1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Dear listener, just a note before we start. Today's episode 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:08,840 Speaker 1: was produced ahead of the presidential elections. Much is happening 3 00:00:08,880 --> 00:00:11,560 Speaker 1: this week, and we'll be talking about it next week 4 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:16,439 Speaker 1: on Latino USA when the dust hopefully has finally settled. Meanwhile, 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,120 Speaker 1: Latino USA producer Julia Rocha is going to get us 6 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: started today. 7 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:27,240 Speaker 2: We found this house and we were so excited. We 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 2: were screaming and like just overjoyed. We had community over 9 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,839 Speaker 2: that came and played music. We had some harocho, we 10 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 2: had rancheas. 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 3: That's MARTA's gulero. She's remembering the day she moved into 12 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 3: her new house. It's a two bedroom on Sheffield Avenue 13 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 3: and Ncerano, a residential neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles. Martha's 14 00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 3: living room is filled with books and on one of 15 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 3: the walls is a banner that reads housing for All. 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 2: This is the first room we walked into, and when 17 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 2: we walked into, obviously it was empty, and now it's 18 00:01:04,959 --> 00:01:07,360 Speaker 2: filled with furniture and him. 19 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:09,640 Speaker 4: On my art and my rocks. 20 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 3: That's Messi, Martha's eight year old daughter. Before Martha and 21 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:17,160 Speaker 3: her two daughters got to this house, they'd been CouchSurfing 22 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 3: for a year and a half because of skyrocketing rents 23 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 3: in the city. 24 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 2: It was just really bad for us. I had to 25 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 2: live in places that were cramped, even though family and 26 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 2: friends tried their best to help us. 27 00:01:29,959 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 3: Martha struggled to find affordable housing for months, but when 28 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:37,120 Speaker 3: the coronavirus pandemic began, finding her own place to live 29 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 3: became even more urgent. So on March fourteenth, Martha, with 30 00:01:41,680 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 3: the help of community organizers, decided to occupy one of 31 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 3: the many vacant homes in Encidento. 32 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 2: A few neighbors they were really unsupportive. 33 00:01:50,560 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 3: They would call the squatters, but Martha doesn't consider herself 34 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 3: a squatter. She calls herself a reclaimer because this house 35 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 3: she's occupying actually longs to the government. Today, the state 36 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 3: owns about one hundred and forty vacant properties in this 37 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:07,160 Speaker 3: area alone. 38 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 2: The state is literally hoarding these houses that are empty 39 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 2: while people are suffering on the streets. How is this 40 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 2: even possible? To me? That really became important to expose 41 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,280 Speaker 2: that and to let other people know, like this is 42 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,519 Speaker 2: not right and we shouldn't let this happen. 43 00:02:28,960 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: From futuro media, it's let in a USA. I'm Maria 44 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: nor Josa, and today how this house and over one 45 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,920 Speaker 1: hundred houses just like it came to be empty, and 46 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:47,359 Speaker 1: how the community is taking them back now. Martha moved 47 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: into the house on Sheffield Avenue in twenty twenty, but 48 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: the story of these vacant homes goes back many decades. 49 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 5: In this century, America has become a nation on weeds, 50 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 5: ride on wheels to work, to shop, to play, to 51 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 5: go about any place we want to go. And therein 52 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 5: lies the challenge building highways and roads and streets fast 53 00:03:11,560 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 5: enough to keep up with a knee. 54 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: Back in nineteen fifty six, the United States undertook the 55 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,480 Speaker 1: largest infrastructure project of its time, building a forty one 56 00:03:21,520 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: thousand mile system of highways that would unite the entire nation. 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:29,919 Speaker 5: These new highways will have a far reaching economic impact 58 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,079 Speaker 5: on the entire nation. They open up vast new areas 59 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 5: for suburban living, and they encourage industry to disperse out 60 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 5: of city congestion. 61 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:43,119 Speaker 1: Historically, in Los Angeles and all over the country, freeway 62 00:03:43,200 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: construction has had a massive impact on housing. While this 63 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: web of freeways allowed the sprawling suburbs of Los Angeles 64 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: to grow, entire neighborhoods were demolished in order to construct 65 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: those roads, and it was usually black and brown communities 66 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: that paid the price. 67 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:05,880 Speaker 6: One of those. 68 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: Communities was in El Serreno in northeast Los Angeles. Back 69 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,080 Speaker 1: in the nineteen fifties and sixties, the California Department of 70 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:17,560 Speaker 1: Transportation bought the house that Martha lives in and hundreds 71 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,560 Speaker 1: of other homes in order to construct the seven to 72 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: ten Freeway. This is a story of a house in 73 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:29,080 Speaker 1: El cer Reno and its residents past and present who 74 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:35,919 Speaker 1: have fought to make it their home. Back to producer Julia. 75 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 3: Rocha, driving on a freeway in Los Angeles will get 76 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 3: you from point A to point B, but if you 77 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 3: take the scenic route, you get to see the personality 78 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,720 Speaker 3: of each neighborhood. The East Side of LA has been 79 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 3: a historically immigrant and latinx area, intersected by almost every 80 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,160 Speaker 3: major freeway in the county. If you drive north, I'll 81 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,920 Speaker 3: get to Edge Ceno, which sits at a crossroads between 82 00:05:03,960 --> 00:05:07,760 Speaker 3: two worlds, nestled between the working class neighborhoods of the 83 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 3: East Side and the white picket fences of wealthier suburbs 84 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: like Pasadena, Edsno's main street, Huntington drive is bustling with 85 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 3: restaurants and stores decked out in bright murals. According to 86 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 3: the most recent census data, Esserno is eighty one percent 87 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 3: Latino and mostly lower middle class. The neighborhood's residential streets 88 00:05:29,279 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 3: are lined with rows of modest, single family homes. 