Mission + Vision
LA Más creates and sustains cooperative systems of living and working together in Northeast LA.
We envision a regenerative Northeast LA that transforms our relationship to land, labor & care.
About LA Más
LA Más is a community organization that creates and sustains cooperatives systems of living and working together in Northeast LA. Through popular education and leadership development, LA Más partners with residents to create and sustain programs that embody cooperative systems of living and working together. With community at the front and center, LA Más is working toward a regenerative Northeast Los Angeles that honors existing cultural and community-based systems, reconciles our extractive relationship to land and labor, and ensures stability for working class communities of color.
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.
Values
We ground our work in the historical resistance from BIPOC and local communities and movements.
We honor a relationship to land that uplifts Indigenous practices and stewardship.
We practice mutuality + interdependence as part of an ecosystem of residents, organizations and coalitions.
We celebrate cultural + language diversity by making our spaces accessible and inclusive.
We create spaces of restoration + healing that sustain and support our community’s well-being.
We exercise cooperation through collective decision-making and shared leadership.
We expand traditional notions of value, knowledge and skills to honor our community’s unique contributions.
Theory of Change
LA Más partners with working class communities of color in Northeast LA on community-led development that promotes affordable housing and economic resilience. Our approach centers meaningful engagement that leads to deep relationships, community empowerment and local ownership.
