Our sights are set on LA City Hall, and beyond.
Yesterday, Abundant Housing LA welcomed more than 40 members from across the city to AHLA in 2020: Plans and Strategy General Meeting, a night of introductions, ideas, and new beginnings. The unseasonably warm night gave AHLA’s new staff and its best friends and supporters a chance to mingle under the stars and welcome a new year of big plans in the fight for more and better housing in LA.
Leonora & Anthony & Rod & Esteban
Our big news this month: the Abundant Housing LA office has gone from a staff of one to one of four. This meeting was primarily a chance for our members and volunteers to hear from Anthony, Rod, and Esteban, who join Leonora as full-time staff dedicated to deepening, broadening, and amplifying the organization’s reach and presence across LA. Standing on a wooden bench to be seen and heard across the crowd, each team member spoke, offering insight into what this organization has in store for this pivotal year in the life of LA.
Anthony Dedousis, a long-time volunteer for AHLA, shared his priorities for his new role as Research and Policy Director, offering attendees a glimpse into our roadmap forward in the policy landscape of a changing LA.
[SHOW_BLOG_SIGNUP title=”I Support LA Housing…” subtitle=”Keep me informed about housing in LA and how I can help.”]
Roderick Hall, Director of Organizing and a new Angeleno, spoke of his plans to speak truth to power. In our massive city with a long history of discriminatory policies and exclusionary governance, Rod is here to make sure that Abundant Housing LA is faithful to the diversity of Los Angeles, and to bring the fight for housing for all people to the most local of governments.
And Esteban García, Communications Manager and recently returned LA native, shared his plans and hopes for a communications operation that sounds our alarm on the housing crisis in every corner of our vast and multicultural city. Next up: ¡AHLA en español!
From Sacramento to City Hall to AHLA’s general meeting
In the words of our friend, supporter, and long-time member Nick Burns: “LA’s a big city but DTLA is a small town.” With AHLA’s general meeting fully underway, some members caught a glimpse of president pro tempore of the California Senate and leading candidate in the race for LA City Council district 14 Kevin de León taking to the stage feet away.
California State Senate president pro tem Kevin de León came over to speak to AHLA.
After addressing a crowd of his supporters, de León made his way over to AHLA in 2020. Taking to the same wooden bench, he offered up an impromptu speech. He pointed to the irony of the housing crisis that overwhelms LA. “In one of the richest cities in clearly the wealthiest state in the wealthiest nation in the world, we have so many people who are living on the streets today,” he said.
Abundant Housing LA does not endorse political candidates, but we’re here to make sure that in a city and state where a crushing housing crisis is here, now, and worse than ever, housing is at the top of everyone’s agenda. From Twitter to the pages of the LA Times to the patio at Angel City Brewery, we’re getting it done.
Steps Forward
Energized by the night, AHLA is ready to shift into full gear. With Anthony’s arrival in the next week, the full team will be in place and ready to implement its initiatives, armed with more policy analysis, organizing prowess, and communications capacity than ever before.
If you missed this fantastic night, no worries! Sign up for our weekly newsletter here and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to ensure that you don’t miss any of our upcoming events and your chance to shape a future of abundant housing for LA.
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