89 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,119 Speaker 7: My first impressions were, this is what a neighborhood looks 90 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:37,719 Speaker 7: like on TV. 91 00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:41,240 Speaker 3: That's Michelle Chavis. She was thirteen years old in nineteen 92 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 3: eighty six when her family was looking to move into 93 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 3: a bigger home. Michelle's mom was a file clerk and 94 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:50,520 Speaker 3: her dad was a construction worker. At the time, Michelle, 95 00:05:50,560 --> 00:05:53,599 Speaker 3: her parents, and her younger brother Jamie were all living 96 00:05:53,680 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 3: in a one bedroom apartment in rose Hill, a residential 97 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 3: area just a few miles northwest of ed Serno. 98 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 7: A pretty bad neighborhood and originally grew up in. You 99 00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 7: stayed in your house and made sure your doors were 100 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,400 Speaker 7: locked because it was not safe. 101 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 3: A single family home had never been an option until 102 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:15,320 Speaker 3: Michelle's mom heard about an affordable rent program in the 103 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:18,880 Speaker 3: neighborhood of ed Serno. It was run by the California 104 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 3: Department of Transportation better known as Caltrans. Back in the sixties, 105 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:26,919 Speaker 3: Caltrans purchased hundreds of homes in et, Serno, Alhambra, and 106 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 3: Pasadena in order to demolish them and construct the seven 107 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,239 Speaker 3: ten Freeway. The freeway began at the port of Long Beach, 108 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 3: one of the nation's busiest sites of international trade, and 109 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 3: connected it to the greater city of Los Angeles. By 110 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 3: nineteen sixty four, Caltrans built twenty three miles of the 111 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 3: twenty seven and a half mile freeway route, demolishing hundreds 112 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 3: of houses on the east side, But right before the 113 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:56,719 Speaker 3: construction reached at Serno, the project was halted because of 114 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 3: community backlash from the neighboring suburbs. While the agency waited 115 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,000 Speaker 3: for construction to be approved by the legislature, Caltrans began 116 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 3: renting the homes it had purchased. At the point that 117 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,120 Speaker 3: Michelle's mom was looking to rent a home, and in Serno, 118 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 3: the construction had been in a legal limbo for over 119 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 3: a decade. She filled out an application for the affordable 120 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 3: rent program, and when she found out she'd been accepted, 121 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:23,239 Speaker 3: a Caltrans employee gave her a tour of the houses 122 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 3: in a Serino. Michelle still remembers what it was like 123 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:30,239 Speaker 3: to walk through the neighborhood for the first time. 124 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 7: No bars on the window. That's the first thing I 125 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 7: think my brother and I noticed, just walking through and 126 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:41,000 Speaker 7: seeing grass. There were people sitting on their porches. Nobody 127 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 7: sat on their porches where I grew up. 128 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 3: After the tour, Michelle's parents picked out the house they 129 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:48,600 Speaker 3: liked best, a two bedroom on Sheffield Avenue. 130 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:52,520 Speaker 7: Moving to the Sheffield House was actually like an amazing 131 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 7: dream because I was getting my own room. We had 132 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 7: a living room, we had a separate dining room, and 133 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 7: then we had a fenced yard. It was like we 134 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 7: hit the jackpot. 135 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,080 Speaker 3: Michelle remembers walking through the house with her brother the 136 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 3: day her family moved in. She recalls how a little 137 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:11,760 Speaker 3: narrow area by the kitchen caught their attention. 138 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 7: We were like, oh my gosh, what is this for? 139 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:15,080 Speaker 8: You know? 140 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:17,960 Speaker 7: My dad was like, it's for a washer and dryer, 141 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 7: and we're like, oh my god, does that mean we 142 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 7: don't have to go to the laundromat anymore? I think 143 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 7: that was my brother my dream. 144 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 3: But soon their honeymoon phase came to an end. 145 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,240 Speaker 7: What we started noticing is when bigger things would break, 146 00:08:34,280 --> 00:08:37,480 Speaker 7: something with the electricity, something with the water. My parents 147 00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 7: weren't getting the response you're supposed to get when you're 148 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:45,080 Speaker 7: in a rental, and the sentiment was echoed through many houses. 149 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 7: They're like, Oh, don't even bother calling because they'll either 150 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 7: take a month to fix it, or they won't get 151 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:52,760 Speaker 7: fixed at all, or they're going to tell you they 152 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:54,480 Speaker 7: lost your report. 153 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 3: As the months went on, the family noticed there was 154 00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 3: no ventilation in the kitchen, there was a leak in 155 00:09:01,440 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 3: the plumbing, the garage door didn't open, the phone jacks broke. 156 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:08,640 Speaker 3: Michelle says they tried to file a report. 157 00:09:08,760 --> 00:09:10,960 Speaker 7: Each time they were like, oh, well, you have to 158 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:14,720 Speaker 7: call this number, call that number, leave a message, and 159 00:09:15,280 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 7: that would go on for like a couple of weeks. 160 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,280 Speaker 3: Michelle was only a teenager back then, but it was 161 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:23,640 Speaker 3: becoming clear that something was wrong. 162 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 7: I mean, bottom line, Caltrans they were slum lords. They 163 00:09:27,800 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 7: did not know how to be landlords. There were business 164 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:35,439 Speaker 7: people working in a government office. 165 00:09:35,480 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 3: Then one day, when Michelle was in high school in 166 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 3: the early nineties, she went to debate club and the 167 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 3: topic was Caltrans versus the neighborhood in the battle to 168 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,000 Speaker 3: build the seven to ten freeway. It was that day 169 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 3: that she understood why her landlords were a transportation agency. 170 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:56,600 Speaker 7: I started learning in school about the Caltrans homes and 171 00:09:56,720 --> 00:10:00,320 Speaker 7: about the seven to ten extension freeway debate and the 172 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,839 Speaker 7: fight between the neighborhood, and I'm like, wait, that's my neighborhood. 