Last day to Register, California!

Today, October 24th, marks the last day to register. However, same-day voter registration will still be available on Election Day.

As we experience constant attacks on our democracy, it's so very important that we get everyone to the polls, and elect pro-choice candidates who are committed to fighting for our fundamental rights. 

Mail Ballot Drop-Off Map – San Bernardino County Elections – Registrar of Voters 

Hard truths about deinstitutionalization, then and now

By1975 board-and-care homes had become big business in California. In Los Angeles alone, there were “approximately 11,000 ex-state-hospital patients living in board-and-care facilities.” Many of these homes were owned by for-profit chains, such as Beverly Enterprises, which owned 38 homes. Many homes were regarded by their owners “solely as a business, squeezing excessive profits out of it at the expense of residents.” Five members of Beverly Enterprises’ board of directors had ties to Governor Reagan; the chairman was vice chairman of a Reagan fundraising dinner, and “four others were either politically active in one or both of the Reagan [gubernatorial] campaigns and/or contributed large or undisclosed sums of money to the campaign.” Financial ties between the governor, who was emptying state hospitals, and business persons who were profiting from the process would also soon become apparent in other states.

The majority of mental hospitals in California closed in the late 1990s, when former Republican Governor Pete Wilson formed a task force to examine state hospitals operations. The task force discovered that the populations of many state hospitals had dropped drastically and the per-capita cost had skyrocketed to over $100,000 annually. 

SB 145 Myths and Facts

California's 2020 Senate Bill 145 aims to eliminate inequality in sex offender registration requirements, fact-checkers report

In September, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 145 into law. The bill prevents young adults engaging in non-vaginal sex with a minor within 10 years of their age from being automatically added to the sex offender registry, and allows a state judge to make that decision instead, PolitiFact explains. The bill was described by Senator Scott Weiner as an "anti-discrimination law" as it protects LGBTQ people from facing automatic registration as sex offenders. Senate Bill 145 does not legalize pedophilia, fact-checkers from The Associated Press, Reuters, PolitiFact and Snopes report.

The student debt relief application is LIVE

Did you see the news? The Biden administration’s Department of Education has officially launched the online application to apply for up to $20,000 in student debt relief.

Over the last weekend alone, more than 8 million Americans applied via the beta version of the application.

You have until December 31, 2023 to submit your application. It only takes a minute to complete and no supporting documents or your Federal Student Aid (FSA) ID are required. To qualify, individual borrowers must make less than $125,000 a year. Families who make $250,000 a year are also eligible.

If you received a Pell Grant, you may qualify for up to $20,000 in loan relief. If not, you may qualify for up to $10,000 in student debt relief.

Take a minute to officially apply for up to $20,000 in student debt relief.

President Biden’s decision on student debt relief will eliminate federal student loan debt for roughly a third of borrowers. Without the burden of student debt, many Americans will finally be able to start building the lives they’ve envisioned.

This historic moment couldn’t have happened without organizers and activists like yourself. You shared your stories, signed petitions, and showed up online and on the ground to hold President Biden to his promise of canceling federal student loan debt. The actions of President Biden and Democrats show us that they’re listening — and delivering results. 

Submit your application to receive up to $20,000 in student debt relief. It only takes a minute!

Together, we’ve proved that young people have the power to create transformative change and improve the lives of millions of people — and we’re just getting started. 

P.S. Already applied yourself? Share this post with your friends and family who may still need to apply for student debt relief.

LIVE NOW: We're live now

Webinar: Post-Foreclosure Options

Webinar: Post-Foreclosure Options


Join tomorrow at 1:00 pm to learn about post-foreclosure options in the latest webinar in the Help for Homeowners series.

RSVP Here

A troubling tale of a Black man trying to get his first mortgage

 Over 70% of Black mortgage applicants surveyed believe they have faced “stricter requirements because of their race”

Of the Black applicants rejected, the vast majority cited a high debt-to-income ratio as a factor, along with a low credit score. Black households are more than twice as likely to have student debt with a median $40,000 student debt load. Racism may also play a role.

Mortgage denial rate for Black applicants is 84 percent higher than for white applicants, according to data from Zillow in 2020, the most year the data was available. This is an increase from 2019 when the denial rate was 74 percent higher.

Overall Black ownership is up at 44 percent, but it is still below the peaks it hit in the early 2000s. The highest being 49.7 percent in 2004.

We already know the homeownership gap for Black people was low compared to other demographics in the United States and it will take an extreme amount of work and effort to ensure that there is equity among Black homeowners.

Interestingly, the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey plus an NAR-conducted survey that 8,000 homebuyers took in 2019 and 2020 – shows that 10% of Black mortgage applicants were rejected. That compares to 6% Hispanic applicants, 4 % white and 4% Asian applicants.

Forty-one percent of Black mortgage applicants responded that they believed to have faced “stricter requirements because of their race” compared to 27% of Asian homebuyers surveyed, 19% of Hispanic respondents and 16% of white households.