Illustration by Christine Hipp

When 52-year-old Karen Jones* walked into the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center (WAWC) nine months ago, it was an act of desperation.

“I had left Arizona from a situation of domestic violence and I was really looking forward to my new life in California. I was going to be home free,” Jones said. “I got here and it took about nine months before I had collapsed into myself and had thoughts of suicide at a time when I should have been starting a new life. It was in that moment when I reached out to the Walnut Avenue Women’s Center.”

Jones told the receptionist she had hit her “complete bottom,” and within 30 minutes they provided her with an advocate, who comforted her and assured her it was going to be OK.

When she left, the center provided Jones with a small gift bag of toiletries — “such a special little thing of personal care,” Jones said.

She started her path of healing.

But since Jones first came to the WAWC, funding has been cut, the resource has been threatened, and even fundraising has been unable to provide significant help.

In an effort to remedy an estimated $25.4 billion deficit, Gov. Jerry Brown slashed through state funding for state social service programs in January 2011. The new budget takes steps toward “dismantling much of California’s once vaulted social safety net,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

A sleepy wooden building at the end of a stretch of colorful gabled houses and arches of mature tree cover, the WAWC commands no attention from the rest of the avenue. The antiquated Young Women’s Christian Organization (YWCA) sign that hangs from the side of the building is the only hint pointing to what goes on behind those doors.

Aside from Defensa de Mujeres, a Santa Cruz domestic violence service center for women and their families in Santa Cruz, WAWC is one of the city’s only resources designed to help those who have been in an abusive relationship or struggled with poverty.
Over $200,000 in grant money has been eliminated by the state for domestic violence services, family literacy services and youth development services. Seven workers at WAWC have been laid off so far, and the remaining 27 have been furloughed.

“My advocate is no longer here on Friday,” said Sarah Walker*, domestic violence survivor and friend of Jones. “You are used to [being able to] fall apart [any time], but now I have to watch my days when I need help.”

Since 1933, when the center was first created under the name Young Women’s Christian Association, the programs provided have grown beyond women’s issues to support the development of the entire family.

The center’s mission statement pledges to “encourage women and their families through personal action and leadership” and aspires to reach this objective through their three umbrella programs: Family Literacy Services, Domestic Violence Services and Youth Development Services. Unlike other centers in Santa Cruz County, the services are designed to “serve the whole lifespan” of their members.

“Our teen moms who have babies, we get them as early as two weeks [for childcare],” said Jennifer O’Brien-Rojo, director of WAWC. “As soon as [the babies go] to school, they come into our [youth development] program. Then, all the way through the end of life, [we have] our breast cancer programs. So it really is the whole spectrum.”

O’Brien-Rojo started at the WAWC as a volunteer when she was 15 in 1985. After college, she came back to become a board member for the center before eventually becoming the director. Now 42 years old, 27 years later, O’Brien-Rojo sat on the edge of her chair as she spoke about the WAWC in its prime.

“In ’99, when I went on staff we just went crazy writing grants for all the things we wanted to do,” O’Brien-Rojo said. “We just saw so much need in our community.”

From 1996 to 2001, the budget of the WAWC exploded from $300,000 to $1.5 million thanks to funding from state grants. The center was able to develop their three main programs during this time.

Two of the three large programs, Family Literacy Services and Youth Development Services, had their state funding eliminated this year. Yet the WAWC has been able to keep the programs afloat by cutting staff to the bare minimum, requiring staff to take alternating furlough days to ensure the center is always open, and cutting what O’Brien-Rojo calls “the gravy” of the Youth Development and Family Literacy services, leaving only the necessities.

It costs $200 per day to fund the Family Literacy program, and the same amount to fund the Youth Development programs.

The Youth Development Services program, which is funded 90 percent by a state grant, started out small but over time created one-on-one mentoring services, youth support groups, a comprehensive sex education program and youth empowerment programs.

The Mom and Kids Club, a 10-week program that supports families who have survived domestic violence, helped facilitate the expansion of the Youth Development program.

“We got to the end [of the program] and we had this group of teen girls that said, ‘That’s great that you finished your program, but we’ll be back here next week,’” said O’Brien-Rojo, chuckling. “They owned the center now. It was their space.”

