A longtime nonprofit serving Latino and immigrant communities on California’s Central Coast is working to reclaim its historic headquarters, after losing the property in 2021 following bankruptcy.
La Casa de la Raza, located at the corner of Calle Cesar Chavez and East Montecito Street in Santa Barbara, was founded in the 1970s. It once served as a key community hub, offering housing assistance, legal aid, food programs and culturally rooted education.
“It was some of the best times of our lives,” said Lisa Valencia Sherrat, board president of La Casa de la Raza. “There were families, students, business owners, more conservative people, more radical people — the Brown Berets. So many different kinds of people.”
The organization also operated educational initiatives grounded in Indigenous knowledge, including one called Proyecto Ollín, which focused on math and science.
By 2021, financial issues and internal conflicts during the COVID-19 pandemic forced the nonprofit to cease operations and declare bankruptcy. Now, the original board is seeking to revive it, with the help of a $130,000 donation from a deceased couple who had retired in Santa Barbara.
To access the funds, the board had to prove in court that it is the legitimate governing body of the nonprofit. That included showing compliance with the IRS, California’s Franchise Tax Board, Attorney General’s Office, and Secretary of State.
Meanwhile, the building remains in legal limbo.
It is undergoing a court-managed sale and was recently red-tagged, declaring it unsafe, following a fire inspection. The current occupants pushed back against those findings.
Jacquline Inda, who says she was asked by the property owner to continue services at La Casa in 2021, spoke at a recent council meeting but did not clarify what services are currently offered.
“I don’t want to get into the conversation of, 'well, what’s going on in there,'” Inda said. “The focus in front of us is to remove those red tags to make it accessible.”
In a fact sheet sent to KCBX, Inda accused the City of Santa Barbara of aligning with President Donald Trump’s immigration policies by red-tagging the building.
The city has denied those claims.
“The property owner will have 30 days to begin and actively pursue compliance and correction of the violations,” said the Santa Barbara city attorney during the council meeting. “We recognize how important the services are for vulnerable members of our community and remain committed to working with partners.”
Valencia Sherrat said the original Casa de la Raza board has no affiliation with Inda or the current tenants but hopes to return once legal matters are resolved.
A community forum is planned in late May to discuss next steps.
