On New Year’s Eve, Saturday, December 31, 2022, San Francisquito Creek overflowed at the Pope/Chaucer Street Bridge between Palo Alto and Menlo Park. The flooding resulted in significant damage to the area between Highway 101 and the San Francisquito Creek near the Four Seasons Hotel in East Palo Alto.
Multiple underground parking garages serving the adjacent apartment complexes at 1991 and 2001 Manhattan Avenue in East Palo Alto flooded, ruining numerous tenant vehicles. In addition to vehicles, the laundry facilities for tenant use were also damaged.
After hearing this news, our Executive Director Lisa Van Dusen visited the complex, speaking with neighbors and an East Palo Alto City Council member and witnessing the devastation firsthand. It was immediately clear that something had to be done to provide aid to these neighbors in East Palo Alto.
Palo Alto Community Fund is providing an emergency grant to El Comité de Vecinos del Lado Oeste, East Palo Alto, a local organization that supports neighbors through tenant advocacy, food distribution, holiday gift distribution, census, and other needs as they arise.
El Comité mobilized swiftly to help their neighbors, who, in many cases, have no or inadequate insurance or savings. Leaders are going door-to-door to communicate with the largely immigrant, Spanish-speaking tenants to discern their needs. Neighbors have taken the initiative to purchase supplies (garbage bags and other emergency clean-up supplies) themselves to clean up the debris and water left by the flood.
The destruction of many residents’ cars means they cannot get to work, take their children to school, or go to the grocery store. This has been—and continues to be—a devastating blow to our vulnerable neighbors.
Palo Alto Community Fund’s ability to respond to the needs of our community is only possible because of your generous donations. As always, but especially now, PACF is grateful for your contributions and proud to support community-based organizations with boots on the ground doing vital work when people need it the most.