The kids kept showing up and WAWC staff kept coming up with more programs to provide for them.

Eunie Del Rosario — or “Ms. Eunie,” as her eighth-grade science class calls her — was so affected by the “family life” class the WAWC provided for the local Shoreline Middle School as part of their Youth Development Services that she joined the board of directors at WAWC.

“I call [the program] ‘family life’ versus ‘sex ed,’” Del Rosario said. “When I hear about [sex ed], it sounds like [it’s only about] an act and the relationship is not even considered. [We] give them the opportunity to look at what the facts are and they make the choices from within.”

The program was popular with the eighth graders, who on the first day were allowed to “get their giggles out” by saying out loud every sexual slang word they could recall. UC Santa Cruz-trained volunteers from the WAWC helped to teach the program. Del Rosario said the eighth graders responded well to the volunteers.

“These young [volunteers] are so passionate and [it’s] contagious to have that energy in my classroom,” Del Rosario said. “They’re a gift to come into my room with all the up-to-date information and give these kids tools to make good choices.”

Originally, WAWC provided additional programs for sixth and seventh grade classes that taught students how to have healthy relationships and friendships with their peers; however, those services were cut due to lack of funding.
Since the cuts, the WAWC have had to replace their full-time director of Youth Development Services with a half-time staff position.

Recently, the Youth Development director was eliminated completely. Volunteers, primarily from UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College, have picked up the slack — but their time is hindered by their school schedules, which include breaks.

In 2006, the center received an award for the highest teen mom graduation rate in California, and in 2008, the center received a second award for highest rate of teen moms continuing on to higher education.

“When we started, Santa Cruz was a hot spot for teen pregnancy, and in our 10-plus years of having the funding and doing the work, it is no longer a hot spot,” O’Brien-Rojo said. “But we really need to continue that work, because if we stop, then it’s going to climb right back up again.”

Two years later, $70,000 was cut due to a state decision to allow school districts to use California School Age Families Education Program (Cal-SAFE) money that was intended to support programs for pregnant and parenting teens on general expenses.

A state Community Challenge Grant, which finances teen pregnancy prevention organizations, had helped finance the program. However, in 2011, the state ruled to eliminate the grant funding.

Due to the budget crisis, WAWC is now unable to provide childcare for the teen moms, or home visits, which the center provided to make sure the parents attended school.

The Even Start Family Literacy Program, which provides resources for the preschool-aged children at WAWC to begin a steady academic career despite instances of abuse in their past, was unable to survive the elimination of its $140,000 grant.

The program worked with many English as a Second Language (ESL) children and was so successful that many of the children tested out of ESL classes — and some students were even recruited by local private schools.

“If we weren’t here, the worst-case scenario [is that] people die,” O’Brien-Rojo said. “On the other end of the spectrum — but to me, just as grave — is people never reach their potential. They never get to be who they were put on this planet to be.”

Rhonda Rhodes, a current employee with Human Resources at UCSC, was a domestic violence survivor and a member of the WAWC in the early 1990s. After completing her own healing process, she stayed at the center and supported other women by facilitating the same support groups she joined when she first came to the center.

“It’s kind of like we always know there’s a home to go to,” Rhodes said.

Rhodes has two adult sons who were part of the WAWC childcare programs, and now has a 10-year-old daughter. Rhodes said it was “unfortunate” that the Youth Development Services and Family Literacy Services funding was cut, especially since she plans on sending her daughter to GirlZpace, a WAWC youth empowerment program.

“I always knew that the [WAWC] would be a place [my children and I] could go to for support,” Rhodes said. “It’s really sad that there’s no funding for that youth program. Sometimes you need [a] resource other than your school.”

Fundraising for the WAWC has been a difficult process. O’Brien Rojo said the center is currently trying to generate more money from the community so they will not be as vulnerable to the “whims” of the state in the future.

However, throughout the turmoil, WAWC still succeeds in keeping the meat of their programs alive by using innovative methods to fill the financial gaps left by the state.

“You’re either going to sink, float or evolve,” Del Rosario said. “[WAWC] has evolved with their ingenious ways of making ends meet.”

On March 3, WAWC hosted their third annual unique tequila tasting fundraiser, called Agave Agape, at the Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz. The event has grown from 45 guests at the first event to 150 guests this year.

