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On August 10th, SFCLT staffer Jamie Spector took a few minutes to speak with Columbus United Co-op Board Vice President Miao Yan Wen and ask her about her reflections on forming a housing cooperative. Read on to hear her insightful comments...

Why was it important to you to save your building from demolition?

This building represents the community, it is important to take care of the low-income people who live here. There are many seniors who live in this building. If the building were torn down, they would have to move out of the neighborhood, and lose their access to doctors, stores, services and people of a similar background who live in Chinatown.

What has been in the hardest part in converting your building into a housing cooperative?

Many people came here from China and have a different understanding about community than people who are native of this city. In China, people don't often communicate with their neighbors and they are not so active in community activities, so it's been difficult for people in the building to understand what being part of a cooperative really means. In a cooperative, everyone has to communicate and take part. Also, most low-income people have gotten used to services being given to them for free, so people often have the idea that everything should be given to them. It has been hard for people to learn and understand that they need to contribute as well if they want things to change. With many people from different backgrounds working together on this project, there have been times of misunderstanding and this had led to conflicts. For example, sometimes, the communication with the many attorneys involved has been hard.

What has been the most rewarding part of converting your building into a housing cooperative?

Right now, I feel stable and safe. We have better control of the building and all the related bills so we can better manage the building.

What do you like about the housing cooperative model?

Being a co-op member I have gotten to meet so many people I would have not met otherwise. I feel I have better relationships with people and also like how working together with more people we have more creative ideas to make our building better.

What would you recommend to other tenants in San Francisco who might be fighting an eviction from their landlord?

Tenants should help each other and be united. Ask the City for help and protest if it's needed. Also remember that the media can help you in your struggle.

What can Columbus United Cooperative contribute to San Francisco?

For those people who are forced to leave their homes, and have no place to live, they can come here and hear our story and how we fought to save our housing for low-income people. We can share our experiences with other people and be an inspiration for others.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Based on my experience the issue of trust between tenants and landlords (or the CLT) is so important. So when the SFCLT offers support and tries to help the tenants, the tenants often don't trust that that's the full story. They assume that there is some other motivation behind the offer. So there needs to be a lot of communication so that people can trust and understand each other.