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United American Indian Involvement is moving our Los Angeles headquarters to a new location in September! Check out this excerpt from the newest UAII Source Community Newsletter to learn more.
UAII on the Move
United American Involvement, inc. (UAII) is excited to announce the move to our new building scheduled for September 15th, 2020. UAII’s new headquarters will be located at 1453 West Temple Street, 90026. The anticipation has been growing within UAII for a place that will allow for greater expansion and unity across all departments. As we look forward to building on the history of service and dedication, our staff members are committed to ensuring that members of our community are aware and can make plans for the first location change in over 20 years. “UAII will finally have a building that it deserves,” said an Elder at a recent UAII gathering. “The community will grow right along with you.”
Still under construction, the 30,000 square foot building has been restructured solely for UAII. It features a renovated interior designed to host all of UAII’s wrap-around services, workshops, weekly events, and community meals. Additionally, our new building features a full-service community center, a full kitchen and a large outdoor patio for gatherings. CEO, Luis Cervantes has made it a priority to ensure that communication with our community is a focal point and that our partners, funders, and political supporters are aware of the upcoming move. Soon our leadership team will meet with political representatives like LA Councilmembers Gil Cedillo whose district UAII will remain in, along with political partners in Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, and the office of Senator Kamala Harris. We are committed to working alongside our funders and look forward to growing our partnerships further.
The move to our new Main Office will be in stages conducted by our Director of Operations, Eric Honanie working alongside our Department Directors. With the pandemic still in place, our communications and operations teams will offer a soft opening with strict CDC protocols and limited staff. Many of the UAII staff will continue to work from home and will be limiting their office attendance in accordance with LA city guidelines. We want to provide a safe workplace for our staff and prevent unnecessary risk for our clients, and community members.
Unity in our Location
For over 20 years, UAII was headquartered at 1125 West 6th Street, near the corners of 6th Street and Bixel, operating on five levels of the six-level structure. The expansive layout made it difficult to build relationships across departments as employees rarely saw one another. Our new building features two large floor plans, which are conducive to cohesiveness among UAII staff members, clients, and guests.
The 1st floor consists of an updated registration area along with the Los Angeles American Indian Health Project consisting of a community clinic, dietician and health educator and case management team, the Robert Sundance Family Wellness Center, and the American Indian Clubhouse. A newly-constructed kitchen will be easily accessible for community meals in the adjoining community center, as well as a large outdoor patio for lunch breaks and events. The 2nd floor will host our administrative offices, the Workforce Development and Training Department, Seven Generations Child and Family Services, I.T., and the UAII facilities team.
The new location will be accessible from the 101 freeway off the 4a exit. You can find assistance on Google maps starting September 15th directing you to our new location. The Metro bus line 10 stops in a short walking distance to our location or the bus line 92 coming from downtown L.A. will leave you a short 5 - 10 minute walk away. Fun facts about the area include: a walk around the Echo Park Lake is 1 mile long, there is great food including a caterer of several of our staff lunches, the Park’s finest (Filipino Barbeque), or new places like Guisadas (Tacos), or Tribal Cafe (Bohemian Style Bistro). The Echo Park Library is in walking distance to our new facility.
Look to the Future, By Remembering the Past
During this time of change and adaptation, we look to the history of UAII which has operated several locations over its 46-year history. “UAII has come a long way,” added Dave Rambeau, former Executive Director of UAII from 1981 to 2014. “We started with five employees, a $300,000 budget, and a tiny office on Skid Row’s Winston Street. And by the year 2000, we opened on 6th Street with an annual budget of $1 million. At the same time, we opened our Alcohol Program on Temple Street with an annual budget of $800,000.”
Rambeau continued, “When Winston Street closed in January 2000, the Skid Row community was encouraged and welcomed to their new home on 6th Street. A Hopi Traditional Practitioner Theodora Homeytewa-Sockyma, her son Mike, and I conducted a ceremony to close Winston Street and open “Our New Place.” Great care was taken to bring our sisters and brothers with us who had passed on in the Spirit World. All future UAII programs after 2000 were developed as expressed by our Skid Row family – especially the women.”
Expansion as a Whole
As the largest urban American Indian service provider in the County of Los Angeles, the new location on Temple Street will allow us to provide much-needed medical care, mental/ behavioral health treatment, youth services, health education, and workforce training, on a much larger scale. Soon we will be unveiling plans for additional sites; please follow our sites for more info. There is great anticipation for the future of the organization as we continue to build on the history of our organization in a new home. Aksia Funmaker, UAII youth-intern, and Workforce Department client stated “I’ve been coming to the building on 6th Street since I was a child, and I can’t wait to see the organization grow more and more in its new location.” “
This move represents growth of our organization even as we continue to find positives during a pandemic,” Development Director Joseph Quintana said. “UAII has remained a beacon of light for our community for 46 years. That hope is not defined by the walls that surround us but is found in the people within its walls. We’ve moved in the past, and each time, we've grown and expanded our resources for our community. This will be an opportunity to become better united under one roof.”
For more information please follow our “UAII on the MOVE” tab on our website on www.uaii.org or follow along with one of our social media sites. For follow up questions, donations, sponsorship, or media requests please contact development@uaii.org. Thank you UAII staff and community for your support!
More information and later details can be found here: http://uaii.org/move/
To see the new location on the map, check out the Google Map below with directions from our current location to the new location.