173 00:10:04,240 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 7: I didn't know that. 174 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 3: The two sides went something like this. Caltrans wanted to 175 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 3: finish the freeway because the residential areas along the seven 176 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:15,960 Speaker 3: ten were booming and traffic was worse than ever, but 177 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 3: residents of Etceerino, South Pasadena and Pasadena didn't want a 178 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 3: highway running through their neighborhood. For the debate, Michelle took 179 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 3: the side of those against the extension and argued that 180 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 3: destroying people's homes was too high a price for improving 181 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 3: the flow of traffic. What Michelle didn't realize until that 182 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 3: day was that this debate was not only happening in 183 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 3: her classroom. It was also happening in the state government, 184 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 3: because Caltrans was still fighting in court to continue building 185 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:45,400 Speaker 3: the seven ten. 186 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 7: I brought that home to my mom, and she wasn't 187 00:10:48,760 --> 00:10:52,960 Speaker 7: familiar that we would be evicted maybe soon for this 188 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 7: freeway extension. You know, it was It was kind of 189 00:10:56,559 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 7: eye opening to even some of the neighbors are like no, 190 00:10:59,200 --> 00:10:59,959 Speaker 7: like this isn't good. 191 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:04,640 Speaker 3: Happened in her neighborhood of mostly low income Mexican American 192 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 3: and immigrant families. Michelle realized that many of her neighbors 193 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 3: didn't know that Caltrans was still planning to move forward 194 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 3: with the freeway project. 195 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,760 Speaker 7: Sadly, a lot of older people that lived in the neighborhood. 196 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 7: It was parents who were not highly educated and couldn't read, 197 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,800 Speaker 7: so their kids were the ones reading things. 198 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 3: Because Michelle's mom couldn't read very well, she didn't know 199 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:34,160 Speaker 3: that the housing contract she signed gave Caltrans the legal 200 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 3: power to evict the family if the seven to ten 201 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:40,880 Speaker 3: extension was approved. Michelle wondered if there was a way 202 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 3: to ensure that they would be able to stay in 203 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 3: their home. 204 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 7: So I wrote the assembly member at the time, and 205 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 7: he wrote me back and he informed me of some 206 00:11:50,040 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 7: marches and he thanked me too for volunteering my time 207 00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 7: to fight against this freeway extension. The first rally we 208 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,640 Speaker 7: went to it was in South Pasadena. We started marching 209 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 7: down the streets and people started joining with just signs 210 00:12:08,679 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 7: that had like the seven to ten and the line 211 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 7: across it. It was very empowering. 212 00:12:13,800 --> 00:12:16,679 Speaker 3: Looking around the rally, Michelle was surprised to see that 213 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 3: she and her friends were some of the only Latinos 214 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,000 Speaker 3: and also some of the only Caltrans tendants. 215 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,440 Speaker 7: There was a lot of Caucasian people from the more 216 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 7: pricier houses up in South Pass because the homeowners around 217 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:33,080 Speaker 7: there didn't want a freeway, you know, for them, it's 218 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 7: going to bring down their housing prices. 219 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:39,079 Speaker 3: Michelle was beginning to understand one of the biggest reasons 220 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,480 Speaker 3: at Cerno hadn't been bulldozed was because the residents in 221 00:12:42,520 --> 00:12:46,600 Speaker 3: South Pasadena and Pasadena knew that if construction went through 222 00:12:46,640 --> 00:12:51,280 Speaker 3: at Serino, their communities would be next. And even though 223 00:12:51,280 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 3: at Sereno would be the most impacted by the extension, 224 00:12:54,559 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 3: it was the interests of wealthier homeowners that carried the 225 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,359 Speaker 3: most weight, and that really left a mark on Michelle. 226 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,040 Speaker 7: I feel it helped me in really deciding what I 227 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:08,560 Speaker 7: wanted to major in in college, because I wanted to 228 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 7: help people like my parents, like my neighbors. And I 229 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:16,520 Speaker 7: do believe that kel Trans know that the people that 230 00:13:16,559 --> 00:13:19,360 Speaker 7: they ran into in the eighties nineties, they were low 231 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 7: income families who were looking for a better life for 232 00:13:21,880 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 7: their kids and they took advantage of that. 233 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, El Serno's battle with kel 234 00:13:41,360 --> 00:14:41,760 Speaker 1: Trans continued. Stay with us, Hey, we're back, And before 235 00:14:41,800 --> 00:14:44,560 Speaker 1: the break, we were listening to the story of Michelle Chavis. 236 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,160 Speaker 1: Her family was renting a house from the California Department 237 00:14:48,200 --> 00:14:52,600 Speaker 1: of Transportation. Since she was a teenager, Michelle had been 238 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,560 Speaker 1: advocating for her family, protesting the construction of a freeway 239 00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: that threatened to demolish her entire street. But this was 240 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: only the beginning of her family's fight to stay in 241 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,840 Speaker 1: their home back now to produce her juyi rocha. 242 00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 3: After seeing the disparities her community faced, Michelle left at 243 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 3: SIDO in nineteen ninety one to study political science. She 244 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:18,200 Speaker 3: went on to work in local government, and in two 245 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:20,960 Speaker 3: thousand and seven she moved to Washington State, where she 246 00:15:21,040 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 3: lives today. Although she no longer lived in Los Angeles, 247 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 3: Michelle never stopped helping her mom fill out the Caltrans paperwork. Then, 248 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 3: in twenty twelve, Michelle got a desperate call. Her mom 249 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 3: had received a notice that she needed to reapply for 250 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 3: the Affordable Rent program, otherwise her rent would be raised. 251 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:44,960 Speaker 7: She would send in the affordable rent application and then 252 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 7: they would say, we're missing some information. It was denied, 253 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,640 Speaker 7: your rent's going up, And then my mom would send 254 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,360 Speaker 7: in again and then they're like, well, we never received 255 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:55,120 Speaker 7: your paperwork. 256 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 3: Michelle's family wasn't alone in struggling with the bureaucracy of 257 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:04,640 Speaker 3: the application. In twenty thirteen, a collective calling itself United 258 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 3: Caltrans Tenants came together to help residents navigate the agency's 259 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 3: dysfunctional housing program. One of the lead organizers is Roberto Flores. 