Bishop Soto was at the Common Ground Action to build a better community on Tuesday January 21st here at St. Basil's in the Gym. He was excited to hear how the Catholic community came together this past summer to put faith into action by advocating for the tenants of Strawberry Hills and Holiday Gardens. Together, we heard and shared stories about ourselves and the vulnerable in our community-- seniors, youth, the working poor and homeless. County Supervisors and Vallejo city officials were there as well. Over 250 people from across Vallejo and Fairfield attended this event! All three Vallejo parishes were well represented in the assembly.

If you would like to participate in future meetings, join us February 11th at 6pm, when we go over the stories we heard and decide what to work on! We will meet at First Christian Church 1035 Indiana St (in the hall around the corner on Colusa St.).




**Much gratitude to St. Basil the Great Parish and School staff for allowing us use of the facilities. Special thanks to Bill Ang and Noni Geli for the sound system.**

Join St. Basil clergy and leaders in a listening session with Fr. Jeremy.  On Sunday October 6, 2019 from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm in the Msgr. Byrne Room we want to hear from you, our parishioners.  

As you may be aware, Common Ground was instrumental in assisting the tenants at Strawberry Hills & Holiday Gardens.  You may have joined us at the press conference at City Hall on July 9th.  Our work led to an emergency moratorium on rent hikes for all renters of Vallejo by the Mayor and City Council.  We want to use this momentum to practice what we've learned and continue working on issues of concern of our St. Basil parishioners by holding another listening session on October 6th with Fr. Jeremy.  Please come and share your story.
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Update: About 20 parishioners attended the listening session with Fr. Jeremy.  What we heard was overwhelming concern about our senior members.  We will follow-up on issues revolving around housing, home care, medical care, transportation obstacles, and safety. 

Please join St. Basil's and Common Ground at the Civic Academy on November 12th to learn more about our housing and safety research.  Join your Vallejo neighbors at St. Basil's Gym from 6:30-8pm.

Guided by the Holy Spirit and our clergy, the St Basil Common Ground committee will strive to develop strategies to help meet the needs of St Basil’s faith community. We will identify by whatever means the most pressing needs, make plans for solutions, organize our teams, train and direct our members, coordinate with other social service and faith based organizations and fully utilize our talents, while at the same time encouraging more parishioners to become active participants in our efforts. 

CALL TO ACTION UPDATE: 

At its regular meeting on July 9, 2019, the Council adopted an emergency ordinance limiting the amount of rent increases during a pendency emergency, regulating evictions and rolling back rents to a pre-emergency levels.  Council also requested that staff determine if a longer time period could be used for reaffirming the Proclamation. 

Staff has determined that Government Code section 8630 will allow for a 60-day time period between reaffirmation of the Proclamation.  However, in order to take advantage of the 60-day period, Council will need to amend Resolution 19-069 in which it required a 30-day time period.

The 60-day time period amendment was approved at the special City Council meeting held on August 1, 2019.

ATTEND THE SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON JULY 16TH AT 6 PM

CALL TO ACTION JULY 9TH:  Support your neighbor by attending the Common Ground press conference and
City Council Meeting on

Tuesday July 9th at 6 p.m. at City Hall
(555 Santa Clara Street)

What if you received a note taped to your door stating your rent was going up by $1000 in 60 days?  It happened at both Strawberry Hill and Holiday Garden apartment complexes. Many of the residents are elderly Filipino immigrants; others are seniors or disabled on fixed incomes or the working poor.  They don’t know where they will go. Some of our St. Basil parishioners live in those apartments.  Our neighbors could become homeless in a matter of weeks.  

The City Council of Vallejo has promised to help them-- and we need to show the city council that these tenants have the community’s support!
 
Saint Basil’s is partnering with the Vallejo Catholic parishes and other religious churches and institutions in Vallejo as members of Common Ground to support these neighbors-- and our community as a whole.  Stop by on your way out of mass and sign up if you want to learn more about how to help.  Or leave your name and phone number with the Parish Office 644-5251. We ask that you sign up so our volunteers can call you to remind you.