On September 29, 2024, Resilience Orange County helped organize the first-ever tenant and housing convening in Costa Mesa—a historic and long-overdue step toward building regional tenant power across Orange County.
The Housing and Tenant Rights Convening was co-organized with Costa Mesa Unidos and Housing is a Human Right OC, with support from the Tenants Together and Kennedy Commission. It brought together tenants, grassroots organizers, community leaders, and local elected officials around one shared purpose: to build collective power to challenge displacement, defend tenant rights, and transform the housing system from the ground up.
Breaking Isolation, Building Power
Too often, tenants are forced to navigate a brutal housing market alone. This convening was about changing that. For many, it was the first time they gathered with renters from other cities—Santa Ana, Westminster, Anaheim, and Costa Mesa—to share their stories, struggles, and strategies.
That cross-city connection matters. Housing injustice doesn’t stop at city lines—neither should our organizing. The presence of leaders from each of these cities made it clear that the fight for tenant justice in OC is growing, connected, and being shaped by those on the frontlines.
Grassroots groups like Esperanza Unión de Inquilinos, Costa Mesa Unidos, and CHAMOY brought the heart of the convening into focus. Each of these organizations represents a different thread of the tenant experience—families resisting displacement, youth organizing in their neighborhoods, and local tenant unions building power block by block. Hearing directly from these leaders reminded us that we don’t just need more policy—we need more power in the hands of those who live the consequences of inaction every day.
Voices of Policy and Resistance
The convening also featured a panel of local public officials who have stood alongside tenants in critical housing fights:
Arlis Reynolds, Costa Mesa City Councilmember
Jessie Lopez, Santa Ana City Councilmember
Manny Escamilla, Senior Policy Advisor to OC Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento
These leaders echoed a shared message: policy changes don’t happen in a vacuum—they happen when communities organize and demand them.
A Beginning, Not an End
No campaigns were launched that day. No policies passed. But something more foundational happened: tenants connected across cities, aligned on shared demands, and made a commitment to build together.
The convening marked the first step toward a stronger, countywide tenant movement, rooted in community and led by those most impacted.
It was also a reminder that organizing is not always loud. Sometimes it starts quietly—in small rooms, in living rooms, in convenings like this—where trust is built and strategy begins to take shape.
Costa Mesa Steps Forward
For Costa Mesa, this was a milestone. A city where tenant issues have often gone unseen was now home to its first regional gathering of renters, youth organizers, and housing advocates.
We left that space with more than notes—we left with new relationships, shared vision, and a deeper understanding that our power lives in each other.
We’re grateful to every organizer, tenant leader, and speaker who helped make this convening possible. This is how we move—at the speed of trust, and rooted in the power of our people.