Puente Arizona

On Thursday, September 26th, Breanna Gonzales turns 18 years old. For many of us, this may be a time where we are stepping into adulthood but for Breanna as a 17-year-old who has been detained in the Maricopa County Lower Buckeye Jail for 6 months, this means she will continue to be traumatized inside an all-male jail facility.


Breanna is severely mentally ill and a survivor of kidnapping and sexual abuse since the age of 15. When she was found law enforcement put her in handcuffs instead of ensuring proper medical and psychological care. Young women are often criminalized even in situations of great pain and Breanna’s story is an example of how jails are no place for survivors of abuse and people with mental illnesses. 


She has suffered and spent too many months away from her mother, aunt, and grandmother who all miss her and wish to spend her 18th birthday together. We have an opportunity to get her out of the Maricopa County Jail by reaching 10K to bring her home! 


The justice system has been wrong many times, and with Breanna, we wish that she wouldn’t have been incarcerated but rather treated with dignity and respect as someone that has already been traumatized and brutalized in the current system. 


Her next court which is November 7, 2019, we urge our community to support the Gonzales family and help fund her release. We are asking for $10,000 by Friday, September 26th will you help us bring this teen home? 


Breanna can not spend any more time behind bars, we can win her case when she if out of Jail as we fight alongside her and her family.  


“She has a family that is waiting for her to return home and celebrate her birthday and we have not been able to spend a birthday with her. She has been lost and forgotten in this system for far too long.” - Julieann Gonzales, mother of Breanna Gonzales 


More information about Puente Arizona: 
We are a grassroots migrant justice organization based in Phoenix, Arizona. We develop, educate, and empower migrant communities to protect and defend our families and ourselves in order to enhance the quality of life of our community members.

In memory of Jazmin Estrada, a dear friend of the community, we ask for you to donate to the Bernal family as they have lost a daughter and sister this past week on a trip she took to Puerto Penasco. Jazmin at a young age participated in an action with Puente and has advocated to keep her mom Paty Bernal in the states with her community and family. She will be missed immensely and today Paty, needs our support. 

 Elva Bernal 'Paty', is an undocumented mother of six from Arizona, who has organized with Puente for over a decade and joined the 100-mile pilgrimage from a detention center in Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., losing her daughter has been extremely hard on the family especially when borders don't allow her to easily move freely to Mexico and Arizona to handle all the funeral necessities. That is why we are asking for funds to help this family transport Jazmin to Paty and have her funeral here in Arizona where Paty is. The funds will go directly to the Bernal family for funeral and related expenses. 

Join us in supporting the Bernal family through this loss.

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En memoria de Jazmin Estrada, una querida amiga de la comunidad, le pedimos que hagan una donación a la familia Bernal, ya que la semana pasada perdieron a una hija y una hermana en un viaje que ella llevó a Puerto Peñasco. Jazmin a una edad pequeña participó en una acción con Puente y ha abogado por mantener a su madre Paty Bernal en los estados con su comunidad y su familia. La extrañaremos inmensamente y hoy Paty necesita nuestro apoyo.

Elva Bernal 'Paty', es una madre indocumentada de seis hijos en Arizona, durante más de una década es lider con Puente y se unio a la peregrinación de 100 millas desde un centro de detención en Pensilvania a Washington, DC. Perder a su hija ha sido extremadamente difícil para ella y su familia, especialmente cuando las fronteras no le permiten moverse fácilmente de México y Arizona para manejar todas las necesidades del funeral. Es por eso que estamos pidiendo fondos para ayudar a esta familia a transportar a Jazmin con Paty y tener su funeral aquí en Arizona, donde está Paty. Los fondos irán directamente a la familia Bernal para gastos funerarios y relacionados.

Únase a nosotros para apoyar a la familia Bernal.