260 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 3: He runs a community center in Eserino called Eastside Cafe, 261 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:21,520 Speaker 3: and despite its name, it's not a hip coffee shop, 262 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:25,840 Speaker 3: it's actually a Sapatista inspired cultural center, an activist hub. 263 00:16:26,400 --> 00:16:30,360 Speaker 8: We set up the east Side Cafe maybe eighteen years ago. 264 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 8: Is a space that developed out of the inspiration from 265 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:40,320 Speaker 8: the Sapatistas to create sustainable structures so that the communities 266 00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 8: can be much more involved in constructing their own future. 267 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,240 Speaker 3: Roberto himself was a Caltrans tenant who had been forced 268 00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:53,160 Speaker 3: out by the rent increases. He and other organizers were 269 00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 3: holding workshops at the east Side Cafe to help their 270 00:16:56,080 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 3: neighbors with the affordable rent applications. Roberto told me that 271 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,960 Speaker 3: just a few months before Michelle's mom started receiving these notices. 272 00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,840 Speaker 3: Caltrans was being audited for possible mismanagement of public money 273 00:17:09,280 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 3: after a tenant noticed an invoice for a roof repair 274 00:17:12,680 --> 00:17:17,719 Speaker 3: that cost one hundred and three thousand dollars. The audit 275 00:17:17,840 --> 00:17:21,119 Speaker 3: found that Caltrans was mismanaging the money spent on repairs. 276 00:17:21,720 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 3: They were spending almost ten million more dollars in maintaining 277 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:28,320 Speaker 3: the homes than they were actually collecting in rent. 278 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 8: There was obvious corruption going on in the Caltrans' maintenance structure. 279 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 3: On top of that, they hadn't verified the income of 280 00:17:37,320 --> 00:17:41,439 Speaker 3: the tenants on the affordable rent program in years, but 281 00:17:41,560 --> 00:17:44,520 Speaker 3: Caltrans put the burden of the lost revenue on the 282 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:49,879 Speaker 3: tenants by making residents continually reapply for the affordable rent program. 283 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:54,680 Speaker 3: If their application was denied, Caltrans would increase their rent. 284 00:17:54,920 --> 00:17:59,720 Speaker 8: They made things so complicated that their own agents didn't 285 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:01,720 Speaker 8: know how how to fill out these forums or help 286 00:18:01,760 --> 00:18:04,840 Speaker 8: people out, and so there were years of delays where 287 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:10,000 Speaker 8: people were forced to pay market rents when they should 288 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,199 Speaker 8: be paying affordable and market rents that were going up 289 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 8: at ten percent every six months. All these things piled 290 00:18:16,640 --> 00:18:21,960 Speaker 8: up and led to people leaving an evictions It. 291 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:25,119 Speaker 3: Was clear to Roberto that Caltrans was trying to force 292 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 3: people out, But the question was what incentive did Caltrans 293 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 3: have to vacate the properties? When I asked him, he 294 00:18:33,200 --> 00:18:36,119 Speaker 3: told me that Caltrans never wanted to be landlords, and 295 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:38,320 Speaker 3: their end goal was to demolish the houses. 296 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 8: They were going to prepare the corridor for a freeway, 297 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 8: so they preferred to deal with empty houses than with 298 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 8: tenants that were increasingly demanding rights. 299 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,440 Speaker 3: Years past and more and more Caltrans tenants began to 300 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:06,000 Speaker 3: leave their homes because of the rent hikes. At this point, 301 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,840 Speaker 3: Caltrans was still fighting to build the extension. Then, in 302 00:19:09,880 --> 00:19:13,680 Speaker 3: November of twenty eighteen, after a sixty year legal battle, 303 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 3: the state of California finally ruled that Caltrans couldn't build 304 00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 3: the freeway. 305 00:19:20,320 --> 00:19:23,880 Speaker 6: It was a major milestone today in the now defunct 306 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 6: plan to extend the seven to ten freeway. Caltrans just 307 00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 6: sold the first of hundreds of homes that were purchased 308 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 6: decades ago in preparation for the project, which is now 309 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:35,400 Speaker 6: never going to see the light of day. 310 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 3: Now the Caltrans wasn't going to build the freeway, the 311 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 3: agency said they would begin to sell the homes. 312 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:45,600 Speaker 7: They still made empty promises. They started making it seem like, 313 00:19:45,760 --> 00:19:48,200 Speaker 7: in the next two years, all these houses will be 314 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,399 Speaker 7: song and you, residents who've been living in them for 315 00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 7: more than two years, you get first DIBs. 316 00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,879 Speaker 3: The promise that Michelle's family and many others in INCIDENTA 317 00:19:57,920 --> 00:20:02,200 Speaker 3: were given was actually more a promise. Back in nineteen 318 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 3: seventy nine, the California legislature passed a bill known as 319 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 3: the ROBERTI Law. It found that highway construction contributed to 320 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 3: a shortage of affordable housing, so when a state agency 321 00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 3: like Caltrans no longer planned to use the homes for construction, 322 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,000 Speaker 3: it legally had to offer the property to low and 323 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:24,600 Speaker 3: moderate income tenants at an affordable price. In theory, this 324 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:27,600 Speaker 3: meant that Michelle's mom could actually purchase the home that 325 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,000 Speaker 3: she'd lived in for decades. 326 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 7: My mom's like, Wow, I'm a little nervous, you know, 327 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 7: I hoping I'll be able to purchase this house because 328 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:36,320 Speaker 7: we've never been a homeowner. 329 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 3: The problem was that in order to one day buy 330 00:20:39,119 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 3: your house, you had to stay in your house. But 331 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 3: residents were being forced out by rent hikes and complicated applications, 332 00:20:48,640 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 3: and even tenants who could pay their rent weren't receiving 333 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:53,680 Speaker 3: sale offers from the agency. 334 00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 9: There are one hundred and three vacant homes in Elserino, 335 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,719 Speaker 9: Pasadena and South Pasadena, as the need for affordable housing 336 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,399 Speaker 9: in LA is on the rise, ACCOUNTRANS representative said homes 337 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,760 Speaker 9: have remained vacant partly because the cost to maintain and 338 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:13,000 Speaker 9: rent them would have cost more than the revenue collected. 339 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 3: When tenants moved out or passed away, the houses were 340 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:21,600 Speaker 3: boarded up. Today, there are dozens of homes on Sheffield 341 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 3: Avenue with signs that read warning state property trespassing, loitering 342 00:21:28,080 --> 00:21:29,120 Speaker 3: forbidden by law. 343 00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 7: When I would go home every year, I mean, you 344 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 7: could go down my mom's block and maybe ten properties 345 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,080 Speaker 7: on her block alone are vacant. This is just one 346 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 7: piece of Sheffield. 