 Thousands of Monterey and Santa Cruz County families were forced to evacuate Sunday morning after the Pajaro and Soledad rivers flooded this rural agricultural area. The storms arrived at the beginning of the growing season, just as farmworkers were going back to work and farmers had prepped the land to grow the fruits and vegetables we all enjoy.
The storms left families without a home, without work, and with possible contamination to drinking water facilities. Fields are now full of water, drowning plants, and mud banks. Leaving farmworkers without a job and small farmers on the brink of bankruptcy. The economic impact is long term. It is a decrease in wages and earnings for the entire year, with possible unemployment of six months. This while the region is still trying to recover from the devastating impact of COVID, wildfires, and recent storms. And if you are undocumented, you have no real recourse. In 2020, we launched UndocuFund Monterey Bay and came together to provide $5 million in relief funds to families, many with young children. In doing so, we proved that cash works. UndocuFund Monterey Bay provided unrestricted cash, minimized barriers, limited paperwork, and trusted families to take care of their needs. And it worked! And while we are ready to step in again and be a trusted partner in philanthropic distributions, we also believe that it is time for the State and our local government to learn from our models and implement what we learned. We cannot have a meaningful regional recovery and resilience if we leave our undocumented families out - families that feed us and have lived in the region on average of 10 years. Including undocumented families in federally and state funded safety net programs is the only way forward. For example, California can ensure that all workers receive unemployment benefits through the Safety Net for All Workers Act (SB 277). These changes would provide support and recognize undocumented immigrants’ contribution of over $3 billion in taxes and an estimated $485 million to the Unemployment Insurance system (Public Policy in California). I invite you to reach out to your representatives and ask for inclusive recovery funds. In solidarity, Maria Cadenas, MBA Executive Director, Ventures
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By Kayla Gomez
Hi everyone! My name is Kayla Gomez, and I am a Program Coordinator with Ventures. You might remember me from my time as an intern in 2021 when I started working with Ventures trying to paint a picture of our local government in SC county. I was really excited to work on this project, “A Santa Cruz Like Me,” which was in part inspired by a bill introduced at the state level called “A California Like Me.” In analyzing the data, I was especially surprised to find that even though our County is made up of 35% Latino population, there were only 16% of representatives who identify as so. My hope was that identifying and recognizing these kinds of variances could help the County move toward a more representative Santa Cruz. Fortunately, all the recommendations in our report, including encouraging cities to conduct a similar study, were adopted by the County Board of Supervisors in 2021. I am so honored to be see this effort have such an impact. I also just learned that the state is taking on the state bill again (SB 1387) and I am excited at the opportunities to identify ways to ensure a more representative government throughout California. This process at the local level has been so insightful and it inspires me to see these efforts moving forward at the state level. I would love to do it in other communities so that we can continue to identify existing gaps so we can work together to close them. Stay tuned because our report for the City of Santa Cruz is coming soon! If you would like to read our 2021 report, “A Santa Cruz Like Me” you can visit our website sccvonline.org You can read more about SB 1387 “A California Like Me” by visiting leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. By Chayla Fisher
Building financial literacy is essential to closing the wealth gap, but it is not a solution on its own. Financial literacy needs to be met with systemic changes that create new financial systems that don’t discriminate based on the color of ones’ skin. This means that, in addition to teaching how to budget and build credit, we need to activate and strengthen the economic and political power of families. Our communities have power, they have a voice. Financial CAPABILITY allows them to utilize that power to start to build the economy they wish to see. In 2016, 27% of Santa Cruz residents (66% white identified) and 50% of Watsonville (81% Latine identified) residents were unbanked or underbanked. Rent in Santa Cruz County is 55% higher than the national average, preventing savings and wealth accumulation. To add to that, Latinas only make $0.42 to the dollar of white males. All these factors cause rural communities in the Monterey Region to have some of the highest unbanked households, highest income gaps, and highest predatory lenders. That is where Ventures fits in -- Ventures partners with rural Latino working-class families in California’s Central Coast to ensure a shared and equitable economic future for all. Our transformational programs make certain that individuals understand and use their economic and political power. From building their savings to advocating for a living wage, our approach builds community and connects financial stability, wealth building, and self-determination. Our work creates dignity by recognizing, acknowledging, and valuing our community members’ leadership in making change happen. Together, we are working towards a shared and prosperous economic future where zip code, race, gender, or immigration status do not dictate income or wealth. The Financial Literacy Gap can be closed with community movements that change our economic models. Creating systems where everyone belongs and benefits will allow us to move towards a prosperous and shared economic future for all. To learn more about the work Ventures does within our community, visit sccvonline.org. Hola comunidad.