Former member of the WAWC Laiaa Johnson* attended the event with her son, now a UCSC student. Johnson had used the free childcare services the center provided while working as a family law attorney in Santa Cruz County.

“[Working with the WAWC] was the best experience of my life,” she said. “It is totally a group worth supporting, because they do so much for families in our community. We are so lucky to have them.”

Members of the WAWC and domestic violence survivors from other organizations attended the event.

Nine months after she sought help, Jones sits with her friend after a support group for domestic violence survivors as they reminisce on the WAWC’s effect on their lives.

It took two years for Jones’ friend, Sarah Walker*, to admit that she needed help healing from her past of domestic abuse.

“You are so isolated that you can’t believe [it — you wonder,] ‘How did I get into this situation?’” Walker said. “And then you come here and it’s just … big hugs.”

“My life turned around for me,” Jones said, wiping tears from her eyes. “[The WAWC] started a path of healing, recovery, education, information and support in a place where I didn’t think I would be able to make it, honestly.”

The two women hugged outside the center before parting ways.

“I’m a possibilities broker,” O’Brien Rojo said. “Being the bridge, as the executive director, I give people that opportunity to be part of someone else’s possibilities by being donors. By financially supporting us, you get to be part of that person thriving. The returns on that investment are never-ending. There is never going to be a recession on human potential.”

*Names have been changed

Illustration by Matt Boblet.

In an effort to protect money allotted to the Santa Cruz Department of Economic Development and Redevelopment from falling into the hands of the state legislature, the city council has voted to sell bonds privately to J.P. Morgan, the investment banking arm of JPMorgan Chase.

The council’s decision is a reaction to Gov. Jerry Brown’s outlined state budget announced earlier this year, which as of this past Thursday has resulted in the elimination of California’s redevelopment programs. Redevelopment agencies work to improve the local economy through job creation, as well as invest in local businesses and offer small business loans. They also take on projects like low-income housing development and job training.

The decision highlights the growing schism between state and local governments as they aim to balance their budgets and divvy up tax revenue.

Although Santa Cruz is a “pay-as-we-go” county, the city council opted to sell bonds in hopes of securing $33 million to be used exclusively for the city’s redevelopment department.

The bonds are a “debt instrument,” and the city of Santa Cruz will now be required to pay back the bonds with interest over a prescribed period of time, said Peter Koht, economic development coordinator at Santa Cruz’s redevelopment agency.

The closure of redevelopment agencies is an “unprecedented threat to the local economy,” Koht said.

“We have been advised [bond sales are] the only way to protect these funds and keep local control,” Koht said. “We don’t even know if this will work.”

Koht said that “with any financial endeavor there is risk” but that the city is not selling bonds to J.P. Morgan in order to receive money for “speculative spending.” The city will only use funds for projects already underway or approved.

“The risks are all about the unknown,” vice mayor Don Lane said. “Because all of this is new, nobody knows how all this will play out. The fundamental piece, the borrowing of money, is not risky.”

Mayor Ryan Coonerty said that the downfall in the elimination of redevelopment agencies would mean the presence of fewer jobs. By further increasing costs of living and depleting employment options, the state is ultimately making California less accessible. Coonerty said in order to make the state more accessible jobs must be retained, not erased.

The state’s decision to cut redevelopment agencies and their overall proposed budget shows “very short-term thinking,” Coonerty said.

A major concern for the city council was the timeline laid out, which left a small window of time to secure funding for the current and proposed redevelopment projects before the state legislator could issue the end of redevelopment agencies.

The city has been forced to sell bonds to J.P. Morgan to ensure that the tax revenue that is appropriated to redevelopment agencies is preserved.

“Once the city has borrowed that [bond] money and has an obligation to pay it back, the state can’t take … the tax revenue we’re obligated to pay it back with,” Lane said. “The revenue to pay off that loan is locked in legally.”

The council had to wrap up bond sales this past Tuesday in order to meet its deadline and as a result, the options were very limited. Specifically, public bond sales would have taken more time than was available and would have ultimately resulted in higher interest rates.

“Ideally, the state would have balanced their own budget instead of stealing our money,” Coonerty said. “It’s certainly an example of the way the state of California puts itself ahead of local communities.”

