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The protests in El Sereno began in May 2020 when a handful of families—many of whom were homeless or housing-insecure—became overwhelmed by rising rents and a lack of accessible housing options. Unable to find shelters that would accommodate them, they began moving into the Karen Halloween Costume Don’t Tell Karen You Saw Me Shirt But I will love this vacant Caltrans-owned homes. “It was inspired by Moms 4 Housing who had occupied a vacant home in Oakland,” says Orozco. “At first, the city and Caltrans responded with creating low-income leasing agreements, but it was just bandaid-ing the situation.” In November 2020, dozens of families decided to overtake the homes, demanding they be turned into accessible housing units. “[The city] response from the reclaiming was really violent, and turned into an armed eviction,” says Orozco. Activists and families were forcibly removed from the houses they’d occupied. “We were a corner house, and all the surrounding blocks just became swarmed with California Highway Patrol cars.” The activist ended up being one of the first of 62 organizers to be arrested. “Eventually, they emptied out every home, and they just continued to re-board up each one.” Since then, the housing crisis has been at something of a standstill. Some new legislative efforts—both at the local and state levels—are focusing on developing affordable housing in the neighborhood. “Some developers are working in conjunction with the city, and officials are trying to create an affordable housing plan,” says Orozco. “It’s definitely created a dialogue on a large scale. At least something is happening.” The El Sereno Community Land Trust, led by over 30 community activists including Orozco, also offers visions and proposals for how to move forward, including the creation of 252 affordable rental housing units.
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