Julia’s family moved to Alameda when she was 12 years old. She remembers the town felt like everybody knew everybody, the Naval Air Station was still operating, and she would see Navy officers in uniform at the base’s front gates and later off duty on Webster Street. An Island High graduate, Julie remembers her first job working with her best friend, a simpler time when you knew your neighbors and talked to them often.

“Alameda's home. I mean, we come home from there and smell that smell of that stinky water, and it's so good. It's like, ‘Oh, I'm home.’”

She fondly reminisced about the dive bars she used to frequent, the live music, and other third spaces she held dear. For her, the city has changed; today Alameda caters to higher income tastes with fewer affordable restaurants and large housing developments, especially at Alameda Point.

For Julia, her life changed in an instant when she was evicted from her apartment and had to move in with her sister. They both live with disabilities that affect their mobility, and with the extra income, Julie and her sister were able to afford groceries regularly, enjoy local restaurants, and even afford new mattresses and a set of new tires for her car for the first time in her life. The program created extra space in her life for joy and stress relief, improving her wellbeing.