By Kathy Chouteau Richmond Standard

It takes a village to raise a village—especially when that village is made of tiny houses, big-hearted volunteers and a plan to shelter Richmond youth.

Now, after three years of planning, building and community muscle, the village is ready for its public debut. 

The Richmond Tiny House Village Farm & Garden will mark its “Grand Opening” Saturday, Sept. 26 onsite at 2200 Bissell Ave. in Richmond, also accessible via 175 23rd St. The celebration will spotlight the new emergency housing community for unhoused Richmond youth ages 18 to 24, with a youth-powered program and ribbon cutting, clergy from multiple faith traditions offering prayers, an Indigenous prayer, an appearance by Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez, Councilmember Doria Robinson, leaders from partner organizations, food and live music by Benja Soul. 

For Sally Hindman, executive director of the nonprofit Tiny Village Spirit, which is the project’s developer, the grand opening event is a public exhale after three years of planning, building, fundraising, listening and showing up. 

“It’s going to be a real celebration of hope and what we can do together when we come together to do something to care for the least of us,” Hindman said. “The grand opening program is youth-led, so that will be, and the ribbon cutting will be youth-led, so it’s going to have the strong presence of young people leading, as it should.” 

The vibrantly mural-decorated village will include 13 emergency housing units when complete, one of them for an on-site resident assistant. In keeping with neighborhood agreements, the project will open with about half of the homes occupied, then pause, evaluate and return to local Richmond Neighborhood Councils for input before adding six more youth the following year. 

Hope Solutions will operate the village from day one, with staff including a resident assistant, a village manager/social worker and a housing navigator to help residents move toward affordable housing. Youth will be selected through Contra Costa County’s Coordinated Entry System, with a focus on Richmond young adults. 

Hindman was clear about who the village is for: “This is a village that is for unhoused Richmond youth, ages 18 to 24, and it’s specifically for Richmond young people.” She added that the project is particularly concerned with young people pushed out by gentrification and displacement, including black and brown youth who grew up in Richmond, as well as LGBTQ young people who “really need our support.” 

Each tiny house is designed as a small bedroom with the essentials: A Murphy bed that becomes a desk during the day, a chair, table, wardrobe and, in some designs, a closet. Shared community spaces include a kitchen/dining yurt, a living room/maker space yurt and a shared bathroom building with three private units, each containing a shower, sink and toilet. 

The “Farm & Garden” part of the name is no add-on. Hindman said the garden will connect with Richmond Police Activities League’s (RPAL’s) Culinary Club, a program with a farm-to-table approach that uses produce grown on-site. The space will also offer education, picnics, volunteer opportunities and stipend/paid work for village residents, doubling as a job-training ground rooted in food, land and community. 

“The farm and garden is going to play a really cool role in the project as a whole,” Hindman underscored. 

If the village sounds stitched together by many hands, that is because it was. Hindman described the project as involving more than 3,000 volunteers (“probably 4,000,” she estimated, noting she had “kind of lost count”) from 83-plus organizations, schools, congregations, businesses and nonprofits. 

Those partners and helpers include Tiny Village Spirit, RPAL, Hope Solutions, SOS Richmond, GRIP, USF Architecture, City of Richmond YouthWORKS, Rebuilding Together, Richmond Neighborhood Councils—including Richmore Village/Metro Square, North & East, Belding Woods, Coronado and Pullman—Richmond youth, Richmond High School students, Kennedy High School, Salesian High School, Richmond Indivisible, Reimagine Richmond, East Bay Heritage Quilters, First Congregational Church of Berkeley members, Strawberry Creek Friends Meeting, Temple Beth El, Ashby Village, NIAD, artist Jimmy Evans, Williams Sonoma and many individual volunteers, donors, congregations and private foundations. 

Tiny Village Spirit raised most of the funding through individuals and private foundations, according to Hindman, who shared that similar villages funded primarily with government dollars can cost around $14 million. She said this village is expected to come in under $1 million because nearly all the labor was volunteer. 

For more information about the Richmond Tiny House Village Farm & Garden, text 510-282-0396 or visit Tiny Village Spirit’s Richmond project page. 

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By California Black Media

Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed longtime Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) member Brendalynn Goodall to the California Workforce Development Board.

Goodall, an Oakland resident with decades of experience in public service, has held leadership positions focused on employment, aging services and assistance for underserved communities.

