Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Youth United for Community Action (YUCA), a community-based organization, is run by young people of different ethnicities, most of whom are from low-income families or households. The organization provides a safe space for young people to empower themselves and work on social and environmental justice issues to establish positive systemic change through YUCA.
However, for several months now, the East Palo Alto-based organization has been facing the same difficulties that most renters are facing due to the housing crisis in California; since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., many families have been forced out of their homes due to rising rent payments.
YUCA's executive director, Ofelia Bello, explains that the property where its offices are located, at 2135 Clark Avenue in East Palo Alto, was in the process of being sold by the owner, so she asked YUCA to vacate the property in order to place it on the real estate market.
Since its inauguration 27 years ago, YUCA has offered its services in an uninterrupted manner that has earned it recognition from all its community members; and, since 11 years ago, YUCA established its offices at this address.
To raise the necessary funds to continue offering their support to the community, the organization started a campaign to raise the necessary funds to acquire the building where they have been working for the last 11 years. Therefore, they set a goal of 1.2 million dollars from various community sponsors; in addition, an online campaign was launched through GoFundMe, where the general public could send their contribution.
On May 29, YUCA invited members of the East Palo Alto community to a celebration to announce that YUCA had avoided eviction and had been able to raise the funds to purchase the property where the organization provides services.
"Now, we find ourselves celebrating that we can stay here forever," Ofelia Bello noted.