347 00:21:43,720 --> 00:21:47,359 Speaker 3: Michelle's childhood neighborhood was becoming a ghost town. 348 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,520 Speaker 7: I didn't realize what my parents went through until I 349 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 7: started fighting for them. Until my dad was just getting 350 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,879 Speaker 7: too sick and he's like I'm done, you know, I 351 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 7: just I can't, and my mom was busy taking care 352 00:22:05,320 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 7: of him. 353 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,720 Speaker 3: Michelle's dad had been having health complications for years, and 354 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 3: then in twenty eighteen, he passed away at a moment. 355 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,080 Speaker 3: When Michelle's mom was grieving the loss of her husband, 356 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:20,640 Speaker 3: she also started receiving notices that she had to once 357 00:22:20,680 --> 00:22:24,600 Speaker 3: again reapply for the Affordable rent program. Michelle's mom went 358 00:22:24,640 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 3: to one of the United caltrans Tendants workshops at the 359 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 3: east Side Cafe where she met Roberto. 360 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 8: I remember miss Montoya coming in after her husband had 361 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 8: passed and asking us for help. 362 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 3: Roerto helped Michelle's mom properly fill out the application, but 363 00:22:40,680 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 3: the same scenario played out. 364 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,520 Speaker 7: He sent it in and they said they didn't get it, 365 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,960 Speaker 7: sent it in again, said they never received it. Months later, 366 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 7: they said that my mom's rent was being raised again 367 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:58,480 Speaker 7: and if she wanted to try and get affordable rent, 368 00:22:58,480 --> 00:22:59,960 Speaker 7: that she had to fill out an application. 369 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,640 Speaker 3: After decades of fighting to stay in their home, Michelle 370 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:07,280 Speaker 3: started to convince her mom to move out and live 371 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:08,360 Speaker 3: with her brother Jamie. 372 00:23:08,640 --> 00:23:11,320 Speaker 7: We started telling her, I don't think it's safe for 373 00:23:11,400 --> 00:23:15,040 Speaker 7: you to stay in this house the way they're treating you, 374 00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 7: the way they're always losing the paperwork, you know, for 375 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,720 Speaker 7: the affordable rent, and my mom it was very difficult 376 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:25,520 Speaker 7: for her because she feels my dad's spirit in that home. 377 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 7: She started crying because she's like, you know, he's not 378 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,040 Speaker 7: going to leave this house, and we're like, mom, he's 379 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 7: going to be wherever you are. 380 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:40,199 Speaker 3: Finally, Michelle's mom agreed, and Michelle went back to her 381 00:23:40,280 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 3: childhood home to help her mother move out. 382 00:23:43,960 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 7: So my mom sat in the empty living room and 383 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 7: she started crying, and then we all started crying, you know. 384 00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:57,640 Speaker 7: And my brother, he's a jokester, and he's like, look, mom, 385 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,520 Speaker 7: and he opened a fresh apple pie and my dad 386 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 7: loved fresh shapple pie, and he's like, okay, Fred, in 387 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:07,640 Speaker 7: order for you to have a piece of this apple pie, 388 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:08,880 Speaker 7: you got to come with us. 389 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:09,560 Speaker 10: You know. 390 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:11,440 Speaker 7: We were just all cried and hugged her. 391 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:26,240 Speaker 3: After thirty four years on Sheffield Avenue, Michelle's mom left 392 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:29,840 Speaker 3: the Caltrans house, giving up her dream of one day 393 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 3: owning a home. 394 00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:31,480 Speaker 6: You know. 395 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,439 Speaker 7: It just went through the house one last time and 396 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:38,160 Speaker 7: we took one last picture on the porch. My mom 397 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:40,520 Speaker 7: used to be a feisty little lady back in her day. 398 00:24:41,400 --> 00:24:44,080 Speaker 7: She's like, fuck you, Caltrans, you know, and like flip 399 00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 7: the camera. 400 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:51,160 Speaker 3: In February of twenty twenty, the house that Michelle grew 401 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,919 Speaker 3: up in was left vacant. When I reached out to 402 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,200 Speaker 3: Caltrans for comment about the staggering vacancies in Asidino. They 403 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,200 Speaker 3: put me in touch with Eric Menhivad. He's a public 404 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 3: information officer at the agency. I asked him what Caltrans 405 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:08,120 Speaker 3: plans to do with the houses they own. 406 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,680 Speaker 11: We are very aware that there is a housing crisis 407 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 11: throughout California. Our goal is to sell these homes and 408 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,200 Speaker 11: provide a pathway for first time home ownership for our tenants, 409 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 11: and the Affordable Sales Program will very much play a 410 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 11: large role in meeting the school. 411 00:25:23,359 --> 00:25:27,159 Speaker 3: Menhivad gave me cal Trans's official statement that they intend 412 00:25:27,240 --> 00:25:29,159 Speaker 3: to sell the homes to the families that have been 413 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,080 Speaker 3: living in them. Throughout our interview, I struggle to reconcile 414 00:25:33,119 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 3: the agency's official statements with their actions which have driven 415 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:41,400 Speaker 3: out hundreds of tenants, making them ineligible to purchase their homes. 416 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:45,360 Speaker 3: And then at the end of our interview, Eric told me. 417 00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 11: This Ultimately, when these homes are ready to be sold, 418 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,760 Speaker 11: cal Trans is obligated to make lender required repairs when 419 00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:57,080 Speaker 11: selling a property to a current tenant who participates in 420 00:25:57,119 --> 00:26:00,320 Speaker 11: the Affordable Sales program. So if that home a new 421 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,480 Speaker 11: roof and the lender requires us to repair it. We 422 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:04,639 Speaker 11: will do it. 423 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,480 Speaker 3: I was beginning to understand that in order for Caltrans 424 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,480 Speaker 3: to sell the homes, the agency would have to reckon 425 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:15,240 Speaker 3: with their decades long neglect. So instead of paying for 426 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:19,479 Speaker 3: costly repairs, Caltrans is holding onto the properties even if 427 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 3: they're falling apart. With the vacancy rate rising in the neighborhood, 428 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,160 Speaker 3: tenants wanted to find a way to hold Caltrans accountable 429 00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:31,119 Speaker 3: and force them to do something about all these empty homes. 