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Keeping working class neighbors rooted in Northeast LA

Neighbors and families make their way through Somos NELA, gathering with local vendors and enjoying a place to connect and feel at home in the community. Photography by Javier De Leon.

New resident-informed capital improvements at Arvia, Hancock, and Chapman include a shade structure, bike rack, and working laundry room, with more upgrades on the way.

Community Housing Shaped by the People Who Call It Home

A home is made of the everyday things that help people feel comfortable, connected, and cared for—a shady place to sit, a bike rack close by, or a laundry room that works.

Through resident governance committees, at Arvia, Chapman, and Hancock, neighbors have shared priorities and helped guide improvements at each property over the past few months.

At Arvia, a new shade structure gives neighbors a more comfortable place to spend time outdoors. At Hancock, a bike rack is in place, with a BBQ area and landscaping coming soon. At Chapman, the laundry room is working again, with a fresh paint job on the way. Each improvement reflects a shared process. Neighbors name what would help, and those priorities guide what happens next.

That’s how we move community stewardship forward—as a practice.

Residents’ priorities are making Arvia, Chapman, and Hancock more welcoming places to call home.

Meet neighbors, explore LA Más programs, enjoy a special menu from a local vendor, and find your way into the work.

Open House y Más

Open House y Más is our new quarterly gathering for neighbors, families, and community partners who want to learn what LA Más is working on, explore ways to get involved, or

imagine how community-rooted programs could take shape in their own neighborhoods.

Come by to:

• Learn how to become a Somos NELA vendor.

• Find a program or project you’d like to join.

• Explore ways to bring this work to your neighbors.

• Stop in, say hello, and get to know what LA Más is up to.

• Learn how to join local food distribution efforts in NELA

• Ask whether your property could be one LA Más’ purchases and

  stewards as community housing.

• Bring a question, an idea, a skill to share, or simply the time to meet someone new.

  
  

Together, we’re working to keep housing in community hands, grow neighborhood power, and help income flow to NELA’s working-class families.

Somos NELA Planning Committee members breathing into strategy.

Collective Wealth, Practiced Together

In September, our Somos NELA Planning Committee came together to reflect on the Block Party and imagine what we want to grow next.

Lorena began our gathering with a grounding chair-yoga and breathing practice. We took a moment to arrive, settle into our bodies, and be present with one another before getting into our meeting.

From there, we celebrated what we created together, reflected on our learnings, and shared exciting ideas for the upcoming season. We also began forming next year’s planning committee, welcoming more neighbors into this collective journey as we shape the future of Somos NELA!

Collective wealth grows in these moments, too. In the pause to listen, the ideas passed around the table, and the feeling that we’re making something together. It’s how community power takes root.

At Somos NELA, vendors like Antojitos Irma share their food and culture with neighbors. Every visit is a chance to support a local economy and keep opportunity rooted in Northeast LA.

Somos NELA: Mercado de Otoño

Supporting local vendors helps create opportunities for their businesses to grow and flourish. It also helps more income circulate close to home, supporting working-class families and the neighborhood economy.

The market is one way we practice a simple but powerful idea: when neighbors invest in one another, the whole community has more room to thrive.

🎤 October 2 · Spooky Cumbias Night Market

Join us at Somos NELA for a night of spooky cumbias, local vendors, and good company. Come dance, explore the Night market, and spend time with your local neighbors.

🎨 October 16 · Watercolor Workshop + Bowtie Wetland Demonstration Project

Join us at Somos NELA with Clockshop for a watercolor workshop led by local artist Emily Perez. Using watercolor pens and paintbrushes, Emily will guide participants through the foundations of watercolor with interactive exercises. She’ll encourage everyone to follow their curiosity and make something of their own.

The workshop is a collaboration with The Nature Conservancy in support of its Bowtie Wetland Demonstration Project. When open to the public, the project will transform a former rail yard along the LA River into a new California State Park with native plants and walking paths.

Come paint, meet neighbors, and learn about a project imagining a healthier, greener future along the river.

This October, Helen Leung joins the panel for Clockshop’s screening of Somos NELA + Saving Arvia and is featured in Built to Last. Find the details below.

LA Más Around Town

Join us for a special screening of Somos NELA and Saving Arvia, animated shorts featuring longtime Northeast LA residents Lili Sanchez and Andrés Cortés.

The films are part of Take Me to Your River: A Cultural Atlas of the LA River, an oral history project produced by Clockshop to share the stories and histories of neighborhoods along the river with people of all ages.

Learn how a chance encounter helped five rental units in Cypress Park remain affordable, and how a night market brings local Northeast LA vendors together.

After the screenings, stay for a conversation about cultural preservation, affordability in Los Angeles, and creative ways to help longtime residents remain rooted and thrive in the neighborhoods they call home.

The conversation will feature:

• Elizabeth Ito, animator and creator of City of Ghosts

• Lili Sanchez, Elysian Valley resident and community organizer

• Helen Leung, executive director of LA Más

• Betty Avila, longtime Cypress Park resident and LA Más board chair

Helen Leung Featured in Built to Last

In the first installment of Built by Community, a series from Katherine Katcher’s Built to Last, LA Más Executive Director Helen Leung talks about our work acquiring apartment buildings in Northeast LA and taking them off the speculative market.

Helen and Katherine discuss what community ownership means for residents, how this work is financed, and what it will take to preserve more homes for the long term. Katcher is also the founder of the Thriving Communities Fund, which provides patient, low-cost capital for community ownership.

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.