This podcast aims to shed light on the alarming housing crisis gripping the region, focusing on Fresno, California's fifth-largest city, where residents grapple with soaring rents and a severe shortage of affordable housing units. This podcast is tailored for Central Valley residents, policymakers, community leaders, and anyone interested in understanding the depth of the housing crisis in California and the potential solutions that can positively impact the lives of its residents.

Resources:

https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/readers-opinion/article284537935.html

https://www.ppic.org/publication/ppic-statewide-survey-californians-and-their-government-march-2021/

https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/article258073823.html

https://www.fresnobee.com/fresnoland/article251989463.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2021/09/09/housing-prices-and-inflation/

https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/10/poverty-rate-california/

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! 

What does the American Dream mean to you? Growing up, the concept of nationality felt abstract. My mother arrived in the states in 2001. As a child, I didn't understand the idea of citizenship. Only to realize that was a position my mom, aunts, and neighbors in my community have tirelessly tried to pursue. Now, two decades later, it's disheartening to see that many of them are still at square one. However, to fully understand the immigration struggle, the episode begins with personal stories. In a revealing conversation, Elida Gomez, my best friend’s mother, opened up about her journey leaving her country and the challenges of adapting to life in the States. I also spoke with my aunt about the impact of my uncle’s deportation on her and her two young daughters. The heartbreaks come in all shapes and forms, from fighting to get your spot in America to grieving the separation of your loved one. This episode is an invitation to walk in their shoes and confront the reality of whom the American dream excludes.

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! 

Can you picture finally being able to enjoy freedom and serenity in your new home until it gets vandalized in the middle of the night?  It’s no news that the cost to live comfortably is extremely high in California.  In response, some individuals seek to thrive through residing in a motorhome. In this episode, we’ll invite the executive director of the Pacifica Resource Center to uncover the motorhome injustices in Pacifica, a city along the coast of the Bay Area.

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! 

Historically, a house was first and foremost a place to raise a family and where one could find solitude and safety–a place of life. The internet has made buying and selling houses more accessible and convenient, an additional way to expand an investment portfolio. The rise of short-term-rentals with websites like AirBNB, are a symptom of this movement; renting entire homes for tourists who don’t want to stay in a hotel–who want an experience. In this episode, Jesse Morris meets with members of his community to understand what challenges arise with unregulated short-term-rentals in his small town, Three Rivers, CA.

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! 

This episode focuses on the De La Pezas, a Mexican-American family from Los Angeles who shed light on the socioeconomic journey that led them to the suburbs, and the difficult tie between financial aspiration and the incentive for cultural assimilation. Diverging financial mentalities are shown as a part of the vast generational changes many families, like the De La Pezas, experienced. Host Maggie De La Peza invites her father Marco and great uncle Efrain to engage in the conversation.

Resources:

Center for Economic and Policy Research “The Continuing Power of White Preferences in Employment” https://cepr.net/report/the-continuing-power-of-white-preferences-in-employment/#:~:text=White%20people%20fare%20better%20in,for%20White%20high%20school%20dropouts

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! 

Attention!! This was recorded November 9, 2023, many of the data are not updated to 2024. At the time we recorded this interview, we never imagined that the genocide in Palestine would reach unimaginable and inhuman points. In this podcast, Aliah, a Mexican-American Palestinian, talks to us about the moments of constant worry that she has to go through since her family had to evacuate from Gaza City because of the constant bombing.

NOTE: Day 169 of the genocide, currently Gaza was almost completely destroyed, leaving thousands dead and injured, the majority of whom are children and innocent people.

For more information about Youth Leadership Institute.

Calafia is yli’s statewide youth policy journal that amplifies the narratives of young people on topics and issue areas important to them and their communities. 

Calafia’s past issues have focused on youth criminal justice reform, educational equity, and addressing stigmas within communities of color. Check out the last fellowship's issue titled, Systems below and contact Jarrett Ramones at jramones@yli.org for a print copy.

Be on the look out for our next print issue False Promises: The Chasm Between Home and Hope coming soon.

Calafia Fellows are selected every year from each yli office to create and edit the issue’s theme and the stories presented. They are also mentored by experienced reporters, travel to statewide and national media conferences, and learn the steps to producing a printed publication.

Follow yli on social @ylinstitute on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!