Voces Ciudadanas started with group of friends who wanted to underline the rapid gentrification taking place in Sunset Park and the limited participation of immigrants in those changes. We received a grant to carry out an action research project that allowed us to speak with and involve other neighbors in developing a strategy to incorporate the voices of immigrants in the issues affecting us.
We also piloted a zine-making youth program, i-Change, to create a space for youth to speak up about issues that are important to them.
Soon thereafter, we connected with a group of parents who were organizing to address severe overcrowding affecting local schools. We joined these parents and helped gather signatures in the neighborhood to demand the Department of Education address the issue.
With these parents, we launched the Make Space for Schools Campaign (MSS), a grassroots campaign led by parents that demanded the immediate construction of quality schools in the neighborhood. This campaign successfully led to the creation of 4 school buildings in our community.
We then realized that Voces Ciudadanas needed to be formally incorporated as a nonprofit to better support grassroots efforts in Sunset Park. Two of the original founders of Voces still serve on the board of directors of the organization.