by Jacob Rueda
August 8, 2023 was a pivotal day for Richard Zaldivar. On that day, he would speak from a podium to the members of the Los Angeles City Council. At stake was funding for an organization he founded in 1993 which he named The Wall-Las Memorias Project (TWLM).
In 2022, the council approved $500,000 in funding to TWLM. L.A. city mayor Karen Bass had signed off on the funds. Come 2023 and new council members take office. One newcomer, Eunisses Hernandez from Council District 1, introduces a motion to reallocate the funds previously signed off by the mayor for TWLM into her district to fund community programs.
A battle ensued between Hernandez and The Wall which reached a boiling point in the August 8th council meeting. After a period of deliberation and public comments, the council voted to reduce the amount the organization receives by half.
"That was a sad day," said Zaldivar. Despite the setback, he said the organization will continue to work with elected officials who are willing to work with them.
"We move forward," he said.
Richard Zaldivar is the founder and executive director of The Wall-Las Memorias Project, a health-based community nonprofit in Los Angeles aimed at serving the needs of the Hispanic LGBT and underserved population (Image: The Wall-Las Memorias Project).
According to its website, The Wall offers a variety of services from mental health support to HIV and Covid-19 testing. It also maintains a monument located in the Lincoln Park area of Los Angeles dedicated to those who died of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), a disease caused by a virus that attacks the body's immune system.
The founding of The Wall coincides with World AIDS Day, which is December 1st. Zaldivar's motivation to start the organization was a personal one.
"I thought of building a monument to people who passed away from AIDS in the Latino community," he said. The intent was that that Hispanic community would take ownership of the issue through the monument.
In the late 1980s, Zaldivar's best friend contracted HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). In the beginning, HIV was considered a death sentence since, if left untreated, it would develop into AIDS. Seeing his friend's unhappiness moved Zaldivar into creating not just the monument but The Wall-Las Memorias Project.
After the first HIV medication was approved in 1987, others came after which were also approved by the Food and Drug Administration. HIV was no longer the death sentence it used to be.
Contrary to popular belief, AIDS and HIV are not strictly limited to gay or bisexual men. According to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, out of 1.1 million HIV cases in the United States in 2020, women made up 23 percent of those cases. In 2019, the U.S. government found that 83 percent of women who contracted HIV got it through heterosexual contact. Heterosexual males accounted for 7 percent of HIV infections in 2020.
Being that the services provided by The Wall also provide a lifeline to individuals in the L.A. area who are in need of help, Zaldivar said it was no surprise there was significant support for the organization from community members during the tense city council meeting in early August.
But even with community support, community nonprofits like The Wall need more than that in order to keep providing that lifeline to people. Although funding comes from different sources, not just public money, there are other issues at play when it comes to maintaining a nonprofit such as The Wall.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, Zaldivar said he and a colleague were noticing a shift take place in nonprofit organizations, especially with regards to staffing.
"We know that it's hard to retain employees," he said, "but we're also seeing senior leadership moving on to somewhere else."
A March 2023 report from the National Council of Nonprofits, found that 79 percent of organizations surveyed said salary competition impacted their ability to hire new staff. Because of government policies and other issues surrounding nonprofits, they are unable to raise salaries.
The council made suggestions to improve the situation so as to resolve their staffing issues "as quickly as possible to protect the pubic." Zaldivar said employee retention is key in addressing staffing issues. "We need to do more for our workforce," he said, "[and] making sure we're paying to their needs." Having mental health services available for them when needed and hosting special events just for them are some ways which Zaldivar said will keep staff encouraged and "together."
With all the bureaucracy involved in running community or charitable nonprofits to governmental standards, Zaldivar said there comes a time when nonprofit directors need to be "bigger leaders."
"You have to fight for the principles that impact your community and your constituents," he said, "And if you don't do that, then you allow people in government, in elected office to run you over."
Given the temporary tenure of government officials, coupled with their lack of experience dealing with what community nonprofits do, Zaldivar said people need to be the voice for the change they want to see.
"Community based organizations are a foundation in our neighborhoods," he said. "And so, we need to speak up: 'What do we need? How can we change systems? How can we address a broader section of our community?'"
Watch the interview with Richard Zaldivar, founder and executive director of The Wall-Las Memorias Project, below.
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