When the Cold War ended and a Democrat was elected to the White House, many people expected a "peace dividend." But for the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center those events have only contributed to financial hard times.
The Peace Center, which started during the Vietnam era of the late 1960s, faded out of existence in the 1970s and then reconstituted itself in 1982 in response to Central American strife, has fallen on lean times.
"We've been steadily declining ever since the Gulf War was over," said director Sandy Spaulding. "My understanding is that peace centers all over the country are having trouble because most of their members are from older generations that grew up during the '30s and '40s."
The center's financial problems have been compounded this year by the loss of a $15,000 annual grant they've been receiving since 1986 from an individual donor, who because of age and health is no longer able to give, Spaulding said.
That's 20 percent of their $75,000 budget.
"Twenty percent of our budget is real hard to replace in a short amount of time," said Spaulding, who runs the Peace Center with co-director Purusha Obluda.
"We have tried to scale back our budget as much as possible. I just reduced my hours and pay by 50 percent, but that can't be a permanent thing," she said. "We think we can weather through this . . . but getting grant money is difficult and time-consuming, and most are small grants" of less than $1,000.
Small donations make up the bulk of the center's income, along with money from events they put on. But many of their members are low-income and elderly. While the 1994 election stimulated some people to rejoin progressive groups like the Peace Center, it hasn't been enough, Spaulding said.
The center shares space with the environmental group Bay Area Action in Midtown. Recently, they've been working to end the economic blockade on Cuba, especially for medical supplies; to get the United States out of Guatemala; and with the local janitors' union to put pressure on some high-tech companies that hire non-union janitors.
The center has also focused on Palo Alto homeless issues by trying to reorganize the Clothes Closet program and speaking out against anti-panhandling laws and ordinances to ban camping in city parks.
The center is located at 711 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94303, and can be reached by phone at 326-8837.
--Peter Gauvin
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