Santa Ana : Park Rally Planned for Rent-Striking Families

Organizers hope to draw about 2,000 people to Madison Park this afternoon for a rally designed to gain support for about 500 rent-striking families in Santa Ana and Anaheim.

The families are demanding that landlords make repairs to end substandard living conditions in their apartment buildings. Today’s event is organized by the recently formed Alliance for Fair Redevelopment in Santa Ana, which has filed a lawsuit that representatives say is intended to force the city to provide more housing for low-income people.

City officials, however, say Santa Ana provides more affordable housing than any Orange County city, and a report released last week details plans to assist in construction or rehabilitation of about 1,000 housing units in the affordable to “very low income” range in the next five years.

The rally will begin at 3 p.m. with entertainment by two musical groups; food and beverages also will be available. Although people will be asked to make donations, Alliance spokesman Nativo Lopez said fund raising is a secondary goal. “The primary function is to broaden the support for these families,” he said.

At 6 p.m., the issues will be discussed by such speakers asBert Corona, head of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, an immigrants’ rights group, and Sister Armida Deck of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange.