Article by shayla tonge

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MADE By Sha

Park and East Palo Alto. Run by single Latina moms, the shop exudes a lively, small town vibe and customers often visit each week.

Here the community can come for affordable clothing as well as handmade products such as candles, infant wear, tote bags, and sweatshirts.

EPA Made is a start up, born from humble beginnings like the tech companies that surround it, though its mission is very

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pair of hands feed pale fabric Winto a whirring sewing machine as upbeat Spanish music plays on the speakers. The door jingles and a friendly female voice chimes, “Welcome!” The voice belongs to Ayaka Lu, co-founder of EPA Made, who whisks around the shop decked in pastels. Customers of varying socioeconomic status wander through the racks of the boutique styled thrift shop located on the border of Menlo

differe n t .

P a l o Alto, the shop’s neighboring city, is among

the most affluent areas in the country due to the tech boom, but not a moment’s drive away lies East Palo Alto, where nearly one fifth of residents live below the poverty line (Kerr). In the midst of this disparity, the social enterprise EPA Made strives to bring hope to struggling single moms in East Palo Alto by provid

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ing jobs t h a t bring dignity, and by creating a supportive community of stability and growth. Lu is the visionary behind a of single moms team w h o are the artists that bring life and color to the masterpiece that is EPA Made. Life is difficult for the typical young single mom in East Palo Alto (EPA). Juggling her children’s every need,

shouldering a demanding low-wage job, and paying the bills on her own is draining and often leads to a cycle of hopelessness. She carries the burden of her children’s well being alone. According to the Research Brief on Poverty in the San Francisco Bay Area, “One third (34.4%) of single mother families were ‘food

insecure,’ one seventh (13%) used food pantries, one third spent more than half their inhousicome on which is gening, erally considered the threshold for ‘severe housing cost burden.’” Providing a home is one of the biggest burdens pressing on a single mom in EPA, especially due to the housing crisis plaguing the Bay Area. For decades EPA has

been a neglected corner of the Silicon valley, living under the poverty line. However, because it is such a prime location for tech employees from companies like Facebook and Google, high rent rates are displacing low-income members of the EPA community and replacing them with wealthier residents. According to Step h e n Barton’s Final Re p o r t on the East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Program,“The Census Bureau estimated the median East Palo Alto rent in the upper quartile of rents nationally.” Lucero Reals, an EPA Made employee and single mom put it simply

ing to creatively address the need as a designer, Lu began to act on her favorite line from Charles Eames: “Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design.”

She and her husband Allen began designing and dreaming of an organization that could potentially have a permanent presence in the community. “I truly believe that every person is gifted with can something that that u t e can contribcan Contribute society to and I wanted to be part of helping them find it,” Lu gushed. Once only a raw sketch in Lu’s residents. Having tial in creating a livelihood for journal, her vibeen a single these women in a dignifying sion for EPA mom for two way. Remembering her own struggles as a sinMade began years, Ayaka Lu, a gle mother, and to take shape. graphic designer, want In 2014, EPA got involved with Made beNew Creation came Home, a non-profit in an EPA that seeks to foster independence for at-risk young mothers and to encourage vo c at i o n a l , parental, and social “Here in East Palo Alto ev- growth. Doing crafts with the erything’s gomothers at New ing crazy Creation Home right now was a way for Lu with the rent, to get to know and I don’t the women, so think it’s fair together they ‘cause...

I made candles to know for sure to sell at a funthat some draiser in the people can’t fall of 2013. afford to pay Their very not even like first customers nine hundred marveled at dollars,” for a the high qualplace to stay. ity handmade prodThis disparucts, suggesting ity has bethey be sold at come a a higher price. stark Lu saw potenfor EPA many reality

Every Person Is Gifted WI TH

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official social enterprise, and four New Creation Home moms joined the team. The following spring they worked out of the Lu family living room, and several months later rented a tiny space with one chair, holding meetings in a circle on the floor. Almost year after EPA was born, the team finally contracted a lease, and now run a thrift boutique called EPA Shop, bridging two very socioeconomically and culturally divided communities. As Lu and the team prepared to move into their new space, many people made negative stereotypical comments.

