Can a Rainbow Flag Change My Small Town?

The Opening of a Community Center for People Like Me Made Merced Feel Like Home Again

Growing up in Merced, I did not feel that the town was accepting of gay people, or of me in particular. People around my public high school would carelessly throw out homophobic slurs and make fun of openly queer individuals. This made it hard to accept who I was as a teenager, much less express myself. Even though Merced is home to a great new University of California campus, I resolved to leave as soon as I could. And I did.

So did my friends, who set out for the Bay …

Merced’s Kids Are Not All Right

In California’s Capital of Youth Poverty, We’re Fighting For Everything From Summer Jobs to Swimming Pools

Have you heard of “disconnected youth?” It’s a term for young people age 16-19 who are neither employed nor in school. My county, Merced, has won the disconnected youth prize …

When Missing the Bus Is a Matter of Life and Death

In Our Rural San Joaquin Valley Town, Getting to School on Foot Is the Toughest Part of the Day

We live in Planada, California, a small, unincorporated town of 4,500 people nine miles into the croplands outside Merced. In December 2012, we joined a youth group here organized by …

Can Art Save My City?

Downtown Merced Isn’t Known for Anything Good. I Founded an Art Hop to Start Changing That.

Merced in California’s San Joaquin Valley has a population of 80,000 and a reputation for crime, unemployment, and teen pregnancy. But I want my hometown to be known for something …