|
|
Dear Friends,
We’re getting ready to launch ELEVATE Concord, Monument Impact’s family economic equity pilot, in partnership with the City of Concord in September. This will be the city’s first guaranteed income pilot – and we’re already getting a lot of interest from families who want to join. Right now, we can provide 120 families with a year of $500 monthly cash assistance. With your help, we can add more families to the program to make a difference in their lives and in our community. Donate today to support more local families.
We know from our community members, and evidence from other guaranteed income pilots, that this assistance will be transformative. This will provide families with young children peace of mind knowing they can afford essentials, spend more time with family, and start to build a strong future for their children.
When families are financially stable, communities thrive. You can help make where we live, a place where families can cover essential expenses, withstand unexpected challenges, pursue their dreams and contribute to a vibrant community.
Please donate today so a few more families can get back on their feet and build a strong foundation for their children to thrive.
In community,
Judith Ortiz
Executive Director
|
 | |
Announcing Our ELEVATE Concord Partner: UpTogether | |
|
We are excited to announce that we will be partnering with UpTogether, who will help manage the application process, randomized selection, and monthly cash distributions for ELEVATE Concord. UpTogether is values-aligned and has managed guaranteed income pilots all over the country. Recently, they partnered with the Oakland Resilient Families Guaranteed Income Pilot in East Oakland.
UpTogether is a national organization with a bold goal. They aim to change policies, systems, and underlying beliefs so that all people in the United States are seen and invested in for their strengths and are able to build power, reinforce their autonomy, and drive their own economic and social mobility. They are excited to partner with Monument Impact to invest in the Concord community. To learn more about them, visit UpTogether.org.
| |
Welcome our ELEVATE Concord, Project Manager | |
|
Julia Quintero
We are excited to introduce Julia Quintero, our new Project Manger for ELEVATE Concord. Julia is a recent graduate of Texas State University where she received a Master of Arts in Anthropology. She graduated from California State University, Chico in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. Her research interests and work have focused on immigration on the US-Mexico border, migrant rights, gender studies and advocacy. Her thesis project reconstructed the stories of migrant women who have died or disappeared while crossing the border. She collaborated with the women’s families, both in the US and Mexico, to tell dignified migration stories in an effort to critique inhumane immigration policies.
As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Julia felt it was necessary to highlight and address structural and systemic issues that affect immigrant communities. She is excited to join Monument Impact as the ELEVATE Concord Project Manager and give back to her community. Julia has spent most of her life on the Monument Corridor and knows how impactful a project like this will be for families in the community.
Welcome to Monument Impact!
| |
You're Invited: Stronger Together Gala | |
|
Join us, as we celebrate 22 years of service to the immigrant community of the Monument Corridor and East Contra Costa County! We invite you to join us for Monument Impact’s 6th annual Stronger Together Gala for dinner and an entertainment-filled evening on Sept. 7, 2023, at 6 pm at the Hilton Concord. Get your tickets, donate or become a sponsor!
This is our biggest event of the year, and proceeds help us provide our community with vital programs such as leadership development, housing and tenant protections, health classes, support for emerging businesses, and job training for our community to thrive.
Guests can look forward to musical performances by members of our Day Labor program, members of the Comité Cultural, a performance by our H.O.M.E.S storytelling program and spoken word from our very own Arts & Culture Coordinator, José Cordón. Get your tickets by September 1!
| |
Urge Sen. Glazer to Make Security Deposits Reasonable for Renters | |
|
Use your voice to help families access housing! More than half of California renters are unable to get an apartment because they cannot afford to pay the security deposit. High security deposits are costing families two to three times monthly rent – with some renters paying upwards of $10,000 to move in. This has exacerbated homelessness in Contra Costa County, where homelessness jumped nearly 35% in recent years – the largest spike among Bay Area counties. A new bill, AB 12 (Haney), would limit security deposits to one month's rent.
The Assembly passed the bill, and we thank Assemblymember Timothy Grayson (AD15) for his support – now it’s up to the Senate. Please call or write to Senator Glazer (SD7) and urge him to support AB 12! You can use this call script, letter template, and contact information.
| |
Healthy Community: Monument Moves | |
|
Monument Moves is our physical activity program led by trained community promoters (promotores). Our four certified instructors guide our community through 1-hour workout activities at three parks in Concord. We are a supportive community that promotes lasting friendships as we embark on better versions of ourselves. Join us!