My name is Kayla Gomez and I am a student at UCSC currently working on a project to collect the demographic information of our elected officials by conducting a census. At the start of my work with SCCV, we thought it would be interesting to look at the makeup of our elected bodies. After calling both Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, their staff informed me that this data is not available and suggested that I should search the internet to find these answers. If I want to understand, I will have to either dig deep and search through various sites-- possibly even order lists from the elections office for a fee. As much as I love an opportunity to practice my open source research skills, this would not be the most effective way to go about it. As entrepreneur and co-chair of the Kapor Center, Mitch Kapor put it, “Getting information off the internet is like taking a drink from a firehose.” I share this quote because it reminds me of the overwhelming amount of unorganized information available online. When it comes to who is representing us, this information should be available and easily accessible since most of our community members don’t have hours upon hours to spend searching for bits of information. The policies our local leaders form and vote on directly affect our communities so it is important that these leaders do in fact reflect the diversity of our county. In partnership with Santa Cruz Community Ventures, I hope to conduct a census that will help us gather data on the demographics of our current leaders within the Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. If we had demographic data for our boards, councils and commissions, it could help us identify any gaps and we could work together to ensure that we move toward filling these gaps. With that said, I will be keeping you all up to date throughout this process by writing blog posts with updates. Kayla Gomez, SCCV Team Member My name is Luis Adrian Manzo, I grew up in Monterey County. I was first exposed to non-profit and community-based work when I was in high school. I was fortunate enough to meet amazing leaders in my community as well as expose myself to some of the great work they have done and continue to do. Since then it has always been my desire to return to my community and be a mentor for the next generation of leaders. Through my work with Community Ventures I hope to be able to give the tools necessary for residents in Santa Cruz County and its neighboring counties to feel empowered to fight for their future.
By Marco Aguilar, Financial Capability Lead I am a first-generation college graduate who comes from immigrant parents from Nayarit, Mexico and I am the oldest of three. My parents taught me the importance of my roots never forgetting who I am and where I come from which has shaped my passion for Latinx empowerment. I first moved up to Santa Cruz to start school at UC Santa Cruz and I graduated with a degree in Spanish Studies with a concentration in Language and Linguistics. I spent some time living in Mexico to pursue a dental degree I was not able to finish it due to the financial hardship my family was going through at the time, so I decided to come back to the US. So, I know of the challenges that some may face in trying to pursue higher education. During my time at UC Santa Cruz, I was part of an organization called Hermanos Unidos where I served as fundraising chair which gave me the opportunity to be helped and help others in the journey that is graduating college. I am happy to have the opportunity to be able to share my story with other people and help future generations find a path to success as well as provide the tools needed to get there. I have experience in management since I was a General Manager at Panda Express after graduating from UC Santa Cruz. I decided to work for a non-profit because I wanted to find ways in which my career could involve helping Latinx community here in Santa Cruz county as well as being able to be a resource to people in this community. I am excited to be part of this team and look forward to the great things that we can accomplish together. By Haven Shannon, Program Associate
This week, we hosted a community conversation on Predatory Lending. After a welcome from Watsonville’s City Manager, Matt Huffaker, Professor Heather Bullock from UC Santa Cruz’s Blum Center presented to the audience the findings of Mamas con Mas, a report that identified that the City of Watsonville had almost three times the number of predatory lenders as compared to the City of Santa Cruz. Maria Cadenas, Executive Director of Santa Cruz Community Ventures (SCCV), shared SCCV’s recommendations to address predatory lending in Watsonville, including:
Those present then discussed barriers facing the community, their vision for the future of Watsonville, and suggestions of what could be explored to address the issue. Some of the community recommendations included:
Some of those present included: City Councilmen Aurelio Gonzalez and Lowell Hurst, Carmen Mansir Herrera of El Pajaro CDC, Erwin Reeves, Community Affairs Regional Manager at the FDIC, as well as leaders of organizations such as Salud Para la Gente, Mid-Pen Housing, Opportunity Fund, Families in Transition, First5 Santa Cruz, FoodWhat?!, Community Foundation of Monterey County, and Health Improvement Partnership of Santa Cruz County. Por Brando Sencion, Coordinador del programa