“Brendalynn will be a great addition to this Board,” said Gay Plair Cobb, who served as former state Assemblyman Sandre Swanson’s alternate to the California Workforce Development Board (CWDB).

“She understands that California’s non-profit organizations serve persons who have the most significant barriers to their labor market success and that the Board should help these groups navigate the complicated requirements of state funding.

“In other words, she will be a strong advocate for our most marginalized populations. Her voice is needed now, more than ever.”

CWDB works with the governor to shape workforce policies, programs and investments designed to strengthen the state’s economy. It collaborates with employers, workers, labor organizations, educational institutions, community groups and California’s 45 local workforce development boards to expand access to quality jobs and respond to regional employment needs.

 According to the board, its work includes coordinating state programs and guiding investments in workforce training and development.

BWOPA California celebrated the appointment, describing Goodall as a dedicated advocate for workers, families and older adults.

“Her appointment reflects a lifetime of leadership, service, and unwavering commitment to strengthening California’s workforce and expanding opportunity for all,” the organization stated in a press release.

Goodall served as summer jobs program coordinator in the Oakland Mayor’s Office from 2012 to 2014. In that position, she helped connect young people with employment opportunities and job experience.

Before joining the Mayor’s Office, Goodall was division manager for Aging and Adult Services in the City of Oakland Human Services Department from 2002 to 2011. She previously served as senior services supervisor and program director for the city’s Department of Aging, Health and Human Services from 1990 to 2002.

Goodall is also a member of the California Commission on Aging, which advises the governor and state officials on policies and programs affecting older Californians.

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By Emil Amok Guillermo

The midterm elections are more important than ever as we fight back.

And we all know “affordability” is the No. 1 issue in the U.S.

So, how are you doing? A new survey says that, for a single person, being comfortable in California requires an income of $126,797. Or $302,682 for a family of four.

Did those numbers make you uncomfortable?

A single person making just $102,794 could be comfortable in Utah. But wouldn’t you rather just look at the Mormon Temple in Oakland from 580?

The survey defined “comfortable” as spending 50% of income on necessities, 30% on “like-to-haves,” and putting 20% in savings.

Are your percentages way out of whack? Like 100% on necessities?

What if the car breaks down? What if the kids need x, y, or z? What if overtime gets cut back? What if Social Security goes bankrupt?

Are you a democratic socialist yet?

That’s not where Blues go Red and turn communist. It’s about a government that puts people before profits. And cares for all of us. Not just the billionaires.

Angie Nixon

In last week’s Florida primary, people around the country saw Florida legislator Angie Nixon win the Democratic U.S. Senate primary with a stunning upset over Alex Vindman.

Vindman was well-funded ($16.3 million to Nixon’s $975,000), and well-connected nationally. But Nixon—an African American with state house cred, union organizing experience, and a fighter who was arrested protesting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ redistricting efforts— proved to be unbeatable. She’s officially aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

That means Nixon, 42, believes in universal health care, a/k/a “Medicare for all,” taxing the wealthy, and a minimum wage of $25 an hour.

Think back to that comfort level survey. At 40 hours a week, $25 an hour is just $1,000 a week or $52,000 a year. It’s not even half what that survey said was needed for a single person to be “comfortable” in California.

We’re forced to get 3-4 low-wage jobs.

Nixon and the DSA want to set the floor, so no one sinks into oblivion.

Republicans would simply let us all sink.

Nixon now goes up against Republican Sen. Ashley Moody in November. Florida’s Republicans outnumber Dems by 1.5 million voters. And Nixon’s DSA tag makes her a clear underdog, maybe even unelectable.

But the Dems are sticking with her. Voters seem to be turning out for someone who will directly and boldly address affordability.

Meanwhile, Trump is turning the Iran War, which has caused the oil price run-up and high inflation, into an economic war on the world. At the same time, he’s declared a tariff war on our good ally, Canada, guaranteed to raise prices on imports to America.

That could make Nixon the one in Florida 2026. And it would move Dems closer to flipping both houses of Congress, a vote for super normalcy.

Trump is so far down in the polls, he’s resorted to election disruption and voter suppression.

But the antidote in Florida at least is Angie Nixon, a woman worth watching, who’ll turn you into a Democratic Socialist if Donald Trump hasn’t done so already.

About the Author

Emil Amok Guillermo is a veteran journalist, commentator, and comic monologist. He does a micro-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1

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