The city, which is now locked into a loan with J.P. Morgan at 6.5 percent, has decided not to include an unwind provision in the bonds sold, further constricting the possibility of the local government losing funds to state legislators.

Koht says that unwind provisions work similarly to a contract’s severability — the window of time that exists to sever a contract before it becomes legally binding — and that the city and redevelopment agency did not want to “enter into a [bond] that could unwind immediately.”

Local city council members Coonerty and Lane stress that the council has made the move to sell bonds to J.P. Morgan because there is not a better option in sight, and that to disregard the closure of redevelopment agencies would be a disservice to the community.

Santa Cruz’s redevelopment agency was involved with rebuilding the city after the “Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, which destroyed 50 percent of downtown,” according to the City of Santa Cruz website. In the past, the redevelopment agency has worked to help resurrect the Del Mar Theatre, and is currently working to build a national marine sanctuary center intended to educate people about the marine life along the California coast.

If redevelopment agencies were completely eradicated, such projects would be left unfinished, Lane said.

The council’s decision to sell bonds and secure continued funding for redevelopment may be a move away from the city’s more financially “conservative” ways, but it has become a necessary evil in order to keep local economies afloat.

“City government over the last several years has been hammered from the state,” Lane said. “It’s become really difficult for local governments to do even the basic things. It’s why we end up fighting so hard.”

Illustration by Rachel Edelstein.

I’m broke. Worse, I’m broke and out of work.

Being penniless in college is hardly a new phenomenon. I’m awash in a sea of people who are in far greater debt than I am. Truth be told, I’m doing pretty well, all things considered.

One month, I was short on rent, so I sold my car. One week, I was strapped for cash, so I started volunteering over at the St. Francis Catholic Kitchen for a couple of free meals. Deferring payments on my credit card charges — for groceries, electricity, water and so on — has left me $800 in debt and with a whopping -$31.65 dollars in my bank accounts. I thought about writing a check for $0.25 yesterday just to revel in some masochistic pleasure of watching it bounce.

It’ll be a cold day in hell before I even dream of dialing up my house’s thermostat.

Sure, I’m frustrated that I’m unemployed, especially considering how many applications have come back with that “thanks, but no thanks” response. Even while my work study hours idly waste away, I realize I could be much worse off.

When I pick up the paper, tune into the news, or even walk downtown, I’m reminded just how poor the condition of the job market is out there. Just the realization alone is enough to send shivers down my spine.

A broken economy that has resulted in rampant unemployment — nearly 30 percent in places like Watsonville — has created an enormous budget deficit at the national, state and local levels. With cuts like Gov. Jerry Brown’s $500 million to the UC system being implemented, joblessness threatens to be exacerbated, not remedied.

At the national level, the budget deficit has crippled federal funding to nearly every program imaginable. Everything from public education to health clinics faces the axe. With many national programs in the budget getting wrung for every dollar they’re worth, it should come as little surprise that HR 589, which would have retroactively extended already exhausted unemployment benefits by an additional 14 weeks, was shot down in Congress.

We’re doing no better here in the Golden State. Compared to the nation’s 9.8 percent unemployment rate, California limps along at 12.3 percent unemployed. The Associated Press ranked 15 out of the nation’s top 20 most economically stressed counties in California. Eight of Forbes magazine’s top 20 most “miserable” cities, based on factors such as unemployment, crime and tax rates, are in California.

The state, which faces enormous budget deficits, high unemployment, plunging home real estate values and rising taxes, continues to break the backs of the jobless and leave those on the cusp in a nervous sweat. Soon enough, my Golden State will need to trade in its title for silver or bronze.

In other words, it gets worse.

Advocates from the National Employment Law Project testified before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month that people without jobs are being discriminated against. According to the NELP, potential employers are overlooking people who have been out of work for six or more months in favor of those who are transferring from one job into another. Employers have either flat-out denied this claim, have stated that they prefer potential employees’ skilled labors not be rusty, or have jumped to the conclusion that those who have been out of work for so long must possess a poor work ethic. After all, there couldn’t be any other reason 6.3 million people would be out of work for so long, could there?