¡Únete al club! Clases de ejercicio en grupo totalmente gratis!
Join the club! Group exercise classes completely free!
| |
Arts & Culture: Hulucinations | |
|
Our ‘Home Offers Me Escape and Safety’ Arts and Culture program, otherwise known as H.O.M.E.S., premiered its second production on Sunday, July 23, 2023. The production titled, Hulucinations, showcased a zany comedy lampooning the atrocities of local government and state housing and immigration policies. H.O.M.E.S launched in the fall of 2021, in collaboration with our former Executive Director, Debra Ballinger, our Special Projects Organizer, José Cordón and Los Medanos College’s Dramatic Arts Department Chair, Nick Garcia. H.O.M.E.S.’ first production, Nosotros, premiered in 2022 and set the tone for powerful storytelling that elevated our community’s lived experiences and the universal need for safe, affordable, and stable housing.
More shows are coming soon! To learn about upcoming performances in Concord and Walnut Creek areas, or opportunities to sponsor a performance, contact Special Projects Organizer, José Cordón at 925-400-7943 or jose@monumentimpact.org.
| |
Newcomers Adapt to a New Culture | |
|
For over eight years, Monument Impact has partnered with Contra Costa County’s Employment and Human Services Department to support limited-English proficient CalWORKs’ participants with limited English proficiency in the process of adapting to a new country. We help refugees build their language and employment readiness skills, with a goal of helping them access job opportunities and financial stability. Over the last two months, the number of referrals to our program has increased by 40%. With 18 new clients from Afghanistan, we currently have 30 active participants.
Jawed Latif, Monument Impact’s Employment Readiness Case Manager, supports each participant with their language and other barriers and works to help them integrate into the local economy as they pursue job opportunities.
Loma Vista Adult Center has been a vital partner in this work, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to our participants. Recently, 26 CalWORKs participants successfully graduated from the ESL class. Additionally,15 have found employment and another participant formalized his business with the support of our Emerging Business Program.
We are so proud of our ESL graduates!
| |
Community Engagement: Antioch Win | |
|
On Tuesday, July 25th, in a 3 to 1 vote, Antioch City Council passed the tenant anti-harassment ordinance! The purpose of this ordinance is to prevent landlords and their representatives from harassing their tenants, to encourage landlords to follow the law and uphold their responsibility to proide habitable rental properties, and to give tenants legal recourse through the adopted ordinance when they are subjected to harassment. A huge win for Antioch families!
The passing of the tenant anti-harassment ordinance makes our goal of two out of three tenant protections to be passed in the city of Antioch! The last being, Just Cause for Eviction that is set to be discussed by Antioch City council this September. Under AB 1482, state tenant protection law, loopholes currently exist, such as landlords using substantial renovations to evict Antioch families just to be able to increase rent on the next tenant. A local just cause for eviction ordinance must be passed in order to close these loopholes while making existing protections a lot stronger.
| |
Stephanie Morris, Antioch resident | |
|
Join Raise the Roof and Policylink’s webinar on Thursday, August 24th at 12 pm to understand why Concord needs Just Cause and Rent Stabilization ordinances, to move beyond the common myths and misinformation around rent stabilization, and advocate for a truly meaningful ordinance that will protect Concord families and residents across the city. This critical conversation is timely as the Concord City Council will be discussing these policies on September 5th. We invite all community stakeholders who want to make Concord an affordable place to live to join our webinar.
REGISTER TODAY
Spread the word! Please use and share this outreach and social media toolkit to invite more community members to join this conversation.
| |
Edith Guillen Recognized by the Chamber of Commerce | |
|
On July 25th, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce awarded Edith Guillen, Monument Impact’s Emerging Business Coordinator, with the Champion Award! The Chamber highlighted her tremendous contributions by helping small businesses apply for ARPA funds, and outreach to businesses to get them involved with the Negocio Hispanos. Edith is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and committee member of the Negocios Hispanos de Concord. She also supported many of the small Latinx-owned businesses impacted by COVID in applying for the City of Concord’s American Recovery Act (ARPA) funding. Six businesses from MI’s Emerging Business Program were awarded ARPA grants of $3,836-$5,000. Edith's extraordinary commitment, work, and dedication have significantly impacted our community.
Congratulations, Edith!
| |
|
Melissa Rea, Concord Chamber of Commerce President
Edith Guillen, Monument Impact Emerging Business Coordinator
| | | | |