Hay muchas formas de generar crédito: una tarjeta de crédito, una tarjeta asegurada y préstamos pequeños. Estos son los tipos de productos de creación de crédito más utilizados por los consumidores. Pero a medida que comienza su viaje de crédito, es importante evitar los productos de crédito con tasas de interés extremadamente altas. Según WalletHub, la tasa de interés promedio de la tarjeta de crédito es del 19.24% para las nuevas ofertas, y la tasa promedio de las tarjetas de crédito aseguradas es del 18.81%. ¡Pero algunas tarjetas de crédito tienen tasas de interés de hasta el 28%! Lo cual puede ser peligroso para los usuarios de crédito por primera vez. Especialmente para jóvenes o nuevos clientes con conocimiento o experiencia limitada con crédito. A menudo, las compañías de tarjetas de crédito cobran altas tasas de interés a los usuarios de tarjetas de crédito por primera vez debido a su falta de historial crediticio. Lo cual es común, pero algunas compañías de crédito crean productos específicamente para aquellos con conocimiento limitado y acceso a buenos productos de crédito. Estas compañías facilitan que los consumidores obtengan crédito y, a menudo, carecen de transparencia sobre el costo real de la tarjeta. Lo que hace que este tipo de tarjetas de crédito o líneas de crédito sean depredadoras por naturaleza. Asegúrese de tomarse el tiempo para comprender el producto o servicio que está obteniendo para construir su crédito. En el lado positivo, hay productos que buscan ayudarlo a construir crédito. Por ejemplo, Amazon se ha asociado con Synchrony Financial para lanzar "Amazon Store Credit Builder", un programa que prestará a los compradores de Amazon sin historial crediticio o mal crédito. La tarjeta estará disponible para residentes de EE. UU. Mayores de 18 años con un número de seguro social válido o ITIN, y solo se puede usar para compras en Amazon.com. Se espera que Amazon Store Credit Card Builder sea una "tarjeta asegurada" con un límite de crédito de hasta $ 1,000. La tarjeta se considera segura porque se espera que los clientes depositen un anticipo para su límite de crédito. El depósito es reembolsable una vez que la tarjeta de crédito se haya pagado por completo y desee cerrar la cuenta, o si desea actualizar a su tarjeta tradicional de Amazon Store. Además de las compañías de tarjetas de crédito o los bancos, algunas organizaciones sin fines de lucro ofrecen programas de creación de crédito. En SCCV, CreditBound, un vehículo de creación de crédito para jóvenes (18-25 años) combina una plataforma en línea con educación crediticia en persona. El programa ofrece a los jóvenes que ingresan a la fuerza laboral la oportunidad de obtener crédito en un entorno seguro y controlado, junto con educación financiera para aumentar el conocimiento y el acceso al bienestar financiero. Por Brando Sencion, Coordinador del programa
Recientemente he estado recibiendo múltiples llamadas telefónicas que amenazan con "suspender" mi número de Seguro Social debido a actividades ilegales o impuestos no pagados al IRS. También les pregunté a collages y miembros de la comunidad si habían recibido estas llamadas, y lo hicieron. ¡Cuidado, estas llamadas son una estafa! El propósito de estas llamadas es obtener información personal sobre usted o engañarlo para que les dé dinero. En cada situación, el objetivo principal de la persona que llama es dañarlo financieramente. Al obtener su información personal, el estafador puede usar esa información para robar su identidad. Con su información, esa persona puede solicitar un crédito a su nombre, abrir cuentas o buscar atención médica. Estas llamadas también se conocen como phishing. La suplantación de identidad es la práctica fraudulenta de enviar correos electrónicos o llamadas telefónicas que actúan para ser de una empresa u organización acreditada con el fin de convencer a las personas a revelar información personal, como contraseñas, números de seguro social o números de tarjetas de crédito. Una cosa a tener en cuenta es que el IRS o la Oficina del Seguro Social generalmente (aunque no siempre) se comunicarán con usted enviándole una carta. Es posible realizar una llamada telefónica, pero las agencias gubernamentales tienden a comunicarse primero con usted por correo. También es importante tener en cuenta que si la persona que está al otro lado del teléfono amenaza con arrestarte o enviar a la policía a tu casa, es muy probable que sea una estafa. Ese tipo de amenazas son ilegales y no serían realizadas por un empleado del gobierno. Según el sitio web del IRS, el IRS no:
Si ha sido víctima de una de estas llamadas telefónicas, consulte IdentityTheft.gov o IRS.gov (consulte a continuación) para obtener recursos. Otro paso proactivo que puede tomar es verificar su informe de crédito de forma gratuita en AnnualCreditReport.com, que le permite verificar su informe de las tres agencias de crédito cada 12 meses. Por Brando Sencion, Coordinador del programa
Según el Silicon Valley Business Journal, en 2012 había 3,3 millones de empresas de propiedad latina en los Estados Unidos, que crecieron un 46% desde 2007. En contraste, las empresas de propiedad blanca disminuyeron un 6% en el mismo período de tiempo. La propiedad de negocios latinos lidera la nación en crecimiento para la propiedad de negocios, pero aún enfrentan muchas barreras financieras. Una barrera común es el acceso a préstamos bancarios. Un estudio de 2018 realizado por Stanford Graduate School Business descubrió que los propietarios de negocios latinos dependen del financiamiento informal y están sujetos a un mayor riesgo financiero debido a la baja calificación crediticia y al historial crediticio limitado. Los resultados de estas circunstancias son que los dueños de negocios latinos tienen más probabilidades de tener acceso limitado a préstamos bancarios tradicionales y están sujetos a altas tasas de interés. La barrera para acceder a los préstamos bancarios tradicionales puede llevar a los propietarios de negocios latinos a acceder a fondos rápidos y fáciles de servicios de préstamos alternativos. Más que a menudo, los servicios de préstamos alternativos pueden imponer condiciones de préstamo injustas y abusivas para el préstamo, que son préstamos predatorios. Estos tipos de préstamos tienden a ser a corto plazo, fáciles de obtener, implican tarifas como multas por pago anticipado y consisten en términos y precios poco claros. Aquí hay 3 signos comunes de un posible préstamo predatorio:
Encuentra más señales de advertencia aquí. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/gsb/files/publication-pdf/slei-report-2018-latino-owned-businesses-shinging-light-national-trends.pdf https://us.accion.org/resource/what-predatory-lending/ |
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