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Friend --
2019 is almost coming to an
end.
This year, we’ve felt the immense
support of people like you, who are committed to standing up for the
rights of others during a time when the housing crisis has hit our
communities the hardest. People like you, who believe that building
community power, from the bottom up, is critical to achieve economic,
racial and social justice.
Sometimes it seems like the bad
news is inescapable. But what so often gets missed in the constant
deluge are the positive stories — the progress we fight for, the brave
people pushing for what's right, the hard-won victories. ACCE members
up and down the state helped to win some BIG victories this year ---
victories that provide new rights and support to some 8 million
families in California.
Let's celebrate the bright spots
helping us through dark times. Here are a few of my favorite ACCE
moments from the past year
ACCE won a statewide bill that stops outrageous rent
increases and unfair evictions. The Tenant Protection Act of 2019
(Assembly Bill 1482).
Californians will for the first time have new safeguards against
large rent increases after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation on Oct
8th, capping annual rent
hikes for the next decade.
On November 18th, some brave mothers took matters into
their own hands to protect themselves and their
children.
A group
of women who are part of Moms 4 Housing, a collective of homeless and
marginally-sheltered mothers, are working to reclaim housing during
California’s housing crisis. They made national news by moving into an
investor-owned property that had been sitting empty for over two
years. The mothers of the collective are black women, and born and
raised in the Bay Area. College degrees, full-time work and multiple
jobs to support their families are not enough to survive in Oakland’s
high-end housing market.
Read
enough to convince you to make a donation to ACCE?
😊
And..but…there’s so much more!
The City of Los Angeles is helping qualifying tenants with
short-term rental assistance to survive rent-gouging prior to AB 1482
going into effect.
“Emergency Renters Relief” program approved unanimously by the Los
Angeles City Council … In another move to help renters before January
1, the City Council passed an emergency moratorium last week to bar
property owners from evicting tenants—unless they have “cause.” That
moratorium is now in effect.
In San Diego The Siesta RV Park residents,
many of them seniors, come out victorious after the owner attempted to
evict the whole park to bulldoze it down.
“We
gotta fight to stay,” Siesta RV Park resident Juan Nevarez said,
“and we will.”
In Richmond, the residents of Heritage Park - seniors who
had been told this was affordable housing - fought back against rent
hikes of 12% and won.
“After
some work with Richmond city officials, the rent increase was
reduced to closer to 3
percent.”...”They took bus trips to Sacramento, where they camped out
in lawmakers’ offices and carried handmade signs advocating a suite of
bills, including A.B. 1482, aimed at protecting tenants like
themselves.”
Through our shared struggle and
collective action we have won real change!
It’s time for a new reality and we
must work together to create it. We must continue winning victories that have real impact on
people’s lives, on the respect they receive, on their health,
education, and futures.
As 2019 closes, we can look back
with pride on our work. It’s clear that we can hold corporations
accountable for their actions.
While there is much to celebrate,
we must remain steadfast in our fight to keep families together and
ensure our communities have the freedom to thrive. We
can’t stop here. We won’t stop here. The future of our community
depends on bold action from each of us.
So before the year ends…. This critical work by ACCE is
only possible with your help. Every day we knock on doors and bring
more people into the fight for our future. We train community leaders
by the hundreds. We mount strategic campaigns to win policies and
programs that brings is every day closer to making California a state
in which ALL people, no matter their income, race, gender or zip code,
can thrive.
In solidarity,
Christina
Livingston
ACCE Action
http://www.acceaction.org/
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