With the holidays and the hype of Y2K over, we wanted to write about some good things that Rocamora students are doing out in the world. We were able to interview a few students about projects that they have taken on that serve the Love and move the students toward a transpersonal life, with Free Awareness leading the way.

We spoke to Jane Hunt about her organization, the Healing Hands Project. The Project’s mission statement is "a non-profit foundation dedicated to providing reconstructive surgery and loving comprehensive support for indigent individuals whose lives were shattered by disfigurement."

Jane, who was among the first Rocamora School graduates, explains it this way.

"I was watching a TV news story, ‘What’s Right with L.A.’ The piece was about a Jamaican woman, Carol Guscott, who had been brutally attacked by robbers in her shop. The robbers tied her up and threw battery acid on her face, saying she would never be able to identify them. Carol was left viciously scarred and nearly blind."

Jane says, "I might never have picked up the phone, but Awareness picked up the phone and started calling."

"I left a message at the news station, but they did not return my call. I had heard that Carol Guscott lived in Fullerton. I called information and Carol was listed."

Jane then called her, and said "I saw your story on the news, and I want to help!" Carol replied, "I need soap." "Soap? Soap I can do!" was Jane's reply.

Jane, her daughter and David Easter got a care package together. And so Jane and Carol met. Carol was wearing a mask and a towel around her neck. They spoke and Jane discovered that Carol needed a surgeon to reconstruct her face.

And voila! Through Jane’s efforts, it happened. The chief of plastic surgery at Century City hospital would provide all surgery to Carol free of charge. The hospital would donate everything. So far, that has been about $150,000 worth. Then other people started showing up to help. A haircutter donated services. Vera Brown, skin care maven, donated beauty products.

Tom Rook, another Personal Journey graduate, played another major role in Carol’s care. He would come to the hospital and read to Carol or play music. He wanted to take her to the beach, to enjoy, and feel free. Jane and Tom kind of became surrogate parents to Carol, shepherding her through her numerous surgeries.

Soon even more people showed up to do what they could do. Jane thought that she (and everyone else helping) should be doing this for someone else.

Now a foundation has begun. A law firm helped set up the non-profit status, and Healing Hands Project was born. Tentative events for the future include a celebrity art sale, and a comedy fundraiser.

Jane ends her story by saying, "Ego says, ‘I can’t do this.’ But Awareness is leading the way on this one." Funny how Awareness gets our hearts to do something our heads would think impossible.

If you’d like to send donations to the Healing Hands Project please do so at:

Healing Hands Project
C/O Jane Hunt
P.O. Box 1057
Burbank, CA 91507-9998

For further information, or if you’d like to volunteer your time or services, please contact Jane Hunt at (323) 874-0134, or fax (323) 874-0563.

Meehar Tom is a Personal Journey graduate who has become quite the civic activist. She spoke to me at length about her experiences.

"I was taking acting classes with Jennifer Lehman, and going through a very emotional period of my life, when Jennifer mentioned Mary’s work and encouraged me to check it out. I was skeptical. Another self-discovery class. I had already gone through years of therapy where any inquiries on my part were met with, ‘And what do YOU think?’ Jennifer gave me some literature describing Mary’s work, which included case studies of students who had worked with her. Something a student wrote touched me, and I was willing to take a class at the Rocamora School.

"My skepticism came back, with Ego intellectualizing each and every class. I was feeling confused and bamboozled, and even shared these feelings with other students who felt the same.

Through the Personal Journey, I eventually learned to relax, step back and just observe what is: not letting emotions lead me into the familiar patterns of behavior which only made me feel out of control and helpless."

Meehar lives in a primarily Hispanic and Asian working class neighborhood in Alhambra. Her activism began when she learned that a wealthy car dealer wanted to build a 76,000 square foot polluting auto body and paint shop next to their homes. She had never really been involved in any type of activism before; she barely had the courage to tell a neighbor to turn down the music in her building. She was nicknamed "little mouse" in school.

"My Ego said, ‘I don’t want to get involved. I don’t know what I am doing. Who do I think I am to challenge these powerful and respected people in the community? It’s going to be so hard, so much work.’ But soon, I was typing petitions, organizing and speaking out at city hall with the neighbors. It seemed to happen on its own, people came together and the movement grew."

Meehar credits Rocamora School courses in helping her break through the shell of fear which had kept her afraid of taking risks. "I have a hard time trying to describe Mary’s work, but I know that it has definitely taught me to feel when I am on the right track. It doesn’t involve the intellect (What do YOU think?) as much as it really involves a connection to a deeper part of myself."

They became a group, called Residents for a Better Alhambra, and numbered close to 200 supporters, including neighbors, environmental groups such as Community for a Better Environment and the Sierra Club. They have been fighting against the car dealer for three years, and in 1996 won their battle with the facility.

Their hearts sank when in 1998 the car dealer came back with the same project and won approval from the planning commission. "I felt such a strong pull to back away and at the same time to get involved again. I knew that this next battle would be a harder one." Meehar said.

Determined not to give up, Meehar and the Residents for a Better Alhambra appealed the Air Quality Management District’s decision to give the body shop permits to operate. The Residents for a Better Alhambra now have legal representation from the UCLA Environmental Law Clinic and the case will go before the AQMD hearing board this month.

As Meehar puts it, "There is a disproportionate number of polluting facilities located in minority neighborhoods. We want to change legislation and help set standards to allow only safe, healthy businesses to operate next to people’s homes, no matter what color or ethnicity. We are fighting for environmental justice."

If you would like to contribute your opinions, expertise or support to the organization, please do so.

Residents for a Better Alhambra
C/O Meehar Tom
P.O. Box 6915
Alhambra, CA 91802-6915
(626) 284-9329

Lee Ann Cohen, a Transpersonal Journey graduate, has been a teacher and counselor in the Los Angeles Unified School District for 25 years.

She is now Drop Out Prevention Coordinator at Woodrow Wilson High School, in East Los Angeles. She works tirelessly helping students STAY in school.

Lee Ann has taken two groups of gifted minority at risk high school students through the Personal Journey course, using Personal Journey Workbooks.

Her position at Woodrow Wilson High School is funded annually with a state grant. The state pays her salary, but that is all.

"While I give as much emotional support as I can muster, I cannot provide ‘material motivation’. Local fundraisers tap the same group of teachers, clerical staff and mostly poor families. We already subsidize numerous campus clubs, scholarships, activities and emergency situations. This year, resources for my particular program just do not exist." writes Lee Ann.

"With a little money, I could buy movie passes, gift certificates for clothes, tickets to sporting and cultural events or local theme parks. I could buy food and supplies for parties, gift packages, toys and cards to recognize students on their birthdays. I could reward students for positive behavioral changes and good grades and award scholarships when kids eventually graduate. Material incentives do help reinforce change."

"Of course a trip to the dolphin research facility in Florida or Hawaii to snorkel would be even better, because 90% of the kids I work with rarely get out of the ‘hood/barrio’. However, obtaining enough money for operational expenses is the first priority, " Lee Ann says.

Lee Ann adds, "Asking for money makes me personally uncomfortable. No amount is too great or small. Anything would help. The students here really appreciate stuff. I personally would be indebted. If my mom were alive she’d say ‘You will wear stars in your crown’."

Lee Ann, we believe it is YOU that wears stars in your crown!

If you are interested in helping Lee Ann help her students, please send your donations directly to:


Los Angeles, CA 90032

If you would like to connect with Lee Ann, please call her at 323/876-3358 fax: 323/874-8941
In doing research for this article, we have found that many Rocamora students are doing important and valuable work. If you have a project you would like us to know about, please contact the school, and we will try to promote it.