Two Public Allies making a difference for the City of Tucson
The 29th Street Thrive Zone is a community development initiative in Tucson, Arizona, that focuses the bulk of their efforts on the area between Alvernon Way and Craycroft Road. The city of Tucson has allocated $1.3 million toward eight community-driven Action Activities within the area.
These include community-led events, legal assistance for tenants, employment and housing resource fairs, localized refugee resources, and more. One of the individuals leading the charge in promoting and accessing these resources is Cassandra Quijada.
Cassandra is a 20-year-old intern with the City of Tucson Housing and Community Development (HCD), and she is one of 25 members of Public Allies Arizona for the 2024-2025 program year. Public Allies Arizona recently partnered with the City of Tucson HCD, and Cassandra was placed with this department as part of her 10-month AmeriCorps apprenticeship.
As part of her placement, Cassandra will be primarily focusing on the 29th Street Thrive Zone and its initiatives.
Cassandra is a sophomore at the University of Arizona, and she’s currently studying both Religious Studies and Law. When she’s not in the classroom or studying, she’s out in the community, canvassing or participating in community groups that closely align with the 29th Street Thrive Zone’s Action Activities.
“I really wanted to help the unhoused community, and I really wanted to work with refugees,” Quijada explained as the reasons she ultimately chose to participate in her current internship with the City of Tucson.
29th Street Thrive has endeavored to support refugees and unhoused individuals throughout the Thrive Zone by facilitating community-based and family-friendly engagement events that offer necessary support and resources for the individuals living within that area.
Their work has extended to Tucson’s biggest homeless encampment, the 100-Acre Wood Bike Park (aka 100-Acre Woods). Cassandra, along with other members of 29th Street Thrive, has been striving to find permanent, affordable housing for this community. Thrive members assist with completing documentation and paperwork required to look at available housing units, as well as put together clothing and food kits to disperse to the group so that they may have the resources they need while still in search of a new home.
Cassandra said that the program has “a lot of potential that it’s fulfilling.”
“It’s really necessary for everybody within the communities we work in,” Cassandra said. “It provides an exponential amount of resources and help, and I really want people to access that.”
Cassandra’s supervisor, Laura McAndrews Lopez, has worked with the City of Tucson for seven years in a variety of capacities. She currently serves as Thrive Program Supervisor, where she works closely with Cassandra.
“I was really excited that she was eager to participate in our planning meetings with administrators and department directors and representatives from the Mayor,” Laura said. “She’s participating in those conversations right away, and she isn’t shy and holding back her ideas and feedback.”
As the 29th Street Thrive Zone continues to grow and evolve, it’s young leaders like Cassandra who are helping shape a more inclusive and responsive future for Tucson’s underserved communities. With passion, purpose, and a commitment to equity, she and her team are proving that grassroots action can lead to real, lasting change.
The City of Tucson has no shortage of young leaders like Cassandra, and another who is helping generate momentum within the Tucson Parks and Recreation department is Zachary Owens, a second-year Ally with Public Allies Arizona.
Because of the success and determination that Zachary has shown to his department and the community he serves, both he and his supervisor, Jeremy Herr, agreed that it would be a tremendous asset to the department if Zachary were to return for his second year.
Zachary is an enthusiastic, compassionate individual who takes great pride in the programs and resources that he’s been able to provide to local senior citizens at the Armory Park Center in Tucson. Zach has had his hand in developing and cultivating a number of programs for the seniors, including the implementation of a Spanish class that he teaches as well.
“I always try to remind my class there’s no failing,” Zachary said of his mentality in regard to teaching a non-native language to senior citizens. “I don’t care if it takes you a hundred classes to learn a concept; we’re going to learn it, and you don’t need to feel bad if you don’t get it right.”
Zachary said that he enjoys creating programming that is fun and is meant to be challenging, although it often takes a few tries to get full engagement from the community members.
Zachary’s primary goal as an intern is to “activate the park,” as Jeremy explained. His job is to figure out what the community wants, what they need, and to create engagement events or activities that bring people to the Armory Park Center.
“(Zachary) is passionate about all the things he’s doing,” Jeremy said. “Whether it’s just talking to a senior about where to find housing or he’s talking to a senior about what’s for lunch today.”
Zachary, 24, was born and raised in Tucson, and his passion for his hometown exuberates through his work. Not only has he been helping the senior population to learn Spanish, but he’s also helped to develop various activities for the community, ranging from volleyball to technology literacy. Sometimes, it’s as simple as showing somebody how to change their phone background; other times, it’s helping them to decipher whether a suspicious text is a scam or how to look up affordable housing options in the area.
No matter how big or small the task may be, Zachary takes great pride in his work, and according to Jeremy, he is “the best intern we could’ve asked for at our location.”
Zachary said that his experiences helping others in their areas of need has inspired him to want to become a teacher—ideally, a professor. In the meantime, he’ll continue to strive to bring meaning and resources to the lives of the seniors that he’s served during his previous two years working as an intern with Public Allies Arizona.
“I’ve always wanted to do stuff like this; there’s nothing more rewarding than helping people,” Zachary said.