TENANTS EMPOWERING TENANTS

By Briana Méndez-Padilla

Mayra Fernanda García-Cortez was home alone when she heard the knock.

There was something posted on the screen door of the apartment she had been living in since she was a little girl.

García’s heart sank as she read it.

A 60-day notice to vacate the premises.

A few months prior to this jolting announcement, García-Cortez and her family were struggling with a rat and roach infestation in their apartment–most likely stemming from their recently-moved neighbor’s unkempt apartment.

When nothing was done to resolve it after submitting multiple complaints, García-Cortez and her family took matters into their own hands and called code enforcement.

After finding multiple health code violations, code enforcement fined the apartment management and demanded they fumigate the unit. It took two visits from code enforcement for management to listen.

As renters, García-Cortez and her family were within their rights to call code enforcement to ensure their concerns were addressed and their health was not put at risk.

The 60-day notice, however, seemed to García-Cortez like a clear repercussion for doing so.

“They were trying to use substantial remodeling as a tactic to evict us from our unit as a form of retaliation for calling code enforcement on them,” García-Cortez said.

After getting in touch with local tenant advocacy group, Long Beach Residents Empowered (LIBRE), García-Cortez and her family were informed that the document they received was not a legal eviction notice and that the owner had no basis to kick them out.

Before LIBRE, they were ready to self-evict - thinking it was their only option- García-Cortez and her family were then able to advocate for themselves and keep their apartment.

Communications director Sylvana Uribe defines LIBRE as a “rent advocacy group that works with renters and helps them advocate for themselves against tenant harassment, unsafe living conditions and unjust evictions.”

Inspired by her experience, García-Cortez is now an organizer and leader at LIBRE and she is determined to make sure other tenants are aware of their rights and well-equipped to fight back.

“My mom and I continued to volunteer for the organization with the thought that we wanted to prevent as much displacement as possible within the city and make sure that something like what happened to us doesn’t happen to others,” García-Cortez said.

The organization is divided into different campaigns. GarcíaCortez’s organizing work falls under Neighborhood Tenant Organizing. Through this campaign, LIBRE can connect directly with tenants who reach out to them about issues such as harassment and evictions.

This particular branch of LIBRE also hosts monthly tenant council meetings which serve as workshops to teach tenants their rights. They also offer a space for them to share their experiences and help one another.

According to Uribe, around 20 people attend per meeting.

“That’s what we want to see, [for] folks to take ownership of the space, but also build this solidarity, where they’re able to build community with one another,” Uribe said.

For people who want to stay involved in the fight for tenant protection, LIBRE offers Leadership Academies. There, they learn about different organizing tools such as how to canvas or door knock and how to speak to other neighbors and elected officials. The past academy had about 20 graduates and will return this spring.

LIBRE also seeks to equip tenants with the skills to advocate for themselves at a larger policy level. As communications director, Uribe works directly with tenants to prepare them to speak at city council meetings and with the press. She also helps define and simplify the complicated jargon-filled documents tenants have to deal with.

A current policy-level campaign of LIBRE’s involves advocating for funding from the city for the right to counsel. This campaign would connect people to cost-free legal assistance–especially given the anticipated wave of evictions as COVID-19 protections come to end on March 31.

García-Cortez said that LIBRE has been tirelessly working towards pushing the city to adopt permanent protections, because without them, people who owe rent or are not on the lease, suffer the risk of being evicted.

“It’s not going to be an eviction wave anymore. It’s going to be an eviction tsunami,” García Cortez said.

Through their Stay Housed Long Beach campaign, LIBRE has partnered up with the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles. However, as Uribe mentioned, a lot of lawyers they are working with are at capacity.

“That’s something we want to advocate for, more funding so that we can increase that capacity and connect people with legal help because the chances of someone staying in their home when they have access to legal services is a lot higher,” Uribe said.

Despite the strides and impact LIBRE has made in the community, the limited amount of staff and resources such as funding makes it difficult for change to be made at as large a scale as Uribe and García-Cortez would like.

“One thing that we have to ground ourselves in is that we can’t win every single case,” Uribe said.

They are also only currently able to offer resources in English or Spanish but Uribe said they would love to expand to offering them in Tagalog and Khmer to be better accessible to Long Beach’s culturally diverse community.

Regardless, Uribe is confident in LIBRE’s ever-growing state. She said the organization is in a constant state of rebuilding to become the best it can be.

“Right now, we are one of the few organizations that are solely focused on renter protections,” Uribe said, adding that understanding the communities one is serving is crucial to recreating something like what LIBRE offers.

“It’s emotionally difficult, but that itself is very rewarding,” GarcíaCortez said.