Our History
In the late 1980's, the city of La Habra experienced a surge in gang related crime and drugs. Violence disrupted the lives of children, particularly those left unsupervised after school. This sparked an idea in a local resident who sought to stop the spread of gang related crime and violence in her community.
In 1991, Ms. Rose "Rosie" Espinoza opened her garage doors to children within her community and provided them with a safe space where they could work on their homework while they waited for their parents to arrive home from work. Rosie recruited local high school students as tutors and got parents involved in their children's education. Though she had received threats from local gang members due to her creation of a neighborhood watch program, she marched forward with her efforts to combat crime.
Rosie's idea was a simple one: keep children safe and away from the negative influence of gangs. This simple idea slowly transformed into an effective tool in decreasing gang affiliation which subsequently decreased violence and crime in the area. Rosie also began to offer additional services that would involve the whole family in activities and create moments in which the family could strengthen their bond.
The academic resources offered to at-risk children and adolescents helped them increase their GPA scores, which subsequently increased their opportunities. Students that previously struggled in academics were soon matriculating into the next grade and eventually graduating high school. For many, it was the first time anyone in their family had graduated high school and for the majority it was the first time anyone in their family had attended a university.
The improvement in the opportunities afforded to these at-risk youth also saw an increase in generational wealth. The success of the program remains in the care afforded at the local level and expansion of academic resources in underfunded and low-income areas. Though Rosie's Garage no longer has to worry about gang violence threatening local youth, we still see the need for our services in these same communities.
Pictured is Ms. Espinoza's late husband, Mr. Eliasar "Alex" Espinoza as he opens their garage doors to neighborhood children