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Wojaczynski, Brittany From: Yvette A <yvette04a@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 16, 2022 3:00 PM To: Penaloza, David; eComment; Lopez, Jessie; Hernandez, Johnathan; Mendoza, Nelida; Bacerra, Phil; Phan, Thai; Sarmiento, Vicente Subject: SAPAAL Is Needed Dear City Council, It has come to my attention that not everyone agrees that having the Santa Ana PAAL program open is beneficial to both the students and the community that it is serving here in Santa Ana. This could not be any more wrong from the truth and I consider myself an example of how great of a change it can create to a child's life. I started attending the PAAL program in 2007 when I was in second grade and since then it became my second home. The Police Officer and staff motivated me to become the best version of myself, challenging me to have the best grades, and participate in all types of activities from outdoors camping trips to indoors musicals at the Segerstrom Center of the Arts. Exposing me to another world, without the exposure I wouldn't know it was there. I would look forward to meeting outside the program hours dressed up and taken to these musical performances. Lining up on a Saturday and waiting for us to go to the LA Galaxy soccer game. I was able to attend the SAPAAL program while Officer Tom was still the director and it was then when I created the best relationships not only with the staff but also with Officer Tom. To this day even though he is now retired he has been able and more than willing to help me out when I needed help the most while attending college as a first -generation student. He created such an amazing environment for all students to participate in and because of it I had the best memories growing up being able to do things that without the program I would have probably never done. An example would be when we would go to Sequoia National park for a week and camp in the cabins, this really took us all out of our comfort zone and demonstrated how beautiful nature is. It is because of experiences like this that I was able to dream big and decided that for college I would move out, which I was able to do when I began my journey at UC San Diego. This would have not been possible without the support and help from all the staff at SAPAAL who helped tremendously on all my journey through college applications because as a first generation college student they were my source of help that I needed when my school wasn't there too. Even though many might not believe that kids and cops should associate, I believe otherwise because they truly changed my life and now they are doing the same to my younger siblings who are now also a part of the Police Athletic & Activity League here in Santa Ana. Respectfully, Yvette Acosta Santa Ana Alumni. University of California, San Diego, Public Health Major