430 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,800 Speaker 3: One of those tenants was Angela Flores. She's the daughter 431 00:26:35,840 --> 00:26:39,199 Speaker 3: of Roberta Flores, who we heard from earlier. Angela and 432 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:42,520 Speaker 3: her father were Caltrans tenants since nineteen ninety two, and 433 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,679 Speaker 3: they've been working with the neighborhood for years, holding workshops 434 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,879 Speaker 3: to help tenants fill out affordable housing applications, mobilizing community 435 00:26:49,880 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 3: members to disrupt evictions, and by twenty nineteen they were 436 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:54,520 Speaker 3: fed up. 437 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 10: Me and my dad thought, we're going to do some 438 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,560 Speaker 10: thing about this. We got to shake them up a little, like, 439 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:04,080 Speaker 10: what do we got to do? How do we got 440 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:05,560 Speaker 10: to protest them? 441 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 3: To Angela, it was shocking that you could walk a 442 00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,800 Speaker 3: few minutes from a street of empty homes onto Huntington 443 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 3: Drive at Satano's main street, where dozens of unhoused people 444 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 3: were sleeping in tents that they pitched on the meridian. 445 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,399 Speaker 3: Angela wanted to do something to get Caltrans's attention and 446 00:27:22,520 --> 00:27:23,719 Speaker 3: force them to negotiate. 447 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:27,960 Speaker 10: We went ahead and started thinking more and more about 448 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 10: the possibility of occupying a few houses. 449 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:35,879 Speaker 3: Then, in November of twenty nineteen, Moms for Housing, a 450 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:39,159 Speaker 3: group of unhoused mothers from the Bay Area, made national 451 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,560 Speaker 3: headlines and caught Angela's attention. 452 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 4: And men called Moms for Housing are reclaiming vacant homes 453 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,000 Speaker 4: so that homeless women can live in them. The group 454 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 4: wants to take back properties owned by investors that are 455 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:55,800 Speaker 4: vacant in neighborhoods where the mothers grew up but can't 456 00:27:55,800 --> 00:27:56,800 Speaker 4: afford to live there. 457 00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:00,960 Speaker 3: By occupying vacant homes. Moms for Houses was pointing out 458 00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:04,640 Speaker 3: that the housing crisis is not actually about a shortage 459 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:05,120 Speaker 3: of homes. 460 00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:06,480 Speaker 12: We have a crisis. 461 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,160 Speaker 1: Come on, it is an epidemic. 462 00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 2: People are dying. 463 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:16,320 Speaker 3: Housing is a According to twenty seventeen census data, there 464 00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 3: are approximately one hundred thousand vacant homes in the city 465 00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:23,080 Speaker 3: of Los Angeles. That's nearly twice the number needed to 466 00:28:23,119 --> 00:28:26,480 Speaker 3: house the estimated sixty thousand people that are homeless in 467 00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,919 Speaker 3: the city. Part of the problem is real estate speculation. 468 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,480 Speaker 3: As cities begin to gentrify, developers buy up properties and 469 00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:37,840 Speaker 3: keep them vacant until rent prices and the surrounding area 470 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,120 Speaker 3: go up. But with six public agencies such as Caltrans 471 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:46,560 Speaker 3: and the Los Angeles School District collectively owning over fourteen 472 00:28:46,680 --> 00:28:50,600 Speaker 3: thousand vacant properties in Los Angeles, it's clear that public 473 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:55,520 Speaker 3: institutions are also contributing to the housing crisis. Angela wanted 474 00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:58,240 Speaker 3: to bring the strategy that Moms for Housing was putting 475 00:28:58,280 --> 00:28:59,760 Speaker 3: in action to incident. 476 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,160 Speaker 10: I was in my bedroom and I was looking on Facebook, 477 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 10: and then I saw the article on the Moms for 478 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 10: Housing in San Francisco, and immediately I thought, this is it. 479 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 3: Feeling inspired by the movement, Angela shared the Moms for 480 00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:18,640 Speaker 3: Housing story on her Facebook page. 481 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 10: I said, I've had it with all of this. Who's 482 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 10: down to do something like this? And I didn't hear 483 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 10: from anyone except Martha. 484 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 3: That Marta is Marta Escurero, who we heard from at 485 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,400 Speaker 3: the beginning of the story. At that moment, Marta and 486 00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,360 Speaker 3: her two daughters didn't have a stable place to live. 487 00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 2: When I first heard about moms for housing, we were 488 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:43,560 Speaker 2: at a friend's house. We were sleeping on the floor. 489 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:46,920 Speaker 2: We were living off of our bags pretty much. 490 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,120 Speaker 3: Martha lived in the East Side neighborhood of Boyle Heights 491 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:54,160 Speaker 3: until twenty sixteen. She's the primary caretaker of her two daughters, 492 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 3: and I was working as a case manager at a 493 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:59,520 Speaker 3: maternal and child wellness clinic at the time. One of 494 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:02,320 Speaker 3: the things she remembers most about her job was a 495 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 3: feeling of helplessness as she saw the way that not 496 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:08,959 Speaker 3: having housing impacted the mental and physical health of mothers 497 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:10,040 Speaker 3: who came into the clinic. 498 00:30:10,360 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 2: These women were suffering a lot, and I couldn't help them, 499 00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:17,479 Speaker 2: and it was like causing me burnout, Like I couldn't 500 00:30:17,480 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 2: even sleep at night sometimes knowing that these women and 501 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:22,920 Speaker 2: their kids were on the streets or in the cars 502 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:24,400 Speaker 2: or in shelters. 503 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:28,720 Speaker 3: Exhausted from her job, Martha needed a change of pace. 504 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,000 Speaker 3: She had always dreamed of showing her daughters a different 505 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,240 Speaker 3: way of life away from the stress of the city. So, 506 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,360 Speaker 3: even though Martha was born and raised in la she 507 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 3: made a big decision and left the US. 508 00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:45,560 Speaker 2: We always wanted to get out of the US for 509 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 2: a little bit and sure our daughters what it was 510 00:30:49,120 --> 00:30:52,400 Speaker 2: to live somewhere else. And we have friends in Chile, 511 00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 2: so we figured that be the best place. 512 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 3: But when Martha came back to the US just two 513 00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 3: years later, she says rents Boyle Heights had tripled. 514 00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:08,200 Speaker 2: Coming back was actually really traumatizing. We couldn't find affordable housing, 515 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:09,400 Speaker 2: we couldn't find jobs. 516 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,840 Speaker 3: In just two years, Martha found herself facing those same 517 00:31:13,880 --> 00:31:17,280 Speaker 3: struggles that she saw countless mothers at the clinic endoor. 