June 19, 2002
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
News
Self Sufficiency: 'Ruth,' who has been serving for the past two years at Willow Glen's Low-Income Self Help Center as a member of its board of directors, has worked hard to decorate its offices with a self-sufficiency theme. By I-chun Che On a hot summer afternoon, a Spanish-speaking woman walked into the Low-Income Self-Help Center on 525 W. Alma St., asking for help. She had a 3-month-old baby and her husband had been laid off. A staff member at the center patiently explained in Spanish the benefits she qualified for and helped her fill out the necessary application forms to receive food stamps and welfare assistance. People come to the Willow Glen center every day for help, information or just to talk about their dire and urgent needs. "What's so special about our low-income self-help center is that it is run by mostly low-income people," said Peggy Elwell, one of the center's founders. Just like the people they serve, most of the center's 11 board directors are homeless, working poor or living on benefits. Some are reluctant to tell their stories because they feel ashamed of their situations or because their struggles are too painful to discuss. The staff members come from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and can provide service in English, Spanish and Tigrinya. Elwell, 52, said that she and other center founders began to plan for a grassroots organization in October 1997. They wanted to unite and mobilize other low-income people to improve their lives by helping one another. In 1998, they rented an abandoned building on Alma Street from the Santa Clara Valley Water District. They refurbished it and have used it as an office ever since. "The center is a place for people to come on behalf of their individual needs and collective interests," Elwell said. One board member, who wished to be identified only by her first name, Ruth, joined the center when she was invited to decorate its office. The posters Ruth selected to put on the walls fully communicate the center's belief in self-sufficiency. One is a copy of the poster "Rosie the Riveter" from World War II, which features the slogan, "We Can Do It" at the top and a portrait of a determined-looking woman who rolls up her sleeves to show her arms. "Our goal is to improve life for low-income people, based on self-empowerment through involvement and sharing of information and support," Ruth said. The center has conducted a series of workshops since 1998, raising awareness of tenants' rights and giving people tips on finding a home to rent. A recent workshop taught people how to write a rental resume. "Prospective landlords in Silicon Valley are inundated with applicants," Elwell said. "For every rental that is available, there could be anywhere from 30 to 60 well-qualified people desperate for a place." Elwell said that a rental resume should include a family picture, a short autobiography, application forms, a credit report and reference letters from co-workers, former landlords or neighbors. She suggested that a nice finishing touch is to place everything in a folder or report cover. "A rental resume can get you noticed," Elwell said, "It can help a landlord see you as a person rather than as just another piece of paper." Besides housing information, the center offers information about immigration law, health care and welfare assistance. Visitors can also use the center's computers, fax machine and telephones to look for jobs or places to live. 
Resources: Information brochures at the Low-Income Self-Help Center help its clients find needed services such as housing, child care and protection from abuse. The center is not only a service organization but also an advocacy group. It has cooperated with other organizations to mobilize demonstrations supporting tenants' rights and extremely low-income housing. "We are still fighting for better protection for tenants, including a just-cause eviction ordinance in San Jose," said Katherine Bock, 64, one of the founders and board directors. "This is part of our fight for affordable housing for all." According to the law, San Jose landlords are entitled to give tenants 30-day eviction notices without any reason. The center has tried to replace it with a just-cause eviction law, which will protect renters from being unfairly evicted by landlords who want to jack up rents. The just-cause eviction law will also give special protections to the elderly, disabled and terminally ill, and ensure that landlords can only evict for a good reason, such as property damage or failure to pay rent. Partly through the efforts of a broad coalition of community, labor and religious organizations, the San Jose city and Santa Clara County governments have become more aware of the housing problems in Silicon Valley and have been seeking solutions, according to Bock. The center has helped numerous people over the years. Many people who have received help just come and go. But some of them stay and help the center grow. Barbara Kuhn, 60, has volunteered to offer technical support for the center since she joined a housing workshop last September. Kuhn has been looking for jobs since she was laid off by a computer company in 1999. She has tried creating many types of resumes and has made endless telephone calls to schedule appointments but has rarely received a response. Although prospective employers have simply said that she doesn't meet the requirements, Barbara feels it is apparent that most employers prefer younger people and that her gaps in employment are another factor. Constant rejections by potential employers and the hardships of homelessness have exacerbated her depression and mood swings and increased her feelings of hopelessness. She is suffering from insomnia and depression and is currently on long-term medication. "The center used to be a place I did Internet job searching, faxed resumes and used telephones," Kuhn said. "But now it is a place for me to talk to friends." For more information about the Low-Income Self-Help Center, 525 W. Alma St., call 408-977.1275. |
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