested. Because of being arrested while innocent more than eight times she made a mistake that landed her in jail. While in the process of being sentenced she lost her nephew Arron Thompson (19), who was murdered while at work, while in jail she lost her niece Torylynn Thompson (22), who was killed along with her fiancé and step-son in a car wreck by a Sanderson's Farms delivery driver, and since being released her cousin Brayanta Ketchens (21), was gunned down in her New Orleans home. Because of the loses, pain, and trauma she has experienced, she has now found healing in doing work around crime survivors. Ariel is now the Crime Survivor for Safety and Justice Program Coordinator with VOTE. She has joined the fight to end mass incarceration and is working to launch the first CSSJ chapter and trauma center in New Orleans. She connects daily with families of crime victims impacted by community gun violence to provide healing, love, support, and necessary resources during their loss. Email Ariel