Betty Naseiro and Growing Up in Northeast Los Angeles

This is a profile piece on the mother of one of our students, it includes the real account of her life. WARNING: There is some graphic material and violence in this story.

This is a story about my mom, Betty Naseiro. She was born on October 1st, 1974 in Los Angeles, California. Both of her parents were immigrants. Her mother came from Colima, Mexico while her father came from San Salvador, El Salvador. They had four children. Two older daughters, Monica and Susie, and a son named Ivan that passed away during birth. Betty was the youngest. Her years before she became a teenager were blissful and comprised of great childhood memories.

Betty had a fun-filled and joyful early childhood. She spent many weekends on family outings at the beach. Some of her favorite memories were walking back and forth from Santa Monica and Venice Beach. If not on an outing, spending time with her grandmother and uncle was something she did often. They enjoyed playing fun games, her favorite being the Loteria. Betty’s dad always took the family on vacations. They once drove from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas. Although they went on many vacations, they were always on a budget. On many nights they slept in their station wagon and would shower at public bathing sites. As a young child, being with her family every day made Betty always feel protected. Little did she know that becoming a teenager in the early 90s would change her life forever.

Betty quickly learned that her life was not as safe as it was when she was younger. She started middle school at Eaglerock Junior/Senior High School and met many new friends. A majority of her friends grew up in poverty and were involved in gang activity. Many of those friends were normal kids trying to get an education during the day, but at night they were selling narcotics on Drew Street to make ends meet. Quickly, Betty got more involved with these friends. Soon enough, this lifestyle became normal.

Over the years she experienced many fights, "jumps," and shootings. There were countless times that her life was at risk.

One particular cold winter night she was hanging out with her boyfriend at the time and some other friends. They all decided to go grab a bite to eat at Tommies. On the way back, as soon as they pulled out of the drive through, a white sedan with four gang members rolled up next to them and started unloading their clips. It seemed like an eternity from the time they pulled up beside them, looked into their car, and began shooting. She didn’t know if she was going to make it out alive or if any of her friends would be killed. Although their car was riddled with bullets and every window was shot out, only a single bullet had grazed her friend John. Nobody else was hurt. Unfortunately, this is just one of many bad experiences that Betty went through.

One hot summer day in July in the year 1992, Betty was doing what she normally did, hang out outside with her friends. At the time, she was living in the William Mead Housing projects. Because it was so hot, they were engaged in a water balloon fight. It was a good time with lots of laughter. One of her friends, Jose, said he had to walk home to get something and would be right back. About five minutes after he left, Betty and her friends heard six gunshots. At that moment, with them not thinking straight, they ran towards the gunshots to see what was going on. What they found was Jose’s lifeless body lying next to a tree with his arm laid above his head. Someone had shot him dead, and nobody knew who it was. All Betty could think of was the fact that her friend was so full of life and laughter, and now he was gone forever. She could never talk to him again.

Betty realized that this situation wasn't safe and needed to make a change. On June 22, 1994, she had her first child, a baby girl named Jasmine, born only at 28 weeks. Betty wanted to change her life for the better so her daughter would not see or go through what she had to. So Betty dedicated her time to working and providing a safe life for Jasmine. In 1998, after Betty got married, she moved to the City of Covina with her husband and daughter. It was a big change for her, but she knew it was for the better. After having two more children, she made sure to always provide them with a safe and loving environment. Till this day, she and her family continue to live in West Covina and are thankful that her kids have a healthy and positive life.