LA-MAS INC
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Mission Statement
LA Más is a community organization building collective power in Northeast Los Angeles to promote neighborhood stability and economic resilience for working class communities of color. With community at the front and center, LA Más is working toward a regenerative Northeast Los Angeles that honors our connections with one another, reconciles our extractive relationship to land, and allows everyone a life of dignity.
About This Cause
Why + Who Our current system of racial capitalism prioritizes individual benefit over collective well-being, extracts and hoards resources, and exploits and excludes working class people of color. We see this in the gentrifying neighborhoods of Northeast Los Angeles, where communities of color who were historically pushed into underresourced parts of the city are now being pushed out by profit-minded development. We see this in a housing market that views ‘home’ as a commodity to be attained by individuals rather than a basic need stewarded by communities. We see this in our mainstream economy that exploits essential food, care and manual labor to build wealth for a few individuals. These systems were not designed to support the livelihood and dignity of working class people of color, and yet our communities have long demonstrated creative resilience and resistance in ways that honor cooperation and care. We center, collaborate with, and follow the leadership of these communities – folks who are pushed into vulnerable situations as they navigate the margins of society. In Northeast Los Angeles, this includes working class people of color, immigrants, undocumented neighbors, renters, and multigenerational households. We primarily work in the neighborhoods of Elysian Valley, Glassell Park, Cypress Park, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights and Montecito Heights. Our Programs 1) Regenerative Economies - We invest in local economies that center cooperation and care to build community wealth. Working-class communities of color demonstrate everyday what a cooperative economy looks like by prioritizing collective well-being over individual benefit within our households and neighborhoods. We uplift these cultural practices to imagine a regenerative, non-extractive economy that redefines our relationship to land, labor and value. By working with mutual aid efforts and community serving entrepreneurs, we plant seeds for creative, culturally resonant exchanges that build an alternative to capitalism by honoring the dignity of workers and their economic stability while also encouraging collective wealth-building. From individual mutual aid into community systems | We support grassroot mutual aid workers in shaping community systems that enable collaboration and healing. Investment in community-serving entrepreneurs | We support local entrepreneurs in being part of an ecosystem that honors their story and talents. Community exchanges | We facilitate regular ‘tianguis’ or market exchanges of goods and services, where residents can trade between themselves and share in abundance. 2) Resident-led housing - We create and preserve housing that is affordable, stable and powered by tenants. When communities have self-determination over where and how they live, they can create the environments they need to thrive. We support tenant autonomy and collective stewardship to stabilize housing and challenge the market forces driving displacement. Capacity-sharing | We share technical housing knowledge with grassroots community groups who are already organized around tenants’ rights and housing justice. Financing + Acquisitions | We identify financing pathways and/or take the lead on acquiring properties that can be taken off the speculative market for community stewardship. 3) Community Tending - We connect with our neighbors to nourish our relationships to each other and land. Building collective power starts with building community through trust, connection and a sense of belonging. As we work with our community on issues impacting our neighborhoods and city, we recognize the need to deepen connectedness to one another, to place, and to land. Community Solidarity | We host a monthly learning and action space with dialogue and trainings related to housing, cooperatives, worker power and neighborhood resources. Community Building | We host monthly social and cultural gatherings that invite residents to explore natural spaces and celebrate the diversity of their neighbors.