Just Communities Central Coast

JUST COMMUNITIES CENTRAL COAST ADVANCES JUSTICE BY BUILDING LEADERSHIP, FOSTERING CHANGE, AND DISMANTLING ALL FORMS OF PREJUDICE, DISCRIMINATION AND OPPRESSION.

BASED ON MULTIPLE FACTORS, INCLUDING INSUFFICIENT FUNDING, STRUCTURAL DEFICITS AND CHANGES IN THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT, JUST COMMUNITIES CENTRAL COAST (JCCC)S STAFF AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAVE DECIDED, WITH A VERY HEAVY HEART, TO CLOSE THE ORGANIZATION EFFECTIVE AUGUST 31, 2022. MORE THAN TWENTY YEARS AGO, JCCC EMERGED AS ONE OF THE LEADING SOCIAL JUSTICE ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR TRI-COUNTY REGION AND WE ARE EXCEEDINGLY PROUD OF OUR IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF EDUCATION JUSTICE AND LANGUAGE JUSTICE. IN COLLABORATION WITH YOUTH, FAMILIES, EDUCATORS AND MANY OTHER LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS, JCCC WORKED TIRELESSLY TO HELP CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT AND OPPORTUNITY GAPS AND INEQUALITIES THROUGHOUT THE AREAS WE SERVED, PARTICULARLY IN THE SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (SB UNIFIED). THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS, TEACHERS, STAFF, AND ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS BENEFITED FROM JCCC-LED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES ON IMPLICIT BIAS, RACISM, SEXISM, HETEROSEXISM, CLASS PRIVILEGE, AND OTHER FORMS OF OPPRESSION AND INJUSTICE. JCCCS YOUTH PROGRAMMING HAS LEFT A LASTING IMPACT ON A GENERATION OF CENTRAL COAST STUDENTS WHO HAVE GONE ON TO BECOME CURRENT AND FUTURE LEADERS FOR INCLUSIVE AND EQUITABLE CHANGE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THE VIRUS OUTBREAK BROUGHT IMMENSE LOSS, ANXIETY AND UNCERTAINTY TO OUR COMMUNITY, PARTICULARLY TO THE MOST SYSTEMATICALLY MARGINALIZED MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY. JCCC PIVOTED AWAY FROM IN-PERSON TO VIRTUAL PROGRAMMING IN ORDER TO CONTINUE SERVING OUR MISSION. THIS SIGNIFICANT ADAPTATION PRODUCED DEBILITATING LIMITATIONS TO JCCCS CORE STRENGTHS: WORKSHOPS, CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. DESPITE MANY EFFORTS MADE BY STAFF AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, WE COULD NOT ESTABLISH THE SUSTAINABLE STRUCTURAL FOOTING NEEDED TO CONTINUE TO DELIVER ON OUR VISION OF CO-CREATING AN EQUITABLE AND INCLUSIVE CENTRAL COAST WHERE ALL PEOPLE ARE CONNECTED, RESPECTED, AND VALUED. WE CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH HOW INCREDIBLY SAD WE ARE TO SUNSET OUR ORGANIZATION. IN THESE TIMES, WITH OUR HEARTS HEAVY FROM SHOOTINGS IN BUFFALO, ORANGE COUNTY, AND UVALDE, ONE MAY REASONABLY WONDER, WHEN WILL THINGS GET BETTER? WHEN WILL THIS PHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL VIOLENCE END? WHEN WILL OUR COMMUNITIES FINALLY BE JUST? THESE QUESTIONS ARE WITHOUT EASY ANSWERS, BUT WHEN WE TAKE A LONG HISTORICAL VIEW, FROM OUT OF THE ASHES, WE SEE NEW LIFE HAS ALWAYS EMERGED. THE CENTRAL COAST IS REPLETE WITH MULTIPLE GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO CARE, WHO LOVE THOSE ON THE MARGINS, WHO WILL CONTINUE JCCCS LEGACY TO FIGHT BACK AND NEVER GIVE UP ON THE STRUGGLE FOR A WORLD FULL OF JOY, COMPASSION, AND LIBERATION. THEREFORE, WITHOUT A DOUBT, THE WORK WILL CARRY ON THROUGH OTHERS INCLUDING THE ONGOING COMMITMENT TO JUSTICE FROM OUR INDIVIDUAL STAFF AND BOARD MEMBERS AS WE MOVE TO THE POST-JCCC CHAPTER OF OUR LIVES.