Title: Elena Popp Papers,

Date (inclusive): 1970 - 2006

Collection number: 48

Creator: Popp, Elena

Extent: 100 linear feet

Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA

Abstract: Elena I. Popp is an attorney and activist who has worked for several decades on behalf of social justice and change. She has worked on issues related to housing/tenants rights, the Peace movement, domestic violence, outreach to the homeless, slum abatement, and lesbian issues.



This collection of more than 100 linear feet documents her life as an activist, lawyer/advocate and political candidate.



Please note that accents have been eliminated in order to accommodate and facilitate the use of all types of web browsers. Errors and additions related to this finding aid may be sent to the research center at www.chicano.ucla.edu

Physical location: Southern Regional Library Facility

Language of Material: Collection materials in English , Spanish

Collection is open for research. However, the collection has not been processed by the UCLA/CSRC Library Archive as of December 2006.

For students and faculty researchers of UCLA, all others by permission only. Copyright has not been assigned to the Chicano Studies Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist and/or the Librarian at the Chicano Studies Research Center Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

[Identification of item], Elena Popp Papers, 48, Chicano Studies Research Center, UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles.

This collection was donated by its creator, Elena Popp. Deed of gift on file at the UCLA/CSRC Library Archive office, 180 Haines Hall, UCLA.

Processed by CSRC, December 2006

This collection is unprocessed as of December 2006. However, the papers have been organized by the donor, Elena Popp, into subject order.

Elena I. Popp is a longtime activist and attorney who is dedicated to working for social change. She was born in Mexico and immigrated to Los Angeles in 1968 with her mother and two younger siblings. Elena became a community activist when a teacher brought a young UFW organizer into the classroom to talk about the dangerous conditions faced by workers in the fields. Elena enlisted in the farm workers' movement that day. Since then, she has worked tirelessly on behalf of immigrants, women, children, those that live with disabling conditions, and those that do not have a place to call home.



Elena received her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of California Los Angeles. Elena has worked for almost 20 years in legal services, focused primarily in the areas of Housing and Community Economic Development. From 1992 through 2004 Elena was an attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, a legal services program with a 72-year history of providing comprehensive legal services to low-income residents of metropolitan Los Angeles. In 1994 Elena co-founded the Healthy Homes Collaborative of Southern California an innovative coalition that addresses the health consequences of environmental hazards in childrens' environments.



She created one of the first in court domestic violence prevention programs, a model being duplicated throughout the state; founded the first non-medical model outreach team to the homeless mentally ill, a project that received national recognition and has been duplicated in other parts of the country. Was a leader in the successful effort to save 1.5 million units of affordable housing. Was a key participant in creating the Los Angeles Systematic Code Enforcement Program and other key slum abatement, childhood lead poisoning prevention and asthma prevention initiatives. She has worked in the peace movement and in other projects that seek to eliminate all forms of discrimination. She co-chaired Lesbianas Unidas, an activist group, during the 1990s. In 2006, she ran for a State Assembly Seat in District 45, but did not win.



She is currently the Executive Director of the Eviction Defense Network (EDeN) a social entrepreneurship project dedicated to increasing access to justice for low-income tenants through sliding and below market fees.

This collection of over 100 linear feet documents Ms. Popp's work as an activist in various social movements, as a lawyer/advocate and a political candidate.



** Please note that accents have been eliminated in order to accomodate and facilitate the use of various types of web browsers. Errors and additions related to this finding aid may be sent to the archivist at archivist@chicano.ucla.edu

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.