When we envision ways to create affordable and humane housing, what do we imagine?
A tight knit community of neighbors organize to own and control their multi-unit apartment building in North Oakland.
A Black elder rallies her East Bay community to help buy her Pinole rental home through grassroots fundraising and community developed CA housing policy.
A POC, community-centered development coop that’s democratically led, buys up buildings in Oakland to make them permanently affordable.
These are not visions of the future but a few examples of the powerful cooperative housing organizing that has happened in the East Bay alone! It’s important to celebrate those who, despite the slow movement of policy change and greed of corporate landlords, continue to play with the possibility of a different way.
When we envision ways to create affordable and humane housing, what do we imagine?
A tight knit community of neighbors organize to own and control their multi-unit apartment building in North Oakland.
A Black elder rallies her East Bay community to help buy her Pinole rental home through grassroots fundraising and community developed CA housing policy.
A POC, community-centered development coop that’s democratically led, buys up buildings in Oakland to make them permanently affordable.
These are not visions of the future but a few examples of the powerful cooperative housing organizing that has happened in the East Bay alone! It’s important to celebrate those who, despite the slow movement of policy change and greed of corporate landlords, continue to play with the possibility of a different way.
At the Law Center, we’re spending the month of May uplifting innovative models of dignified, tenant controlled and owned housing. Lawyers, housing organizers, social justice organizations, law students, legal apprentices, community members, and activists who are interested in learning about ways to support tenants to become stewards of their homes through co-ownership models and legal tools like SB 1079, TOPA, COPA should check out our event page here. Please forward this email to anyone who might be interested!
Thank you to our sponsors who help make the #TenantsWithoutLandlords events happen!
Support Jumpstart Housing Co-op
Jumpstart is a new limited equity housing cooperative in Chicago formed by three members of ChiFresh Kitchen to meet their own housing needs and the needs of others who have been incarcerated. Formerly incarcerated individuals face steep barriers to safe, affordable, and dignified housing, including illegal discrimination based on their former convictions. The co-op is 100% Black-owned and governed and 100% formerly incarcerated owned and governed.
The first property Jumpstart is under contract to purchase is a three-flat (with a partially finished basement) in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago, which the co-op is purchasing from one of NASCO's partner organizations. Once the first phase with this 3-flat is completed, the members have ambitious plans to develop a multi-site cooperative with dozens of units.
Learn more about this hopeful example of #TenantsWithoutLandlords and support their GoFundMe.
Allensworth is the community that refuses to die!
Our clients, Allensworth Progressive Association in conjunction with local residents, are leading the charge to protect the historic community from recent flooding. March storms dropping rain and snow over southern Tulare County and associated foothills have produced historic flows to local rivers and creeks that continue to produce danger of flooding to the Historic Black Community of Allensworth.
Despite the best efforts of all involved, the risk of catastrophic flooding to Allensworth remains high as flooding from historic snowmelt will continue to be an issue through the spring and into the summer.
Members of the public who wish to donate items, may reach out to Valerie and Sherry. Please find the most needed items for Allensworth here: Allensworth Community Needs List. Donations for general support to the APA are welcome via the “Support Allensworth” button on the APA’s official website at www.allensworthpa.org under the fund “floodwatersupport2023”.
*NEW* Bite-Sized Legal Guides
Our bite-sized legal guides help those who have a legal question but are not quite ready to read a full legal guide. Check out the latest guides we’ve created and please share with those you think might find them helpful.
- Bite-Sized Legal Guide on How to Know Who is a Volunteer! This guide is for nonprofits interested in paying their volunteers. We cover federal and California law on how nonprofits can mitigate the risk that volunteers will be seen as employees under wage and hour or workers’ compensation laws.
- Bite-Sized Legal Guide on How to Apply the Public Support Test! This guide is for anyone running a tax-exempt nonprofit organization (or considering starting one) who wants to understand the difference between a public charity and a private foundation and how to apply the IRS’s public support test.
- Bite-Sized Legal Guide on How to Pay Your Nonprofit Board of Directors! This guide is for California nonprofit public benefit corporations wondering if and how they can pay their directors, especially nonprofits looking to equitably recruit more BIPOC and working class directors or directors from the communities they serve.
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