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About Jennifer
A nurse, mother, and community activist, Jennifer Esteen knows firsthand the struggles that our community faces, and how our elected leaders in Sacramento do not make those struggles a priority.
Raised by a teacher and a nurse who had to work two jobs to make ends meet, Jennifer learned the value of hard work at a young age. In 2007, during the economic collapse of the real estate market, Jennifer found herself as an unemployed realtor and single mother facing foreclosure. Losing her home meant that homelessness could be imminent. She filed bankruptcy, fought past her darkest days, and dug deep to put herself through nursing school and become a psychiatric nurse in the San Francisco General Hospital Psychiatric Emergency Room.
Jennifer will be a champion for working families – advocating for policies that will keep our communities safe and healthy
It was there that she saw firsthand the vicious cycle that patients experience from diminished funding for mental health care — patients who need psychiatric treatment and permanent housing are often incarcerated rather than provided with the freedom to access community-based outpatient care.
After 5 years, Jennifer’s work transferred to the Behavioral Health Center on the hospital’s campus where she fought alongside residents to prevent the closing of 41 permanent mental health beds in their Adult Residential Facility. In 2019, she was selected to serve as Vice President of Organizing for SEIU 1021, allowing her to broaden her reach and her impact.
Now, Jennifer wants to fight for her community as an assemblymember in Sacramento. She will be a champion for working families – advocating for policies that will keep our communities safe and healthy. Jennifer will fight to ensure corporations and special interests pay their fair share, so our community has access to housing they can afford, healthcare they deserve, and a quality education.
Jennifer has lived in the East Bay for nearly 20 years and has lived in Ashland with her wife and children since 2015.
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