South LA resident Luisa’s home was once full of mold, holes in the carpet, peeling paint, rats and cockroaches.

The previous landlord ignored fixing the property that was sold for a bargain price, but fortunately Luisa learned her rights and is now enjoying a nice home where she can finally feel relaxed safe and healthier thanks to successful agreements with the new landlord.

Listen to her story:

On December 7, SAJE went to 32nd Street School for a Dig-In benefitting a Kindergarten class. Parents, teachers, volunteers and USC athletes came out on a rainy morning to plant a beautiful healthy garden. Students will now have an opportunity to learn through a hands on experience about growing their own healthy food.

Check out the video to see the entire transformation:

On November 9, I participated at SAJE’s Annual Bowlathon where I represented “The Incredibowls.” This event was a fundraiser to inspire our community to support SAJE. We actually met the goal of raising $50,000 and had fun as we bowled with supporters, donors and other leaders from the community. As a SAJE leader, I would like to thank everyone who participated and I hope to see you all next year!

Hope you enjoy our short clip!

SAJE staff went to St. John’s Well Child and Family Center in South Los Angeles for another Dig-In garden project. The mission was to plant healthy fresh edibles and flowers along the parkways of 57th, 55th, and 54th Streets on raised beds.

This time, I interviewed CD 9 Councilman, Curren Price Jr. on the importance of growing healthy gardens in the community. He stated that the future plan for the district is to continue planting more gardens, including outside his own field office in order to prevent diseases like Type II diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. I absolutely agreed with Councilman Price and believe it is necessary to continue growing gardens for a healthier South Los Angeles.

Check out video from the first Dig-In featuring Guerilla Gardener Ron Finley: Growing Healthy Food for South LA!

Jesus interviewed a resident living at Elden Ave. whose son has been suffering from nosebleeds caused by the mold in his apartment. He stays up at nights worrying that his son might suffocate with his own blood and for the last five years his landlord has been ignoring his plumbing complaints.What’s more outrageous is that the landlords only reasoning up to date is that plumbing repairs are too expensive!

Repairs were done at Flora’s apartment, but looks can be deceiving in this case. As we walked into her home, we saw that the initial problems were still there and were only covered up by fresh paint and new flooring.

On the positive side, her children aren’t bit by rodents anymore as she has been working hard to get rid of them through traps bought with her own money.

Check out her her last video, where her daughter got video footage of the rats that were caught in only one night: Rodents and Insects Invading Our Home