Nuestra Plaza, Nuestra Voz (Our Plaza, Our Voice)

Community safety

East LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

In 2023, LA County DPH funded 10 projects in a post-pandemic strategy to promote wellness and transform healthcare delivery. VyC’s program Su salud está en sus manos/Your Health Is in your Hands draws inspiration from cross-cultural models, shares leadership with a Community Health Center, and is informed by resident leaders (parents, promotoras, small, business owners, charros) empowered as a Community Advisory Board (CAB). As VyC’s team of promotores completes a door-to-door campaign listening to and learning from over 8,000 Boyle Heights families, the desire for safe spaces for families to gather, celebrate and connect with each other has become clear. 
In 2025, VyC started Nuestra plaza, Nuestra Voz - a monthly series of resource sharing events that honor community through food, music, culture, film and family celebration. VyC proposes to expand this project by building a community-driven process to elevate Mariachi Plaza as a community center and cultural and historic landmark.

One in 2 adults experience loneliness and isolation. The US Surgeon General has linked loneliness to “cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, and anxiety” (Our Epidemic of Lonelines and Isolation, 2023). Each month, Nuestra Plaza, Nuestra Voz brings the community together in Mariachi Plaza - but this is not enough. An LA2050 grant will expand these efforts in partnership with Salesian Youth and Family Services, Organización de Mariachis Independientes de California (OMICAL),and the volunteer CAB (local residents proud of their roots and eager to create positive change to shape the future of Boyle Heights). VyC will convene diverse residents, small business owners, parks & recreation, public safety, health providers, elected leaders, and others to 1) identify long-term solutions, including policy change opportunities, to celebrate Mariachi Plaza as a community center and cultural and historic heritage site; 2) promote economic stability and workforce development in and around the Plaza, and 3) create safe spaces where multigenerational families and neighbors can gather, connect, learn and share information and resources.

Success for Nuestra Plaza, Nuestra Voz means more than just meeting a need, it means realizing a long-held dream for many in Boyle Heights: to belong to a vibrant community where human connection is cherished and each individual is seen and valued. We envision a central hub that is a cultural sanctuary where residents can find trusted information and life-sustaining resources; where history is preserved not just in books but in the stories passed down by the abuelitas/grandmas; where the rhythms of mariachi echo through the streets and the aroma of tamales and sweet bread fill the air; where small businesses are not only supported but celebrated; where youth are learning from elders; and where older adults, wrapped in colorful rebozos with flowers tucked in their hair, can dance freely and joyfully with their families in the Mariachi Plaza on a Friday afternoon, reminded that this is home.