Los Amigos

Living in communities that are run down, neglected and forgotten takes a toll on all members of the community. This is especially true when residents witness new properties being erected around the city as their own neighborhoods are deemed “ghettos” and not receiving the investment necessary for improvements. Many of the low income housing that is available to city residents aren’t the most desirable properties as they may have structural deficiencies, lead paint, rats and roaches running amuck. Many older properties also do not have adequately functioning heat or hot water availability. The housing projects also do not have air conditioning. On hot days, having no cool break in addition to all the other negative social factors, this can be a deadly combination that may perpetuate frustrations and ultimately lead to violence.

It causes displacement amongst the poor residences many of them can not afford to pay the high housing cost and rent increases.

“I took a trip to Oakland, California and fell in love with the area. We stayed at an Air B&B for the three days of our stay and the house was absolutely beautiful, it looked like my dream home. Despite all the glitz and glamour around us we noticed a large amount of homelessness compared to Columbus. We found out that this property is not someone’s home but a house used strictly as an Air B&B. When you hear something like that and see the amount of homelessness it makes you wonder how many of these homes are strictly for show? So after researching I found out, the reason for the rampant homelessness can be attributed to large increases in rent. Even worse, the cause for the increase is due to Silicon Valley” (Kasongo, 2017). Unfortunately, rent increasing virtually overnight is the reality of many low-income families. This situation is called gentrification and is felt throughout the world, from the Midwest, East coast or even Western Europe, no region is immune to this process. Gentrification in the Midwest is extensive and wide causing the displacement of many low-income minority residents which can lead to even bigger issues.

The following 6 individuals are a few of the Hispanic public administrators that are currently representing the voices of their peers in the

Puerto Rican Americans have always struggled with their identity. We have different a different culture shaping us into completely different human beings. In recent retrospect American culture has shown some discrimination towards our Hispanic brothers and sisters, leaving to answer the age old question: are Puerto Ricans real Americans?

As the Latino population in the United States continues to increase, civic engagement is important in attaining political visibility and influence in every level of government. Initiating participation in local government is important in order to improve social ties and relationships among community members. On a city level, Latinos can practice civic engagement by attending city council meetings and participating in volunteering or community events. Through community building, Latinos can organize and work together in achieving common goals.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be allowed to address joint meeting in this country that I personally call my home. This country is the land where people can be free and pursue their dreams that can not be done in any other country. As the United States Congress the whole body of this organization is to be able to defend the lives and rights of the people. This country is the home of the people that keep this country running, and part of those people is the Latino community. The Latino community now make up 1 out 4 school students in the United States and are a rapidly growing population in nontraditional settlement areas (Gandara 2017). But as the Latino community keeps growing the youth is not getting enough help to continue into higher

United States Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio once stated, “The Hispanic community understands the American Dream and have not forgotten what they were promised – that in the U.S., a free market system allows us all to succeed economically, achieve stability and security for your family and leave your children better off than yourselves.” Every year Hispanics search the regions of Texas in search of this very opportunity to better themselves and especially their youth. One such region is the poverty stricken region that is the Rio Grande Valley. It is a region that has begun to accept its current role as nothing more than a region of widespread poverty and undervalued skill, but there is one man who will not sit idly by and watch as this region and the Hispanics who inhabit it are characterized by benighted stereotypes and filled with cruel insults. There is one man who will work diligently to better the region. That man is Eric Garza. Garza believes, “Future opportunity exists for Hispanics to excel and advance themselves and their families” (Garza). He sees that a disheartened culture has suddenly sprung up and is on the cusp of something greater than what people believe they can achieve. Eric Garza, a prominent figure in the RGV and State of Texas, has been working to better the welfare of Hispanics since he was a teenager, through his work with The Libre Initiative and his various involvements in local and statewide communities.

In the short story “Amigos Brothers” Pira Thomas explores the fight between two brother. Piri Thomas explains that friendship is an important concept in the story and it affects them by fighting each other for the championship.

This study discusses the risks that college students can be exposed to when choosing off campus housing. Initially, this article presents the property owners of rental properties as individuals who do not take care of their properties and have no concern for the tenant. Further reading of this article finds that due to the high turnover with rental properties and college students there is a greater risk of the student becoming physically sick due to the environment within the rental property. “Globally, housing is the single most important environmental factor associated with disease conditions and higher mortality and morbidity rates (United Nations, 2007)” (Johnson, Cole & Merrill, 2009, p. 2).

Development of the Encnio-Tarzana Community Plan update involved a three year process engaging numerous community stakeholder, advocacy and constituent groups, as well as on-going coordination with numerous City, County and neighboring Municipal agencies. With over 8 Community outreach meetings conducted and twice that number of agency and staff coordination meetings, outreach regarding the Encino-Tarzana Community Plan Update was both on-going and comprehensive.

Improvements in the quality of life as well as the increasingly growing economy have made modernday cities like Los Angeles, once again, attractive places to live in. Despite the popularity of urbanization, many problematic areas trouble urban planners. Among them, air pollution and affordable housing are two of the most worrisome problems. But when these two are compiled and affordable living units are placed in highly polluted places, the scale of the problem becomes even bigger. In spite of the undeniable health risks tied to living near freeways, the city of Los Angeles continues to approve permits to develop in these highly polluted places. On one hand, health experts, residents, and a small number of city officials oppose development

Significantly, one contributing factor was the diversion of the aircraft to Los Rodeos. This was caused by an explosion of the first bomb at its original destination, Gran Canaria Airport, at 13:15pm where it was then followed by a claim of a second bomb [2, pp. 572]. The civil authorities were then forced to shut the airport down temporarily, which diverted all the incoming flights, including two Boeing 747 aircraft to the Los Rodeos airport. However, the Los Rodeos airport was small to accommodate all as it had only one airstrip [2, pp. 572]. The authorities then reopened that airport after the threat had been contained at Gran Canaria.

The issue today is that even with multiple strategies to improve housing whoever is trying to find a remedy is not targeting “ urban areas.” Today, public health departments can use multiple strategies to improve housing, such as developing and enforcing housing guidelines and codes, implementing “Healthy Homes” programs to improve indoor environmental quality, assessing housing conditions, and advocating for healthy, affordable housing. (NIH, 2002) Evidence has shown that housing conditions have a direct correlation to health. So the question remains when are we going to educate these urban areas to help

Shared values enhance the group’s cohesiveness and unity. Among the Latinos Without Borders (LWB) organization, friendship and family are cherished. The family and friends supersede any other activity. At the University of Oklahoma, LWB students demonstrate unity and the ability to work as a team. They pursue what they believe to be excellent and vital in enhancing the group’s cohesion. Usually, the group interest comes before that of an individual. The social support system within the organization has played an imperative role in the survival of Latino students at the college. The shared history of most of the Latinos could be their primary unifying factors and the shared values. A significant number of the Latinos come from the low socioeconomic background. Additionally, a majority of the Latinos are Catholics, which advocates for strong community ties. The following discussion seeks to explain how the shared values among the Latinos are demonstrated and the reasons behind it.