Here’s another twist to our story: Minorities are a disproportionately represented demographic among the unemployed. 15.7 percent of African-Americans and 11.9 percent of Latinos are unemployed, compared to 8 percent of the white population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Although race- and gender-based hiring discrimination is illegal, it is not illegal to discriminate based upon present employment.

The punchline: There are few jobs out there and even fewer employers who will hire those who need them. I am all the more blessed to be able to attend an accredited university and nab my degree while the nation weathers the worst economic period in 70 years. Every statistic, pamphlet, Magic 8-Ball and fortune cookie suggests that a bachelor’s degree will land me a job — one I’ll probably like, for that matter.

But no amount of assurance ever put food on my plate, paid my rent or made me feel any better about being told I was “overqualified” for work. I’ve looked around and as far as I can tell, once I step out off campus, my job problems will only get worse.

Photos by Devika Agarwal.

UC Santa Cruz is known for many things. Among them are the beloved banana slug, an eclectic and unique mix of academic programs and majors and the coding of the human genome. However, unlike at many other UC campuses, athletics doesn’t top our list.

The UCSC athletic department is easily one of the most under-funded programs on campus. Budget cuts and an overall lack of financial stability have caused the school to reevaluate the future of the department.

Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Felicia McGinty recently assembled the Athletic Task Force to assess the current state of athletics on campus and to see what can be done to make it a fully functioning and autonomous program.

Athletic Director Linda Spradley hopes that this newfound interest in athletic programs will help bring about an athletic renaissance.

“The school wants to see the value of athletics at UCSC,” Spradley explained. “It’s a move to improve the athletic department and we’re doing this to give a better picture of athletics during this economic downturn.”

Ryan Andrews, the executive director of OPERS and head of the Athletic Task Force, explains that there are currently many issues that need to be considered when looking at the athletic department’s situation. These aspects include full-time coaches and faculty, financial needs, campus commitment level, as well as UCSC’s potential future as a Division II school.

“The Athletic Task Force is immensely diverse in its members,” Andrews said. “We have student athletes, people from enrollment management, faculty representatives, alumni and even the assistant chancellor. So we have many points of views on how the campus is and how athletics factors into it.”

Creating Fanatics

Vice Chancellor McGinty believes one of the biggest problems with UCSC athletics is unrelated to finances, but rather has to do with an overall lack of awareness.

“There are improvements that can be made to the department that don’t require money, such as giving our student athletes a greater profile and publicity on campus,” said McGinty.

With the lack of publicity for sporting events on campus, even students that want to be interested in sports have a hard time keeping track of what’s happening with their favorite teams.

“I never know what’s going on with our sports on campus, I never see fliers, and I never see any kind of promotions, so I stay pretty unaware of what’s happening because of that,” said third-year Raquel Parks.

Brenna Sullivan, one of the captains of the swim and dive team, feels that the creation of a fan base as well as promotion of school spirit are essential to the success of teams on campus.

“You get more exposure to the school, enhance school spirit, develop a fan base and ultimately cultivate very loyal alumni who contribute money and endowments to the university,” said Sullivan. “As long as UCSC is set on expanding the campus, more funding and effort should be put into athletics. For now, I think most athletes on campus are just content on being able to participate in their sports in light of funding cuts.”

Men’s Soccer Coach Michael Runeare said that the small amount of publicity that is generated on campus does not come from the administration or athletic department, but rather from students themselves.

“The student media around here does a great job of giving athletics serious coverage; however I do feel that the school could generate more publicity around athletics,” Runeare said. “I know I just gave my team fliers to hand out promoting the Regional Tournament being held at East Field this weekend so I know we are doing what we can.”

Runeare also added there is the need for coaches to become full-time employees to the school, which he believes would better allow them to perform their coaching duties, promote success and constantly be there for the players whenever they are needed.

“I think a priority should be to pay coaches as full-time employees,” said Runeare “It makes a big difference to be able to meet and see someone whenever, plus there are so many ways to employ coaches with the department, if only the funding was there.”

Andrews concurs with Runeare and says that the school and the Athletic Task Force are taking that into serious consideration.

“We have talked to and researched a lot of other universities and their athletic programs and there are some constants that appear — such as the hiring of coaches as full-time staff — which is a factor that we within the committee have to seriously look at and consider on many fronts.”

