Somos Mayfair Inc

SOMOS MAYFAIR'S MISSION IS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN, ORGANIZE FAMILIES, AND CONNECT NEIGHBORS TO UPLIFT THE DREAMS, POWER, AND LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMUNITY AND ADDRESS SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES.

IN OUR HANDS: SOMOS MAYFAIR, AS THE BACKBONE AGENCY OF THE SI SE PUEDE (SSPC) COLLECTIVE (THE COLLECTIVE INCLUDES AMIGOS DE GUADALUPE, GRAIL FAMILY SERVICES, SCHOOL OF ARTS AND CULTURE, SOMOS MAYFAIR AND VEGGIELUTION), WORKED WITH THE SANTA CLARA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE CITY OF SAN JOS TO SUPPORT COVID EDUCATION CAMPAIGNS, OUTREACH EFFORTS AND TO CONNECT COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES. IN ADDITION, THROUGH THIS PARTNERSHIP WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, SOMOS AND THE SSPC INVESTED IN THEIR INFRASTRUCTURE TO CREATE A "NO-WRONG" APPROACH TO SERVE THE NEEDS OF EAST SAN JOS FAMILIES. LASTLY, THE SSPC CONTINUED TO INVEST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW JOBS IN THE CHILDCARE AND FOOD INDUSTRY THROUGH ITS JOBS TO GROW INITIATIVE. ALL THESE EFFORTS WERE CONDUCTED IN EAST SAN JOS WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS IN THE MAYFAIR COMMUNITY. DURING FY22, WE TRAINED 9 ADDITIONAL PROMOTORES TO SUPPORT THIS WORK AND COLLECTIVELY CONNECTED WITH OVER 48,000 RESIDENTS AND DISTRIBUTED PPE TO NEARLY 40,000 INDIVIDUALS; WE TRAINED 40 FOOD AND CHILDCARE ENTREPRENEURS; AND WE ORGANIZED OVER 15 COMMUNITY EVENTS.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS RECOGNIZE THEIR STRENGTH AND DISCOVER THEIR POWER THROUGH MENTORSHIP, INTENTIONAL LEARNING SPACES, AND OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE AND DEVELOP SKILLS, WE BUILD A LEADERSHIP BRAND THAT SUPPORTS LEADERS TO GENERATE MORE LEADERS. IN SOMOS' MAYFAIR POPULAR UNIVERSITY (UPM) WE ORGANIZED MORE THAN 40 LEARNING WORKSHOPS THROUGHOUT THE FISCAL YEAR. IN THESE SPACES COMMUNITY MEMBERS DEVELOPED FACILITATION, OUTREACH, AND CAMPAIGN STRATEGY SKILLS; AND, THROUGH ONGOING OPPORTUNITIES TO PRACTICE, THEY DEEPENED THEIR ANALYSIS OF SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES TO CATALYZE AND LEAD CHANGES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. ALSO, THROUGH OUR EFFORTS, MORE THAN 150 FAMILIES WERE ORGANIZED TO ACCESS MUTUAL AID SUPPORT GROUPS AND MENTORSHIP IN EAST SAN JOS. OVER 94% OF OUR SURVEYED LEADERS INDICATED THAT THEY FEEL MORE CONNECTED TO OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR COLLECTIVE AFTER THEIR PARTICIPATION IN OUR PROGRAMMING.ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY: FAMILIES NEED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND MOBILITY TO SUPPORT THEIR CHILDREN AND BREAK CYCLES OF POVERTY. THROUGH SOMOS FUERTES, THE ORGANIZATION OFFERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS, ADVOCACY OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORTS TWO WORKER-OWNED COOPERATIVES TO FURTHER ADVANCE OPPORTUNITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IN MAYFAIR AND THE BROADER SOUTH BAY.

EARLY SCHOOL SUCCESS: SOMOS STAFF AND CERTIFIED PROMOTORES LED PEER-TO-PEER PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES WITH PARENTS AND CHILDREN TO PROMOTE FAMILY AND EARLY LEARNING PRACTICES. BRIDGE TO KINDERGARTEN, THE BEN PAINTER FAMILY COOPERATIVE PRESCHOOL AND ALL FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER PROGRAMS IMPROVE READING SKILLS AND SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING WHILE PROVIDING BASIC NEEDS ASSISTANCE AND REFERRALS TO A LARGER SAFETY NET. SOMOS MAYFAIR PROVIDED OVER 3,500 BOXES OF DIAPERS, DISTRIBUTED PPE AND COVID TESTING KITS TO OVER 2000 INDIVIDUALS, PROVIDED PARENTING WORKSHOPS TO OVER 200 FAMILIES, AND WORKED WITH OVER 650 CHILDREN DURING THE BRIDGE TO KINDER PROGRAM, BRIDGE LIBRARY, AND ITS FAMILY COOPERATIVE PRESCHOOL.

COMMUNITY POWER: OUR COMMUNITY-ORGANIZING EFFORTS SUPPORT MOVEMENT-BUILDING IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND SCHOOLS. PARENTS AND RESIDENTS ENGAGE IN PARTICIPATORY ACTION, ANALYSIS, PRIORITY SETTING, RELATIONSHIP BUILDING, AND TACTICAL STRATEGIES TO ADVANCE AN EQUITY PLATFORM DEVELOPED BY COMMUNITY, FOR COMMUNITY. THIS INCLUDES ALLOCATING APPROPRIATE RESOURCES TO OUR SCHOOLS, PROTECTING TENANTS, AND PROMOTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING WITHOUT DISPLACEMENT. DURING THE FY22 ACCOMPLISHMENTS INCLUDE WINNING A STRONG STEP TOWARD CLOSING AND RE-PURPOSING THE REID HILL AIRPORT IN SAN JOS, LAUNCHING A NON-CITIZEN VOTING EFFORT IN THE CITY OF SAN JOS, AND ELEVATING A COMMUNITY TO PURCHASE ACT (COPA) AS A PRIORITY IN SAN JOS TO PREVENT DISPLACEMENT AND GENTRIFICATION. THIS FY, SOMOS MAYFAIR CONNECTED WITH OVER 4000 RESIDENTS DURING ITS CANVASSING AND DOOR-TO-DOOR EFFORTS AND BROUGHT IN OVER 7000 COMMUNITY RESIDENTS TO ITS COMMUNITY FORUMS, RALLIES, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EVENTS.