Olympia and Brent have been community activists for many years, supporting organizations and groups who offer assistance to marginalized communities. With housing prices and rent steadily increasing, they are legitimately concerned about being priced out of their own neighborhood. Olympia has worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital monitoring pre and post-intervention heart rhythms for the past 6 years. Brent is a stay-at-home dad and spinal cord injury survivor. He has learned to walk, write, and even drive again through great effort and multiple surgeries. Their new Habitat home will be the first place they’ve ever lived in with accommodations for his disabilities.
One of the greatest joys in their life is parenthood. Their children, Tai (19), Jiapsi (18), and Sandino (6), are always encouraged to connect to each other, their community, and the world around them. The family balances time between community activism and service with time for self-care and revitalization. They love enjoying movies together, listening to music, or spending time in local gardens. The Barrio Logan community offers many opportunities for them to enjoy art and culture together. When describing her family, Olympia says that at the center of everything, there is always love.
Olympia’s great-grandparents were married in Logan Heights in 1913. They lived on Island Avenue, not far from where the new Habitat home is being built. Olympia believes that if her Nana were alive, she’d be thrilled to know that her granddaughter is planting roots in the neighborhood she loved so dearly. According to Olympia, “Owning a home means security for our family. It means hope. Owning a home provides us with a stability that was not certain in our future before. Our commitment to serving the Barrio Logan/Logan Heights community will be intensified and renewed by owning a little piece of it. With this home, we are provided with new opportunities for growth.”