518 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,160 Speaker 3: And as a mom, housing was more than just a 519 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 3: roof over Martha's head. It was about the health and 520 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:24,840 Speaker 3: education of her daughters too. 521 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,920 Speaker 2: It was really obstructing my daughter's learning. I'm a homeschooling mom. 522 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,680 Speaker 2: It's just not adequate with having children. They really do 523 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:34,760 Speaker 2: need their own space. 524 00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:38,239 Speaker 3: After eighteen months of living out of a suitcase and 525 00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:41,680 Speaker 3: going from sofa to sofa at her friend's apartments, Martha 526 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 3: was ready to take matters into her own hands. 527 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 2: When I saw a mom for housing and I was like, wow, 528 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,959 Speaker 2: these women are badass. Their moms, they have kids, and 529 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,440 Speaker 2: then they took over these homes like they're really fearless 530 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 2: and now was like, oh, you know, if they could 531 00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,280 Speaker 2: do it, I could do it. And around that same 532 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 2: time and wrote us from the Eastside Cafe put something 533 00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 2: out that she would like to do something at that 534 00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:06,959 Speaker 2: Mom for Housing did and I reached out to her 535 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,480 Speaker 2: and she let me know about these houses in Acidento 536 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:13,000 Speaker 2: that have been abandoned by cal chans for so many years. 537 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 3: Marta was immediately on board, but Angela says when she 538 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:20,000 Speaker 3: encouraged her neighbors in a sereno to take up the strategy, 539 00:32:20,520 --> 00:32:21,400 Speaker 3: they were reluctant. 540 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:26,560 Speaker 10: Other tenants they weren't saying much, and the kind of 541 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:30,360 Speaker 10: feedback that we got was like, well, I'm not sure 542 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,200 Speaker 10: because I don't want to get arrested or I don't 543 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,280 Speaker 10: have my papers. 544 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,240 Speaker 3: The stakes were high. Even though Moms for Housing had 545 00:32:40,280 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 3: garnered widespread support, they were also met with brutal force 546 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,640 Speaker 3: when the police were summoned to a victim in January 547 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:48,600 Speaker 3: of twenty twenty. 548 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 12: In a pre dawn rate, heavily armed Sheriff Stampanese moved 549 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,840 Speaker 12: in on a vacant home where women and children had 550 00:32:54,880 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 12: been living illegally. Four people were arrested after a fifty 551 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 12: day stand on, I'm to live. I'm trying to get 552 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:05,880 Speaker 12: my kids. 553 00:33:06,040 --> 00:33:07,360 Speaker 5: How you sentimated down. 554 00:33:09,360 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 3: Martha knew that what she was planning to do was illegal, 555 00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,680 Speaker 3: but it was a risk she was willing to take. 556 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 2: I had a lot of fears, Okay, what if my 557 00:33:18,640 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 2: daughters get taken away from me, but also like I 558 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,719 Speaker 2: want them to be healthy and have their own homes. 559 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:30,440 Speaker 2: So I needed to take that risk, knowing that I 560 00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 2: couldn't do it alone. And that's why it was really 561 00:33:32,600 --> 00:33:35,480 Speaker 2: important for me to establish who am I going to 562 00:33:35,720 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 2: connect with to help me. 563 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:41,120 Speaker 3: To support people like Martha on the front lines. A 564 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:45,360 Speaker 3: coalition was forming, and with the help of two advocacy organizations, 565 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,520 Speaker 3: more and more people were joining the movement. By February, 566 00:33:49,880 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 3: they were having almost daily meetings at the east Side Cafe. 567 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,640 Speaker 2: They were letting us know the history of these houses 568 00:33:57,400 --> 00:34:01,719 Speaker 2: and how Caltrans has neglected them and abandoned them, And 569 00:34:01,760 --> 00:34:04,280 Speaker 2: to me, it was so mind blowing because I know 570 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:05,920 Speaker 2: there's a housing crisis. 571 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 3: Marta and the other people who wanted to occupy these 572 00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:13,720 Speaker 3: houses declared themselves the reclaimers. Some reclaimers were former Caltrans 573 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,359 Speaker 3: tenants who had been living on the street after they'd 574 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:20,400 Speaker 3: been evicted. Others were mothers like Martha, who were urgently 575 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:24,400 Speaker 3: looking to provide housing for their families. They were getting 576 00:34:24,440 --> 00:34:27,720 Speaker 3: ready to occupy the houses in March, and then COVID 577 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:28,439 Speaker 3: nineteen hit. 578 00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:34,400 Speaker 2: We had already planned to do the take on Friday, 579 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:40,600 Speaker 2: March thirteenth, but then COVID came and people were like, 580 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:43,480 Speaker 2: should we still do it? Is it dangerous to do it? 581 00:34:43,480 --> 00:34:45,440 Speaker 2: Around this time, a lot of us were like, no, 582 00:34:45,600 --> 00:34:48,239 Speaker 2: this is even more urgent. We need to do it 583 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:51,560 Speaker 2: now because we wanted to keep our family safe. 584 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,560 Speaker 3: Although Marta had known the other reclaimers for less than 585 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,200 Speaker 3: a couple months, she had to trust that they had 586 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 3: her back, that they had her daughter's back. On March thirteenth, 587 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:07,120 Speaker 3: Martha was getting ready to put the strategy in motion 588 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 3: for the first time. She and another reclaimer were able 589 00:35:10,680 --> 00:35:13,640 Speaker 3: to open the door to an empty house on Berkshire Avenue, 590 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:16,520 Speaker 3: but only a few hours after they got into the house, 591 00:35:17,080 --> 00:35:18,279 Speaker 3: they heard someone at the door. 592 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 2: Kyu Chan still had the keys and they were able 593 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,600 Speaker 2: to unlock it and Caltrans with the police were able 594 00:35:25,600 --> 00:35:27,880 Speaker 2: to walk in and pull us out, and we just 595 00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 2: went voluntarily like there wasn't any resistance. And then the 596 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:34,719 Speaker 2: girls were crying and shaky, and they thought that I 597 00:35:34,760 --> 00:35:35,840 Speaker 2: was going to get in trouble. 598 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:40,279 Speaker 3: In that terrifying moment, the other reclaimers immediately came to 599 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 3: comfort the girls. The coalition had organized a team of 600 00:35:43,680 --> 00:35:46,640 Speaker 3: legal observers who were able to document the actions of 601 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 3: law enforcement and de escalate the situation. In the end, 602 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,520 Speaker 3: the officer chose not to arrest Martha. 