Veronica Garcia needed to fix her closet after it collapsed carrying too many clothes. She tried to fix it on her own, but instead the effort ended up doing more harm than good. 

So the chairwoman of the Melrose neighborhood in East Oakland did what she and her neighborhood tends to do in times of need: rely on each other.

“It’s a big deal,” Garcia said to The Town FC. “I mean, you guys want to see me decent when I’m walking in the neighborhood with my dog.”

She ended up connecting with a neighbor that she recently met who happened to be a general contractor who, eventually, helped her get the closet fixed.

This is the beauty of Melrose, a neighborhood finding its identity and sense of community, inclusion, and diversity while disproving the stereotype that many have come to portray East Oakland to be.

“I think people point out that East Oakland is scary,” Garcia said. “I would say that the misconception of East Oakland is that when the community is more diverse, just because people look different than you, it’s going to be a little bit scary. Until you get to meet your neighbors that you realize that you have so much in common.”

In fact, it’s that presumably terrifying sense of diversity that Garcia and Melrose utilize as one of the neighborhood’s biggest strengths.

The neighborhood council features everybody from everywhere and all share the same mission of helping Melrose continue to grow and thrive. Garcia is an Oakland native that’s fluent in English and Spanish and is committed to leading the neighborhood. Her Spanish Speaking Vice Chair, Nidya Baez, serves as a principal at Fremont High School, her alma mater, and is using the youth community as a partner to help with the elimination of violence in East Oakland, and her merchandiser, Christopher McMichael, also the owner of Threadz Culture and Fashion, give 10% of the Melrose merchandise sales back to the neighborhood. All of Melrose’s neighborhood council are people who have lived in the neighborhood for several years.

Garcia credits Melrose’s neighborhood council’s diversity back to when she went to her first one years ago.

“When I went to my first (neighborhood council), I got so upset that it was only a group of people making decisions for Melrose, and they don’t look like what the community looks like,” Garcia said. “It made me feel like the problem with neighborhood councils is that they’re not being inclusive of all members in the community.”

Garcia is always looking for new ways to work with the community and focus on positivity. After the club reached out to Garcia to learn about Melrose, Garcia immediately knew that there was a connection that was going to last a while, even though she wasn’t much involved in the soccer scene originally.

“The Town FC is all about community to us,” Garcia said. “That’s how we connected. They’re from Oakland, I’m from Oakland. It’s the melting pot. I use it as best as learning from each other in order to just be a better person. Our visions are in line when it comes to community.”

Amongst those learning opportunities from someone new came the opportunity to learn the beautiful game. 

“I never played soccer and I’ve never been a soccer fan because I didn’t know it,” Garcia said. “When we talked about community and neighborhood council, next thing you know they invited me to a game and I went to my first soccer game in San Ramon for The Town FC’s first game ever. Now that I know more about soccer, The Town is my favorite Oakland team!”

Much like The Town FC, Garcia and Melrose bring similar qualities to the pitch – inclusion, a welcoming atmosphere, and teamwork.

If you want to learn more about Melrose 27X Neighborhood Council, you can visit their website: https://www.melrose27xneighborhoodcouncil.com