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Charli, a long time leader with SDOP and congregant at St. John Church in Oceanside, was evacuated from her apartment home at no fault. Earlier this year, she received a notice to evacuate, which means that her lease would not be renewed because the landlord had decided to renovate the apartment unit she was living in for the past five years. This was very stressful for Charli, a retired Marine on a fixed income and tight budget. “I didn’t ask for the renovations,” Chali stated. “Why should I pay for them?”
Charli agreed to move into a newly renovated unit in the same complex after they agreed to waive the background and credit checks, which sounded like it would be cheaper than finding a new apartment complex to move into. However, without her knowledge, they had raised her rent over $600 per month and added in additional charges such as gas and trash fees. Although she was initially happy to move into the new unit, she was blindsided by the additional costs that wouldincur.
To this day, Charli is still financially recovering from the offset of rent charges and moving fees, even though some of the rental application fees were omitted. “That’s a lot of money for people who get evicted on no income or fixed income. It becomes very stressful,” said Charli. “ use legal loopholes to get out of being fair. I didn’tthink it was fair that I had to move out of an apartment that I had lived in for five years, paying the rent on time and no late payments, to move into another apartment so they can raise therent.”
SB 567, The Homeless Prevention Act, would have protected Charli and other tenants who fallvictim to the landlord loopholes that are unfair and inequitable.
In reflection, Charli shares: “A lot of people are not as fortunate as I am. It’s just me but if I had kidsor someone else to support other than myself, I would have to find someplace else to live. Another state perhaps that has lower prices, where rent isn’t as high as it is in California. But being a senior citizen, retired, I don’t want to have to go to a different state and start all over again. I just can’t afford to do that. I can hardly afford to stay here but I definitely cannot afford to leave.”
Since the start of the pandemic and the increase of engagement on digital platforms, we reimagined grassroots organizing and explored innovative ways to preserve the essence of our work, which is deep relationship building, on online platforms. We started a new series called My Path to Power, which shares the stories of how different members of the SDOP family discovered their path to power through community organizing and advocacy. You can listen to the powerful stories of our inspirational change makers below or at bit.ly/MyPathtoPower.
Teresa Perez, Community Organizer with the San Diego Organizing Project, shares her journey from leader to organizer. Throughout her experience with SDOP, Teresa discovered her power and uses her light to guide her community members in discovering their power as well.
SDOP leader and Minister, Christopher Ransom, discovered his power and the power of his community through his advocacy on issues of homelessness and policing.
SDOP leader and board member, Gabriel Contreras, shares his family’s experience with human trafficking that allowed him to discover his passion for community organizing and social justice. Over the last year, SDOP’s human trafficking prevention and education organizing team team has made significant strides in the County, which Gabriel attributes to the unique power that impacted individuals possess!
Wendy Baez has been a leader with SDOP for about 15 years. As a Catholic faith leader, Wendy is motivated by her own experience with immigration to fight for the 11 million undocumented people who call the United States home. Inspired by the words of Pope Francis, Wendy believes that power lies in our diversity, and that by working together we can make our dreams of justice come true!
Angel and his friend were unrightfully racially profiled, harassed by local law enforcement and accused of an act they did not commit. Through his experience, Angel was introduced to the world of community organizing. Angel is a strong believer in the power of storytelling and the comradery formed through coming together to advocate for justice.
Hear from North County leader, Tony Martinez, share about his history with organizing and the inherent relationships between his faith and justice. Through his work with the LIVE FREE Oceanside team, he is passionate about addressing racial bias in policing and improving the experiences of communities of color at the hands of law enforcement.
SDOP Youth Fellow Miguel Avila Morales shares his experiences as a young undocumented person and his path to discovering his power through community engagement. Through organizing and advocacy work, Miguel has dedicated his power journey to fighting for immigration justice.
Community Organizer, Judah Coker, shares her experience and involvement with SDOP over the past 3 years. As a firm believer in the undeniable connection between faith and justice, she pairs her knowledge of local politics to inspire hope and build community power!
Hear from our new Community Organizer, Danyrea Megginson, on how organizing with SDOP helped her find the voice she didn’t know she had. From being a leader, to a board member, to now a staff member, Danyrea has over 20 years of experience with SDOP. She believes that with the powerful prophetic voice of people, anything is possible!
