BU-GATA
BU-GATA began as a volunteer tenant organization in the Gates of Arlington apartment complex in 1992
Beginning in 1992, Latinos organized to demand representation before Arlington County officials and defend their housing interests before landlords and developers threatening to demolish their units.
BU-GATA began as a Latino tenant organization in the Gates of Arlington apartment complex in 1992. Led by Willian Silva a Peruvian immigrant, BU-GATA fought to preserve the dwindling supply of affordable housing in North Arlington. Silva also started a local annual neighborhood festival that has been going strong for over 20 years. The tenants, a majority of whom are Latino, were facing displacement from one of the complexes in the Buckingham neighborhood. This neighborhood comprised over 1,400 private market garden-style rental units within walking distance of Arlington’s metro system.
BU-GATA helped Latinos get fair representation before Arlington County officials and defend their housing interests before landlords and developers threatened to demolish their units. No other organization in Arlington was meeting the needs of this burgeoning immigrant population.
As the organization grew, residents began to broaden BU-GATA’s focus to include community stability and, in 1998, addressed another neighborhood need – youth leadership development – by creating the Buckingham Youth Brigade (BYB).
BU-GATA developed and created the Buckingham Youth Brigade (BYB), an after-school program for teenagers ages 14-18. BYB began to function in 1998. BYB was founded to provide the teens of the Buckingham Neighborhood apartment complexes a weekly after-school activity and a way to focus their creative and intellectual energies on their community. The program builds self-esteem, civic responsibility, and leadership skills among youth.
In 2010 BU-GATA started the Junior BYB program for elementary and middle school students. From inception, BU-GATA has tenants at its core focus while also working to remove barriers and obstacles affecting Latino and immigrant communities.
BU-GATA strives to educate tenants about housing issues, hold workshops, and help resolve daily concerns, such as landlord/tenant issues, access to services, securing relocation payments, and other housing-related benefits. BU-GATA has a series of initiatives, including a County-wide Latino agenda, to increase the visibility of and advocate for Latinos at the County level. One goal has been to secure more bi-lingual services for the growing Latino population. Before our advocacy work, the County did not provide translators at public hearings or have any Spanish documents on their website.
Through its outreach programs, BU-GATA identifies issues affecting Latino and immigrant communities. In October 2013, BU-GATA conducted the first-ever Latino-led community forum in which the community came together to discuss issues affecting their daily lives and living in Arlington.
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