My Eden Voice is a grassroots community organization that ensures that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors heeds the interests of the Eden Area communities of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, Hayward Acres and Castro Valley. Founded in 2018, MEV was born of the need for community solidarity in these five unincorporated, working class areas of California, where residents’ concerns all too often go unheard because they lack local governments of their own. A 2021 study argued that this political exclusion is often linked to higher instances of pollution from highways or industry, low-grade housing material and aging water systems, especially for people of color. The Eden Area communities face rising rents, major housing code violations that landlords often refuse to fix lead paint in homes, extreme heat, flooding and severe air pollution. MEV puts up the funds for residents to become leaders capable of fighting for their community’s interests.
MEV is a staff of four with 50 volunteers who mirror and fight for the interests of roughly 160,000 people, many of whom are Latino, Black or Asian. Following our advocacy, Alameda County awarded $29 million from federal pandemic relief funds to these unincorporated areas, which helped cover rent for people facing eviction and stipends for people to take leadership workshops. The nonprofit also helped form a resident association to fight for mobile home occupants facing rising rents and possible displacement. In Ashland and Hayward Acres, for example, about 35% of residents live two times below the poverty level and residents in all five unincorporated communities are severely burdened by housing costs, a 2023 county report said. Interstate freeways have worsened air quality, spurring high rates of asthma and cardiovascular disease. MEV hopes to educate on these issues in the future, continue fostering new leaders and keep lobbying for policies that make the Eden Area a place where people have safe and affordable housing, good jobs and clean air.
