December 27, 2011
Dear Friends,
In our last newsletter, we told you about four tenants who live on Menlo Avenue here in South LA. At that time, they had just been victorious in their attempt to secure relocation benefits from the City.
The victory was short, however. A few days later, the landlord tried to take that away.
Two weeks ago, these four elderly tenants were notified of a lawsuit when the owner of their building changed the locks and served them with a notice to leave the building – after calling in reinforcement of five police cars and police helicopters that flew overhead. If not for the swift action of SAJE organizers and community attorneys, all four tenants would have been left homeless that day.
Captoria, Willie, Clifford, and Donald are continuing to fight to receive the benefits they deserve. SAJE will work with them to make that happen.
As long as existing affordable housing is run into the ground and flipped for profit, or gets fixed up and rented only to students, poor people lose and displacement and homelessness increase. We’re not letting that happen in our community.
People like Captoria, Willie, Clifford, and Donald are the reason I do the work that I do, and they’re the reason that SAJE exists. With your help, SAJE will ensure that the Menlo 4—and all tenants in Los Angeles—are treated with the dignity and respect that they deserve.