The UCSC athletic department operates with a yearly budget of $750,000 to cover everything including travel, facilities, equipment and coaches’ salaries. The average budget for most D-III sports programs at other universities is about $1 million higher than at UCSC.

“Seventy percent of my budget goes to travel costs alone. This year my players bought their own gear because we didn’t have the funds to supply them some,” said Runeare. “It’s turning into a situation where it’s costing more to come and play here, which is tough on certain athletes who have financial constraints”

With the rising profile of UCSC as one of the state’s best public universities, McGinty sees this lack of athletic funding as a real problem

“I was really taken aback when I realized just how poorly funded athletics [are] here on this campus,” said McGinty. “This is frustrating considering how beautiful our campus is, and the rising population of students attending.”

Division II Rumors

One of the most radical changes being considered by the Athletics Task Force is the idea to make UCSC a Division II school. Currently, NCAA D-III schools cannot give out athletic scholarships. A switch to D-II would mean attracting more student athletes that are seeking athletic scholarships, which could potentially mean a larger talent base.

“The attractive part of becoming a Division II team is the fact that we can give out scholarships to those who need them, however it also requires the department to have an increased budget and have the athletic facilities improved,” McGinty said.

While Coach Runeare does concede that a D-II athletics program would take away the financial stress and create a more intense competition atmosphere, he favors the D-III mentality.

“I like being a D-III school; I like the student athlete philosophy. I like D-III and our positioning within it. Being the only D-III UC helps us bring kids who want to play but also want the UC experience.”

Swim coach Kim Musch isn’t so sure that UC Santa Cruz will become a D-II school.

“I’ve heard that the school is looking at becoming a D-II school, but to do so would require minimum funding levels for the team. The school would have to make a real commitment to the programs. Personally I don’t see it happening.”

Women’s swim and dive captain Sullivan thinks that with some programs, such as swimming, becoming D-II could be beneficial to the program, but doubts that the finances needed are available.

“I think some sports might benefit from being in Division II.  In swimming, for example, the national cuts are slower because there are fewer schools in Division II,” Sullivan said. “However, I don’t think this would be a good move for the athletic department as a whole — our programs barely get funded as it is.”

Andrews looks at the potential change realistically and wants to address the problem at hand before looking to the future.

“Becoming a Division II team would take upwards of 15 years. Right now we need to work on properly funding a Division III team.”

Changing Perceptions

Beyond the financial hurdles, one of the biggest obstacles the athletic department may have in trying to expand athletics is UCSC’s reputation of a student body that rejects school spirit and athletics.

“People just don’t know what we could be; some people have a fear that the campus will suddenly become fully focused upon athletics instead of academics,” McGinty said. “But the two can exist together.”

Third-year Kyan Mahzouf also feels as though the campus should recognize all the good that can come from athletics.

“I don’t think we should become UCLA or Berkeley, where athletics are a huge priority to the campus and the culture,” Mahzouf said, “however I do think that there is a lot of good that can come from supporting our teams and the athletic department.”

Men’s basketball coach Gordon Johnson feels as though many on campus have an outdated perception that athletics are rejected on campus.

“I personally feel that the school has a misconception of sports on this campus,” Johnson said. “Our athletes are smart and responsible kids who work hard at their sports and for their school, [and] I don’t see why investing money into them should change any of that.”

Ryan Matsuoka, a guard for the men’s basketball team, feels that student athletes are not adequately recognized by fellow students.

“I think that athletics are sometimes underappreciated on campus by students and faculty,” Matsuoka said. “Those who know what our athletes do and sacrifice understand a little more and are respected.”

Coach Runeare feels that the perception of sports and their place on campus has changed for the better over the past several years.

“I’ve been here eight years and I have seen a change in the school spirit and games,” Runeare said. “The demographic here has changed [in] that now there are more people who are interested in athletics”

Andrews underscored why he thinks it’s so important to keep sports fully funded.

“It’s hard to put a specific value on athletics,” Andrews said. “How do you put a value on camaraderie, leadership, hard work and commitment?”

Matsuoka is happy to be playing at UCSC and feels as though being on the team has allowed him to grow substantially as a person.

“I have loved every moment of playing basketball for UCSC,” he said. “I have learned so much about hard work and what it takes to be a successful athlete, student and human being.”