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As a nonprofit executive director and long-time resident of San Mateo County, Angie Ibarra Miller is no stranger to the problems caused by gentrification. In fact, she has dedicated her life to helping alleviate some of these burdens for low-income families living in one of the most expensive counties in the United States.
For the past 18 years, Ibarra Miller has run Generations United, a nonprofit that is known affectionately by residents in North Fair Oaks for providing after-school tutoring, practical life-skills workshops, enrichment classes and holistic solutions for immigrant families and underserved members of the community.
Ana Betty Lopez and her children are among the many residents who have participated in various GU programs and speak highly of the organization. Lopez remembers when GU operated out of Fair Oaks Elementary, where her son was a student at the time. In 2018, the school was shuttered along with three others in the area. While families scrambled to find new education solutions for their children, Ibarra Miller stepped in to assist with the search and fill the educational gap through classes at GU’s Academic Enrichment Center.
“Angie doesn’t just focus on the after-school program. She focuses on helping the families of the children with whatever needs they may have, whether that be extra food or educational and training needs, she’s always looking for ways to help,” Lopez said.
In addition to attending the academic center, Lopez’s son has received financial aid to attend nearby summer camps. “Beyond GU, Angie is always looking for other programs the kids can be a part of to keep them off the streets,” Lopez said. “With her assistance, my son received two scholarships to attend these camps.”
After operating out of various recreation rooms and offices throughout North Fair Oaks, in 2021 GU finally settled into a 1,400-square-foot room inside a building shared with a taqueria. Securing a space of that size for $2,200 per month — about a third of the average office space rates in San Mateo County — meant the program could accommodate its flourishing list of classes and workshops and also be walking distance from KIPP Excelencia Community Prep, where most of their students came from to attend after-school tutoring in reading, writing, and math.
“Our program helps bridge the gap for children who need extra attention in our after-school program and whose parents don’t have the means to provide tutoring or even English lessons,” said Ibarra Miller.
However, in December 2023, Ibarra Miller received the letter that many renters in the Bay Area fear, the one that announces the sale of their building and the end of their security as they know it. The letter stated that the building was being sold to Stanford for a new development project in North Fair Oaks and that GU had a year to relocate. She immediately began a long, futile battle to negotiate an outcome that would allow the program to stay in the neighborhood for an affordable price. What was offered instead was assistance with moving costs and the ability to keep using the space for an additional five months rent-free, in what she described as having become “a cockroach and rat-infested building due to the other parcels being torn down.”
GU was eventually left with little choice but to vacate the building earlier than expected in September 2024, and move to a temporary space in Redwood City. The office it now occupies is half the size and rent is 40% more. Ibarra Miller says that, while they are grateful for a partnership with the Salvation Army, which leases the office, it’s been a difficult transition. Along with the emotional toll, the move has brought other challenges: GU had to secure a van to transport kids back and forth from North Fair Oaks, cut evening classes for adults, and it lost a third of its students overall.
Lopez can attest to the disappointment of the adult classes being cut. Along with her three youngest children, she has also benefited from GU’s enrichment opportunities over the years, attending workshops on nutrition, mental health and how to start a business.
Another GU attendant and mother of six, Elena Valencia, said, “The distance is a challenge for our family as we only have one car and I can’t walk to pick up my children.”
Ibarra Miller is relieved that the organization was donated funds to purchase a van and has been able to transport children from KIPP to Redwood City, but also expressed frustration over how the drive eats into time, adds to operating costs and creates extra labor for their lean team of staff and volunteers.
But despite her frustration, Ibarra Miller is not giving up. During the five months since the move, she has been pounding the pavement, touring buildings — which are largely out of their budget — and negotiating with property owners to find creative solutions.
“We’re currently interested in five potential buildings, but of course they require extra funding and work,” she said. “We’re trying to get creative with financing and figure out the best way to make this happen. We would like to once again have our base be in North Fair Oaks and get some assistance in acquiring a new location,” Ibarra Miller said. “It makes no sense for us to be two miles away from the community we serve,” she emphasized.
To read more about the work of Generations United, visit https://generations-united.com/.
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