PACT: People Acting in Community Together Inc

Carlos Tripodi spends his days making sure Spanish speaking families have language access in their schools as a professional translator.  He spends his nights worrying whether he can keep a roof over the head of his own family.

So, when Carlos learned that PACT was working for better renters’ protections in San Jose, he joined the PACT Housing Team to lend his voice to the struggle.

Living with his wife and two young children in a 650 square foot one-bedroom apartment on San José’s Eastside, Carlos spends over half of his income and the rest on bills and living expenses.

“Our family wants to be able to have enough money to raise our children in San Jose. We want them to go to college and to stay here so they can give back to their community.” That made sense to the PACT Housing Team, too, and Carlos soon became a primary spokesperson.

Carlos shared his story at rallies, on television and radio, to the mayor and at the PACT Community Action to make sure city officials understand how hard it is to raise a family when rents are out of control.

“With the current eviction law,” Carlos recently told City Council members, “my wife and I worry that we can be evicted for no reason. There are no guarantees. It is extremely difficult to find housing that is immediately available and affordable. The danger of being homeless looms over our heads every day.”

Carlos sacrifices time with his family on this issue because he believes that "one voice can make a difference, but many voices together can make a huge difference and bring meaningful change." 

With the PACT team, Carlos brought 500 people out to demand a commitment from City Council members Carrasco and Peralez along with the Mayor to fight for renters’ protections. Through a process of research, meetings and testimonies, leaders learned that they have an important voice in this critical issue.

Renters most affected by the housing crisis must be part of the solution, and PACT makes that possible. Like Carlos says, "As individuals we are not alone because there are resources like PACT available to empower us with the necessary skills and tools to advocate for social causes."

On April 19th, the San Jose City Council voted on improvements for renters' protections after hearing hundreds of renter stories like Carlos'. While the changes were only a start to addressing the housing crisis, PACT has built momentum with leaders, including Carlos, that we will continue to draw from as this fight continues.

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Founded in 1985, People Acting in Community Together (PACT) provides leadership training and experience to community members of many different ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds in Santa Clara County. Working together, PACT's leaders organize to address racial and economic disparities that affects our communities. PACT's work includes:

- Keeping families together through local and national immigration reform, 

- Expanding educational opportunities for our children,

- Affordable and accessible transportation for seniors and low-income families,

- protection for renters against high rents and eviction.