Today I am transparent in every environment and use my lived experience as my strongest asset. I count all my trials and tribualations in life as my strongest asset and wouldn't change a minute if I could. My life has purpose and meaning; people with a more comfortable softer journey might not say that.The Lord has saved me by way of a pison term! I'm a whole different person, unrecognizable from before. By all accounts, I shouldn't have survived let alone be thriving in sunny San Diego completely redeemed. I'm a fucking phoenix...blessed AF!
Hi my name is Kaleena...
(& I'm a
recovering alcohalic/addict)
Since my arrest on May 10, 2021, I have maintained long-term sobriety. Recovery has not erased my past, but it has given me the clarity, strength, and responsibility to face it, learn from it, and use what I have survived to help others.
My faith became real to me when it became something I could put into action. As a missionary with the Lutheran Mission Society of San Diego, I serve through the Brown Bag Project, a ministry created to support people experiencing homelessness with compassion, dignity, and practical care.
Through the Brown Bag Project, we provide care bags, hygiene supplies, food, resource guides, and meaningful human connection. But this work is about more than handing someone a bag. It is about looking people in the eyes, learning their names, listening to their stories, and reminding them that they are still seen and worthy of care.
Because I have experienced homelessness myself, I understand how easy it is for people to become invisible. My mission is to bring faith beyond the walls of the church and into the community—to meet people where they are, offer support without judgment, and help connect them with resources that can lead toward safety, stability, and hope.
The most meaningful parts of my journey has been reconnecting with my daughter, Zoeey, after she was kept from me for seven years. Becoming a mother again has brought healing, responsibility, joy, and a renewed understanding of what I am building my life for.
I have always loved reading, being outdoors (shocker.), arts/crafts/DIY and writing. But now I am writing my first book. Writing gives me a way to organize my memories, honor what I survived, and share lessons that may help someone else feel less alone. This book is another part of my journey from having a story people ignored to becoming the author of my own life. I use my unique perspective on happiness under a bridge to bring humanity back into homelessness using my witty, dark humor and one-of-kind voice in my book titled Downtown Neverland (Any publisher out there??)
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My church family at Hope Lutheran Church of Linda Vista has shown me a kind of love I once struggled to believe I deserved. They have supported me, encouraged me, prayed with me, and welcomed me as a whole person—not just as my past, my mistakes, or my struggles. Their love has helped me experience faith as community, action, and belonging.
I am a member of the Society for Community Research and Action, also known as SCRA. I have also served on the boards of Past Peers and TMERS Housing, organizations focused on supporting justice-impacted and low-income communities. These opportunities allow me to help shape systems that recognize people as human beings with potential—not just as records, diagnoses, or statistics.
Since my arrest on May 10, 2021, I have maintained long-term sobriety. Recovery has not erased my past, but it has given me the clarity, strength, and responsibility to face it, learn from it, and use what I have survived to help others.
Two months after my release, I provided myself with a studio apartment—the first place I had called home in nearly a decade. It was about the size of a prison cell, but there was one life-changing difference: I had the key. That small room represented freedom, stability, responsibility, and the beginning of a life I was finally allowed to build for myself.
Life After Lockup
Mesa and San Diego City College
While STILL incarcerated at FCRP, I earned three Associate of Arts degrees and a Mental Health Worker Certificate with a 4.0 GPA. Education gave me more than credentials—it gave me confidence, direction, and proof that my past could not limit my future. Through City Scholars and its restorative justice community for formerly incarcerated students, I found support, belonging, and encouragement as I continued my education. Being surrounded by students who understood the challenges of reentry helped me recognize that formerly incarcerated people do not just deserve a second chance—we deserve opportunities to lead.
San Diego State University
I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies in Three Departments, known as IS3D, with a custom academic plan combining social work, psychology, and sociology. These three disciplines gave me the language and knowledge to understand people, communities, trauma, systems, power, and the barriers that affect people experiencing homelessness, addiction, incarceration, and reentry.
My education was deeply connected to my purpose. Through Project Rebound, I became part of a community supporting formerly incarcerated and system-impacted students as they pursue higher education and rebuild their lives. As a Project Rebound Fellow, I helped support people navigating reentry, education, housing, employment, and community resources.
I was also involved with Helping Hands for the Homeless, where I helped serve people experiencing homelessness through outreach, care, resource connection, and advocacy. Through that work, I learned that service is not about rescuing people—it is about standing beside them, recognizing their humanity, and helping them access the support they deserve. I was honored to become a member of Mortar Board, a national honor society recognizing academic achievement, leadership, and service. Earning my degree cum laude after addiction, homelessness, incarceration, and years away from school is one of the accomplishments I am most proud of. My degree represents more than academic success. It represents the transformation of my lived experience into knowledge, leadership, and service. I studied the systems that once failed me so I could help change them for people who are still trying to find their way home.
Senior Capstone Project-SDSU '26
Find away to laugh through the pain while searching for your own happiness under bridges!