Addressing these perceptions, Lu commented, “It is a barrier that we still face, and that’s why we’re thankful for this shop and its strategic location right on the border, so people get to come in and realize ‘oh, this is just like any other shop.’” Together Lu and the women are tackling these obstacles and Lu added, “In a sense, I think our store levels people because everyone comes in as customers, Lu afrom ‘cause we’re right in the middle.” Because of this, EPA Shop has largely been able to serve both “sides” of the of socioeconomic divide.

When the flow of customers lulls, Lu and members of the

Providing Hope and helping the women address a mindset they might not even be aware they have

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team set to work in the makeshift studio. The whirring of a sewing mahine crescendos along with the rising chatter as the employees settle down to create handmade goods.

Two pairs of careful hands, belonging to single mothers Lucero and Ana Maria, meticulously screen print the EPA Made logo onto sweatshirts and onesies.

Lu sets out a swath of fabrics folded and sewn into bows.

Another employee brings a steaming plate of quesadillas and the women gather around to share a meal. The studio is a patchwork of creativity, lively conversation, newly learned skills, and laughter. hey are creating a community of dignity and trust. Lu remarked, “We try to be creative and innovative about different types of vocational training, but at the end of it, don’t if you a family that have comes around, what is the point?”

This sense of communitys the thread that weaves the masterpiece together. At her last job Lucero felt very isolated, yet her experiece

working at EPA Made has been radically different. Lucero explained, “There is communication here and I think that’s the most important thing in a job...to have communication especially when you’re working in a team.” Furthermore, EPA Made not only provides a job opportunity, but also a chance for the employees to receive life skills training. Lisa Lewis, a long time educator and Life Coach, volunteers several times a month to help the team create boundaries and expectations. Lewis observes thoughtfully, “I sense some limitation from generational poverty, a mindset that does not see for hope and opportunity. I really admire what EPA Made is doing in the sense of providing opportunity, providing hope, and helping the women address a mindset that they might not even be aware that they have.”

Lu explained, “What’s unique about EPA Made is the merging of community, creativity, and business, all into one, as a leveled community.” Lu points out that there are not a lot of examples of this kind of job

creation for impoverished communities within a firstworld country, which has made the process full of trial and error. However, she believes they’re creating an exciting model, and sees it as a successful approach that can be replicated in low-income communities across the country. “Part of my dream for EPA Made is seeing our current team start training the new generation and then see that generation train the new generation,” Lu expressed. She hopes for EPA Made to become “not just an enterprise that makes money and makes people’s lives a little

little bit easier, but more like a village that raises kids together.” In Lu’s mind, job creation can be much more than ensuring a paycheck for these women each month, but a way to surround them in a positive community of hope when they would otherwise be bearing the burden alone. “We have a goal and we have a purpose, so we’re gonna work together to do this for the betterment of our well being, our kids, and our future,” Lu declared. EPA Made may never be a completed masterpiece. It will certainly continue to grow, become more beautiful, and add color to the lives of these single moms and many more to come.

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Works Cited Barton, Stephen. Review of the City of East Palo Alto Rent Stabilization Program. Rep.

N.p., 28 Jan. 2015. Web

Camp, Ellie. Personal Interview. 22 March 2016.

Kerr, Dara. “East Palo Alto: Life on the Other Side of Silicon Valley’s Tracks.”

CNET. N.p., 31 Aug. 2015. Web. 5 April. 2016.

Lewis, Lisa. Personal Interview. 15 March 2016.

Lu, Ayaka. Personal Interview. 5 March 2016.

Lu, Ayaka. Personal Interview. 30 March 2016.

Rios, Lucero. Personal Interview. 30 March 2016.

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Shayla Tonge Shayla Tonge is a passionate, people loving kinda girl. She loves spontaneous adventure, telling stories through creative writing, and spending time with close friends. A Junior at Mountain View High School, Shayla plays Water Polo, enjoys watercolor, and loves to be outside. Whatever she does, she pursues enthusiastically and gives her all. In the last year Shayla has found a home at Freestyle Academy where the pursuit of art and the creative mind is celebrated and fostered.

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