Housing Story:
Being a daughter of immigrant parents, I never knew what it was like to have a space of my own. I always shared a room with my sister or other extended family so that any extra rooms could be sublet in order to make rent. As a kid growing up in Redwood City, that
didn’t matter to me as long as I was near the people I cared about most. My family has lived in Redwood City since their arrival in 1992 from their country of origin but recently had to move due to unaffordability. Fortunately, they have been able to remain not too far from Redwood City, however, that’s not something that a lot of families like mine can say. I returned to the Bay Area after living in the Central Valley where I was paying under $300 in rent. The harsh
reality of housing hit me as I realized that living near your friends and family is no longer easily obtainable in the Bay. The rising cost of living has driven many of our
most vulnerable community members out of what was once their home. I organize to keep
families like mine in their homes and close to family and community.
Bio:
Paola has joined HLC as the newest Organizer! She is from San Mateo County, where she has lived the majority of her life before moving to the Central Valley to pursue Sociology at UC Merced. She joins us with previous student organizing experience where she fought for the rights of professors of color and for the basic needs of the student population. She was able to further her skills and grow her advocacy as an Education Organizer at Rocketship Public Schools, where she organized Rocketship families on issues of educational equity. She is passionate about transforming communities by unleashing the power within our leaders in San Mateo County to build an even larger movement advocating for the civil right of housing.