Where it was and its kind of become even better now. Ron it has been, you know. Its hard to believe this, but ive been there now 8 years. Damian wow. Ron and its been a slow, steady progress as weve created new programs, implemented those programs to serve more latino students and their families, all with the mission of trying to get more latino students properly prepared to be successful in high school, and then in college, and out the door of college with a degree, and hopefully a stemrelated degree so we can get them into some of the local high tech jobs where theyre desperately needed to help diversify the workforce. But its been a tremendous 8 years of success and i think it has a lot to do with the fact that we spent a lot of time listening to our community, understanding our needsthe needs of our community, looking for solutions, and then finding partners that can help, you know, bring programs and services to those problem areas. Damian because you know most, if not all, of the
Its our 2step program that basically people can return their overdue items during the month of may to get their late fees cleared. So, they dont have to pay for anything. So, as long as they return their books during the month of may. And its also just to make sure that people feel more welcome to come back to the library and access the programs that they have access to. Damian is that a recurring issue still . I mean, weve been talking about it since you and i were in second grade i think. Elizabeth yeah. I think it has been an issue with a lot of our customers, but since last year when we first implemented our First Program where we had people sign up for our Summer Reading challenge and they had their late fees waved, and weve implemented other programs since then, like our volunteer away your fines program, all those types of programs have been able to welcome a lot of people back. People really do appreciate them, especially those that need access to technology, computers, they ne
We did surveys with our customers, about 150. We also do focus groups, and we did a survey of other nonprofit organizations that serve lowincome people. Damian we dowhile you talk, we do have some video of your agency and the folks you help there. Im sorry, go ahead. Rachel so, we do a lot of direct services, but we also do community organizing. And so, the results of our research showed that one of the big issues facing lowincome people is being able to pay high rents that we all kind of deal with here in santa clara county, especially when you have rather low wages. And so, one of the ways that we try to combat that is that we understand thats an issue about housing policy, and what kinds of housing get built, about how we protect renters, about how we fund Affordable Housing. And so, we do a lot of grassroots organizing in addition to the service work that you see on the screen in order to try to create a more socially just community. Damian did something stick out that you said, wo
Of seek the services there. Talk about why that might be a good target audience for yall. Mohan you know, the consulates really a trusted space. Its where people go from the community to already receive services, but they know they can go there and ask questions. And right now, theres a lot of fear in the community with the threat of deportation or being detained, especially for immigrants, and san jose in particular has a large immigrant community as well as folks throughout santa clara and within the scope of the consulate. So, we wanted to provide services at a place where folks are gonna feel comfortable coming to ask questions. We want to be able to answer questions about what to do to keep their money safe. Some folks are feeling like they need to close their Checking Account, for instance, in case a Family Member gets detained. They wanna make sure they have access to those funds. So, weve been able to help respond to some of those questions and provide resources. Damian so, wha
I remember temecula when it was watermelon country, and i was there working. Butbut im bias toward our vintners in northern california. Weve gotfor our event, we have vintners coming from, of course, napa, sonoma, mendocino, santa cruz. Damian and thats pretty amazing. Youre talking about 8 years of partnerships that you have developed over the years. Ray yes, yes, its a great thing, you know, to have all these vintners. This year, well have around 22 to 24 vintners. Most are latino vintners. We have boutique vintners like joseph george, fortino, guglielmos, testa rossa, and even travieso. Damian and heres some great images that we got off your website of last years event, and you pair these with some great food, and how can you go wrong . Ray oh, the food. And then this year, we have, you know, rudy masons falling off the bone ribs. Damian ha ha ha ha. Ray you know, ronnie lott owns tracy toyota, and every time he has an event there, rudy is from tracy and he does his barbecues for hi