ACE - Alliance for Community Empowerment

06/04/2026

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Next Wednesday, June 10th, our students at RUTH YouthBuild are teaming up with TreePeople to host a Free Tree Giveaway🌳✨ at Rocky Young Park at Pierce College! This is open to the entire community, so come by to pick up a free fruit tree or shade tree for your home!

First come, first served while supplies last! Spread the love & spread the word!! 💚🌳

🗓️ Wednesday, June 10th
⏰ 9:00AM - 11:00AM
📍Rocky Young Park - Pierce College
🌳 One tree per family while supplies last!

06/01/2026

To wrap up Mental Health Awareness Month, we sat down with our wonderful Substance Use Disorder Counselor, Darlene, to discuss the biggest myth about substance use and her personal thoughts about breaking the stigma surrounding addiction.

As May comes to a close, we want to remind our community that you never have to struggle alone. There are so many people and so many resources available to support you, wherever you are on your mental health journey. Here at ACE, we provide community anger management classes, grief groups, and one-on-one therapy for participants who are enrolled in one of our programs. 🧠💚

Please click the link in our bio to visit ace4change.org and learn more about our programs and offerings!

sanfernandovalley

05/28/2026

Please join us in honoring Irene Tovar, a remarkable community member and the tía of our very own Brother Joe Tovar, who has poured her heart into uplifting the San Fernando Valley! 🧡

Join us as we unveil Irene Tovar Square on Saturday, May 30 at 10 AM at Los Angeles Mission College (13356 Eldridge Ave, Sylmar, CA 91342) 🎉

We will honor Irene Tovar, a CD7 resident, civil and human rights leader, and founding advocate of Neighborhood Legal Services, which has helped thousands of families access free legal support for housing, wages, and immigration needs.

Her leadership also helped bring Los Angeles Mission College to life through community advocacy, creating a vital pathway to affordable higher education and opportunity in the Northeast San Fernando Valley.

Come celebrate her lasting impact and this well-deserved recognition of a true community champion!

05/27/2026

Have you ever heard of TIPP? One of our incredible therapists, Susanna, talks us through this super helpful technique for dealing with overwhelming emotions like anxiety, anger, sadness, and impulsivity.

TIPP stands for:
❄️ TEMPERATURE - Use cold temperatures to shock the nervous system and bring us back into our bodies. This can look like squeezing ice cubes, taking a cold shower, or drinking ice cold water.
🏋🏽‍♀️ INTENSE EXERCISE - Get your heart pumping! Consider going for a run, doing some jumping jacks, push-ups, or anything that helps you break a sweat.
🫁 PACED BREATHING - Box breathing is a helpful relaxation technique that looks like inhaling, holding your breath, exhaling, and holding the breath again for an equal count of seconds.
💪🏽 PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION - This is a two-step technique that involves tensing and then fully releasing different muscle groups throughout the body.

The next time you find yourself feeling overwhelmed by your feelings, we hope these strategies can support you by soothing your nervous system and helping you feel grounded in your body. Share this with a friend to spread the word, and Happy Mental Health Awareness Month from the ACE team! 🧠💚

05/19/2026

A huge congratulations to Daniel Chavez & Juan Rubio, two of our incredible Community Violence Intervention Workers here at ACE, for graduating from the Los Angeles Violence Intervention Training Academy (LAVITA)! Led by the brilliant team at , this 12-week training brought together 23 intervention workers representing 10 different community violence intervention agencies across Los Angeles to strengthen their skills in peace-keeping and community safety.

We’re so proud and honored to have such dedicated and driven team members who are committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe. Thank you for all that you do!!! 🧡

05/18/2026

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, our therapists here at ACE will be sharing some supportive tips and techniques to nurture our wellbeing!! 🧠🧡First up is June who walks us through a super helpful analogy that can support us when we’re faced with difficult and unwanted feelings.

Instead of suppressing those emotions and using our energy to bury any tough feelings, June reminds us how important it is to witness the emotion, experience it (even if it’s ugly and messy), and gently let it pass by without judgment. This is the difference between acceptance and avoidance.

Stay tuned for more mental health skills from our incredible therapists who make up our Department of Behavioral Health!! 🧡

05/05/2026

HAPPY TEACHER APPRECIATION DAY to all our incredible educators at RUTH YouthBuild! 🧡🍎 We are so grateful to have such talented teachers who show up day after day with so much heart, dedication, and passion for teaching and mentoring our youth. Your hard work and thoughtfulness doesn’t go unnoticed!

Mr. B, Mr. J, Mr. M, Miss Zoe, Miss Fefe, and Mr. Chris — THANK YOU for all that you do. RUTH YouthBuild would be nothing without the energy, patience, joy, jokes, and genuine care you bring to class. 🫶

04/30/2026

Thank you to everyone who supported and attended our annual Second Chance Re-entry Empowerment Fair this past weekend!! From the powerful testimonials we heard on stage to all the connections that were made, it was such a beautiful day.

As Second Chance Month wraps up, we want to remind our community that there are so many resources to support you through your re-entry journey. Whether you’re looking for job training, mental heath support, housing, or essential needs — please reach out and ask for support! You never have to walk this journey alone. 🧡

04/25/2026

TODAY! TAXCO THEATRE AT 4PM! Brother Joe says BE THERE!! 🫡♥️🧡💫

We can’t wait to welcome everyone to the second annual In My Varrio I See exhibition, a showcase of local Chicano art and special spoken word performances from young poets from Canoga Park! It’s going to be an incredible night celebrating community expression and creativity. ♥️

📍Taxco Theatre
7242 Owensmouth Avenue, Canoga Park
Doors open at 4PM | Spoken word begins at 6PM