603 00:35:53,840 --> 00:35:55,719 Speaker 2: That's when I was like, oh, cool, Like I can 604 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 2: trust these people, you know, I can do this again. 605 00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 3: After getting kicked out by the police, Martha immediately went 606 00:36:01,760 --> 00:36:04,160 Speaker 3: back to the East Side cafe and they began to 607 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:06,160 Speaker 3: plan how they could occupy another house. 608 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,000 Speaker 2: We talked about what had gone on that night, and 609 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:15,480 Speaker 2: then we just really were urgent to find another home. 610 00:36:15,840 --> 00:36:19,279 Speaker 2: We were running out of options. 611 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 3: But there was still one option left because Angela and 612 00:36:22,120 --> 00:36:24,000 Speaker 3: Roberto had a backup plan. 613 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,920 Speaker 10: My dad had said, if in the case it doesn't 614 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:34,840 Speaker 10: go down and worse comes to worse, we have a 615 00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:36,759 Speaker 10: key to one of the houses. 616 00:36:37,680 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 3: That key was the key to Michelle's old house on 617 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,279 Speaker 3: Sheffield Avenue. The house had been left vacant since February 618 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,080 Speaker 3: when Michelle's mom moved out. 619 00:36:46,400 --> 00:36:49,520 Speaker 2: I said, hey, Martha, I have the key to this house. 620 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:51,279 Speaker 2: Should we do it? She said, yes, let's do it. 621 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:52,279 Speaker 2: Let's do it. 622 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:57,160 Speaker 3: On March fourteenth, just as the sun was beginning to rise, 623 00:36:57,600 --> 00:37:00,800 Speaker 3: Martha and Angela were standing outside the house on Sheffield 624 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:01,640 Speaker 3: Avenue and. 625 00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:03,120 Speaker 10: I didn't even know if the key was going to 626 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:04,880 Speaker 10: work or not, you know, like or if we were 627 00:37:04,920 --> 00:37:05,560 Speaker 10: going to get in. 628 00:37:05,880 --> 00:37:12,080 Speaker 2: I remember we were both really nervous. 629 00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:15,160 Speaker 10: I got out the key and I was like, oh 630 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:15,840 Speaker 10: my god. 631 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:18,720 Speaker 2: Like, I mean, all you have to do is twist 632 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:21,680 Speaker 2: and off, but like we were shaking, so we're like, okay, 633 00:37:21,719 --> 00:37:24,640 Speaker 2: we could do this, like take a deep breath. So 634 00:37:24,680 --> 00:37:28,600 Speaker 2: Martha was like, it's all right, calm down. She was 635 00:37:28,640 --> 00:37:29,799 Speaker 2: the one caming me down. 636 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:33,879 Speaker 10: I opened the first door, and then we opened the 637 00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:36,759 Speaker 10: wooden door, and once we were in, it was a 638 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:41,880 Speaker 10: big like it was a big relief. 639 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:47,080 Speaker 2: And then my daughters came in, and I was really 640 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,680 Speaker 2: tired and happy and overwhelmed and just like so many 641 00:37:49,719 --> 00:37:52,840 Speaker 2: mixed feelings just being able to be inside the house. 642 00:37:54,719 --> 00:37:57,800 Speaker 10: And right away the girls were like, I love this room. 643 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:01,480 Speaker 2: Oh it's beautiful. It's so beautiy A fall. I'll never 644 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:04,759 Speaker 2: forget that. I just remember looking out the window and 645 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:08,480 Speaker 2: just saying I'm gonna stay hear it and see what happens. 646 00:38:14,680 --> 00:38:16,720 Speaker 3: The reclaimers were all over the news. 647 00:38:17,520 --> 00:38:20,560 Speaker 11: Publicly owned houses that have been vacant for years are 648 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:24,360 Speaker 11: now becoming sheltered to the unhoused in Elserno. 649 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:25,640 Speaker 2: Where they're reclaiming our homes. 650 00:38:25,680 --> 00:38:27,000 Speaker 7: Movement is in full effect. 651 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:29,359 Speaker 3: Eventually, Michelle saw the news too. 652 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:32,200 Speaker 7: I saw the pictures of the little girls like at 653 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:34,440 Speaker 7: the window, and I'm like, that was me. That was 654 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:37,640 Speaker 7: like thirteen year old me. That's why I think it 655 00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:41,240 Speaker 7: was bittersweet. I'm happy for them, you know, I'm sad 656 00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:45,000 Speaker 7: that my mom's doesn't have her own place. I'm sad 657 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:46,839 Speaker 7: that my dad is gone. You know, it's just all 658 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:50,600 Speaker 7: these little emotions, but you know, it's time to move on. 659 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,000 Speaker 7: It was it was safer for my mom to move on. 660 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,400 Speaker 3: It may no longer be Michelle's home, but she's happy 661 00:39:06,440 --> 00:39:09,719 Speaker 3: that her old house can be a home to someone else. 662 00:39:21,280 --> 00:39:25,560 Speaker 1: Today, Marda and twelve other reclaimers are living in the 663 00:39:25,560 --> 00:39:31,160 Speaker 1: once vacant caltrans homes for now. The reclaimers are allowed 664 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,399 Speaker 1: to legally remain in their homes for at least two 665 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:39,160 Speaker 1: years under a transitional housing program, but their fight continues 666 00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:42,920 Speaker 1: as they push for a more permanent solution. Their hope 667 00:39:42,960 --> 00:39:45,319 Speaker 1: is that one day these homes will be given back 668 00:39:45,360 --> 00:40:12,279 Speaker 1: to the community of Elsino. This episode was produced by 669 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,640 Speaker 1: Julia Rocha and edited by Mitra Bonsharhi with help from 670 00:40:15,760 --> 00:40:20,120 Speaker 1: Sophia Palissa car The Latino USA team includes Miel Massias, 671 00:40:20,440 --> 00:40:26,280 Speaker 1: Luis Trees, Andrea Lopez, Gruzsado, Julieta Martinelli, Alisa Escarce, Gini Montalbo, 672 00:40:26,400 --> 00:40:29,800 Speaker 1: and Alejandra Salasad, with help from Raoul Perez. In fact 673 00:40:29,840 --> 00:40:34,200 Speaker 1: checking by Amy Tardiff. Our engineers are Stephanie Lebau, Julia Caruso, 674 00:40:34,239 --> 00:40:37,440 Speaker 1: and Liah Shaw, with help from Elisha ba Itto. Our 675 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:41,279 Speaker 1: director of programming and Operations is Natalia fidel Joz. Our 676 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:44,960 Speaker 1: digital editor is Ruis Luna. Our interns archimel vel Serro, 677 00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:49,240 Speaker 1: Emilisa Quiros and Gabrie Lavalez. Our theme music was composed 678 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:51,839 Speaker 1: by Zane Rubinos. If you like the music you heard 679 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,920 Speaker 1: on this episode, stop by Latino Usa dot org and 680 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:57,880 Speaker 1: check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host and 681 00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:01,239 Speaker 1: executive producer Marienno Rossa. Join us again on our next 682 00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:03,120 Speaker 1: episode and in the meantime, I'll see you in all 683 00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:06,600 Speaker 1: of our social media. That's the Laproxima choe. 684 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:12,920 Speaker 13: Latino USA is made possible in part by California Endowment, 685 00:41:13,239 --> 00:41:16,560 Speaker 13: building a strong state by improving the health of all Californians, 686 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:21,759 Speaker 13: The wind Coat Foundation and funding for Latino USA is 687 00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:24,799 Speaker 13: Coverage of a culture of health is made possible in 688 00:41:24,840 --> 00:41:27,600 Speaker 13: part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 689 00:41:31,719 --> 00:41:33,360 Speaker 9: And what's your favorite part of the house. 690 00:41:33,800 --> 00:41:36,879 Speaker 3: My playroom, in my room because I sleep in it. 691 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 3: In the kitchen because we make food in it. 692 00:41:39,120 --> 00:41:40,600 Speaker 8: But I really like the garden. 693 00:41:40,960 --> 00:41:47,920 Speaker 2: It's little ugly. Oh the joke, Oh my gosh.