Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors Votes to Create Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice

On October 27, the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the creation of an official Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice (ORESJ). This Office will enact and sustain principles, policies, practices, and investments that are racially just and equitable across all County departments and divisions.

Monument Impact and our allies the Contra Costa Immigrant Rights Alliance, alongside many other allies and community members, were in attendance for this long-awaited vote. A number of supervisors objected to the words "white supremacy" in a report that detailed an extensive community engagement process with over 400 residents participating in listening sessions and 2,600 people completing a survey. After pushback from community members, the dissenting supervisors agreed to the use of "white supremacy" defined as the social, economic, and political conditions giving white people advantage and the vote finally moved forward.

Next, the county will look to hire two co-directors for the department: one to focus on coordinating and expanding the equity work of county departments and one to focus on working more directly with the community. 

This is a step in the right direction for Contra Costa County. Congratulations to the community and organizers of this important work! We look forward to engaging with ORESJ in the future. 

Image: The community engagement process for the development of the Office of Racial Equity and Social Justice

Antioch Celebrates Rent Stabilization

On October 18, Antioch tenants, allies and city council members came together to celebrate the passage of its rent stabilization ordinance! Special thanks to our allies and partners including Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), First Five Contra Costa’s East County Regional Group, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (an initiative of EBASE), Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County, Tenants Together, and the Raise the Roof Coalition for joining us in this important fight toward housing justice. 

Together, we fought for an adequate roll-back date of August 23 and a definition of “housing services,” so that landlords wouldn’t rush to raise rents, and so that if your lease includes items like laundry facilities, hot and cold water, garbage removal, janitorial services, and parking, for example, landlords have to provide what they say they’ll provide.

Down the road, we will continue to focus on strengthening housing protections in Antioch through “just cause” eviction protections and cracking down on harassment of tenants by landlords. 

Our next registration fair will take place Monday, October 31 from 12 to 2:30 PM at our Antioch office located at 3501 Lone Tree Way #3. 

See our flyer below for more details.

Find out more about eligibility here. If you have questions or are unsure about your eligibility, please contact us at (925) 682-8248 ext. 2400.

After working in the construction industry for several years, Marvin Saravia decided to leave his job after he felt that he was not being fairly compensated for his work.

He started working independently, but knew he could increase his prospects by starting a formal business. Although he wasn’t sure where to start, he joined our Emerging Business program, and by May 2019, was able to establish All Services Handyman.

Unfortunately, during the pandemic his work slowed down. Later in September 2021, his truck was broken into and his tools and equipment were stolen.

During this difficult time, he received a follow-up call from Monument Impact to check in on how his business was doing, in which he shared the challenges he was facing. To his surprise, he learned he was eligible to apply for a small business grant from Monument Impact and was awarded $1,500. 

“I felt everything I worked for was lost and considered closing my business until I received the call from Monument impact. I cannot express how much the help I received saved my business” - Marvin Saravia

Today, Marvin’s business is thriving, and his revenue has increased by 50%. In addition, he signed up for our computer classes to help with the administrative functions of his business, and he enrolled in school to achieve his contractor’s license by Spring 2023.

Congratulations, Marvin! 

You can contact All Services Handyman at (925) 705-3731.

Committed to advancing health and promoting wellness, Jamie Elmasu holds 17 years of community health experience that stem from working with a variety of community-based nonprofit organizations, hospitals, clinics and education systems. 

Jamie currently serves as the Director of Community Health Improvement at John Muir Health, where she applies equity-focused principles to develop and implement community programs that address social determinants of health. 

She currently leads programming with 45 nonprofit partners from across Contra Costa and Alameda Counties, which focus on health care access, mental health, housing, food security $and community resiliency. 



Monument Impact has partnered with John Muir Health since 2012, so we are so excited to have Jamie join us!

Please welcome Jamie as the newest member of our board of directors!