1 – It’s Our Money: Dr. Melina Abdullah and The People’s Budget
Tens of thousands of Angelenos agree on one thing: defund the police to fund mental health and housing. L.A. spends 25¢ of every dollar on policing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our guest is co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Dr. Melina Abdullah. The People’s Budget is an annual poll of 20,000+ Angelenos revealing how the people want to spend their money. Spoiler alert: it’s not on LAPD. We compare what we really want to what city hall gives us, why they are so different, and what we can do to fight back against a runaway police budget. Discover how everyone can have everything they need and most of what they want.
Tens of thousands of Angelenos agree on one thing: defund the police to fund mental health and housing. L.A. spends 25¢ of every dollar on policing, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Our guest is co-founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles Dr. Melina Abdullah. The People’s Budget is an annual poll of 20,000+ Angelenos revealing how the people want to spend their money. Spoiler alert: it’s not on LAPD.
We compare what we really want to what city hall gives us, why they are so different, and what we can do to fight back against a runaway police budget. Discover how everyone can have everything they need and most of what they want.
Dr. Melina Abdullah
Dr. Melina Abdullah is Professor and former Chair of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles.
She was among the original group of organizers that convened to form Black Lives Matter, co-founding BLM-Los Angeles and BLM Grassroots, for which she also serves as co-director.
In 2024 she accepted the Vice Presidential nomination from Cornel West's campaign.
Resources
The People's Budget L.A. peoplesbudgetla.com
Black Lives Matter L.A. blmla.org
L.A. Community Action Network cangress.org
People's City Council peoplescitycouncil-la.com
Action Items
Police Commission | Tuesday 9:30AM
100 W. 1st St. L.A., CA
Police Protective League | Wednesday 4:00PM
1313 W 8th St. L.A., CA
Black Lives Matter L.A. Organizing Meeting | 2nd Sunday 7:00PM
3423 W. 43rd Place Leimert Park
2 – We Want CalCare: Single-Payer Healthcare with Gina Viola
For-profit health insurance is killing us. The less care we get, the more money they make. Our guest is 2022 Los Angeles mayoral candidate and healthcare advocate Gina Viola. Single-payer CalCare could cost patients $40/mo and provide full coverage for medical, psychiatric, dental, and vision with zero cost at point of service. But with billions of profits on the line, health insurance lobbyists in the state legislature block universal healthcare year after year. We talk about the fight to make healthcare a human right in California, and the forces behind the forces standing in our way.
For-profit health insurance is killing us. The less care we get, the more money they make. Single-payer CalCare could cost patients $40/mo and provide full coverage for medical, psychiatric, dental, and vision with zero cost at point of service. But with billions of profits on the line, health insurance lobbyists in the state legislature block universal healthcare year after year.
Our guest is 2022 Los Angeles mayoral candidate and healthcare advocate Gina Viola.
We talk about the fight to make healthcare a human right in California, and the forces behind the forces standing in our way.
Gina Viola
Gina Viola is a Los Angeles community activist and 2022 mayoral candidate. Her movement campaign captured 7% of the city-wide primary vote.
She is co-chair of the Health Care for US board and co-host of the radio show 'Health Care 4 US' airing every 2nd and 4th Monday at 1:00PM on KPFK 90.7FM.
Resources
Health Care For US hc4us.org
KPFK Radio show soundcloud.com/hc4us
L.A. Street Care @lastreetcare
Aetna St. Solidarity @aetnastreetsolidarity
Action Items
Sign the Petition
act.medicare4all.org/signup/cna-calcare/
Send a Letter to Asm Wicks
actionnetwork.org/letters/ab2200
Vote For Ysabel Jurado! (vote out racist KDL!)
ysabeljurado.la
3 – Unhoused and Unheard: Housing First with Theo Henderson
Los Angeles has a housing crisis. Skyrocketing costs + stagnant wages mean all of us are a missed paycheck or two away from being out on the street.
Racist laws like LAMC 41.18 criminalize being poor, making it illegal to sit, sleep, or lie outdoors in the city limits. We talk about what it means for the 45,000 people living without shelter in the city of Los Angeles, and what we can do about it.
Los Angeles has a housing crisis. Many of us are a missed paycheck or two away from being out on the street.
Racist laws like LAMC 41.18 criminalize being poor, making it illegal to sit, sleep, or lie outdoors in the city limits. We talk about what it means for the 45,000 people living without shelter in the city of Los Angeles, and what we can do about it.
Our guest is Theo Henderson.
Theo Henderson
Advocate and Educator Theo Henderson is the host and creator of “We The Unhoused” on the iHeart podcast network. It’s the world’s first unhoused news — telling their stories like only someone with lived experience can.
Theo spent more than 8 years living on the streets of Los Angeles, 6 of those years on a housing waitlist. Drawing on his background as a school teacher, Theo continues to speak out for housing first solutions and lift up the voices of unhoused residents.
Resources:
J Town Action and Solidarity jtownaction.com
Ktown for All ktownforall.org
L.A. Street Care instagram.com/lastreetcare
Action Items:
Power Up w/ JAS and WTU - Saturdays 2PM - 5PM
Free hot meals, PPE, and charging in Little Tokyo
Volunteer: calendly.com/jtownactionandsolidarity/
Subscribe to We The Unhoused
4 – Abolish Rent: Ending Evictions with Jacob Woocher
The rent is too damn high. Eviction = death. In Los Angeles, both are true. What can we do about it?
For profit, landlords exploit our need for shelter. So why are they at the center of our housing policy, blocking public housing and other solutions? We talk to eviction attorney Jacob Woocher to learn how to form a tenants union, organize a rent strike, and fight back.
The rent is too damn high. Eviction = death. In Los Angeles, both are true. What can we do about it?
For profit, landlords exploit our need for shelter. So why are they at the center of our housing policy, blocking public housing and other solutions? We talk to eviction attorney Jacob Woocher to learn how to form a tenants union, organize a rent strike, and fight back.
Jacob Woocher
Jacob Woocher is an eviction defense attorney in Los Angeles. He represents the Hillside Villa Tenants in one of L.A.’s longest rent strikes, recently winning dismissal of nearly all their evictions in court.
He organizes with the Los Angeles Tenants Union (LATU) and is the author of the series L.A.’s War on Public Housing.
Resources
Los Angeles Tenants Union latenantsunion.org
L.A. Community Action Network cangress.org
L.A. Street Care @lastreetcare IG
Action Items
Attend your LATU local meeting
Organizing is the only way to build power, learn how at a meeting near you. latenantsunion.org
Organize Your Neighbors!
Put shared concerns in a letter to your landlord. Sign it <STREET NAME> Tenants Association. When we fight, we win.