In this engaging interview with New Dimensions host Michael Toms, Melody Ermachild Chavis talks about projects in her crime-ridden neighborhood to make it a better and safer place. When a young black man was shot to death outside her home, she made a shrine for him and later participated in a grieving ritual for those killed in local drug wars. Chavis speaks proudly about a volunteer gardening project for African-American youth that gives them a connection with the earth and with the elderly in the community who receive the free food grown there. Equally impressive is her description of a vigil held outside a gun store for all victims of violence.

Chavis, a private investigator who works on trials and appeals for death row inmates, shares an account of her friendship with an African-American on death row who has become a Buddhist and a writer. She laments California's inhumane treatment of prisoners and the fact that the state currently spends more on prisons than on education.

Chavis is an articulate spokesperson for compassionate service. Check the database for our review of her book Altars in the Street: A Neighborhood Fights to Survive.