Shelter Coordinator: From Surfer to Activist

Thursday, 28 October 2010 22:01

It’s a sunny morning in downtown Tucson and nearly 50 bus riders and local activists gather in front of the Transamerica building, where a Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) board meeting will begin. 

Brian Flagg, coordinator of Catholic worker house Casa Maria and leader of the group, riles up his crowd.

“We are here to stand up for the bus riders of Tucson, and show them cuts to Sun Tran would hurt the poor community,” Flagg said. “If you don‘t stand up for the poor people, then someday you’re gonna be hurting, big time.”Flagg says getting to know politicians, council members, board members and other decision-makers on a personal level is a key component to change. He can talk to a mayor or a homeless alcoholic just the same."

Having great relationships with the people making these decisions is absolutely beneficial in getting the people's voices heard," he said.

“I’m down for the Raza,” Flagg shouts to the group as he leads them into the RTA meeting. Flagg said he plays the role of “cheerleader” for people, but lets their presence do the rest. 

Flagg plans events like these and also works as coordinator at Casa Maria for $10 a week and a place to live. He not only coordinates the daily workings of the soup kitchen, but also helps anyone who shows up at his doorstep, whether they need some clothes, food or just a shower. 

Flagg said he is perfectly happy living with the bare necessities. Food is provided at the soup kitchen. He lives in the house. Clothes and shoes are donated. And most everything else needed is taken care of by donations as well. The $10 a week he earns for his own use, is often used to help someone he believes needs it more.

In 2009, Flagg helped to defeat Proposition 200, about payday loans, halted the widening of 22nd Street because of environmental concerns, stopped the closure of Ochoa Elementary School, and helped establish citizenship classes at Casa Maria. 

Flagg and other Casa Maria team members send out a newsletter every December called, “Guadalupe” that gives the community insight on Casa Maria’s mission and accomplishments throughout the year. 

Flagg said he is proud of the work he did with Proposition 200, the Public Safety Initiative in 2008. He worried that the bill would call for more law enforcement officers, and cut programs like Kidco that assist the low-income community. The bill was proposed to ensure more law enforcement on the street, but would cause cuts in other areas.

Flagg does not work alone. He is quick to praise the core team of individuals who, like him, work for a place to live and $10 a week. 

Adriana Nunez, a mother of two originally from Agua Prieta, Sonora, has worked with Flagg for four years now. 

When asked what she thought of Flagg she giggled, “Quieres la verdad o mentiras?” which means, “do you want the truth or lies?”

“I’m kidding,” Nunez said. “I believe he is a great person who always works for the people and has great intentions. He never turns a soul down for anything if he is able to provide them with what they need, and I am genuinely happy working here with him.”

Flagg was not always the humanitarian and social activist he is today. At one time he lived in California, surfing all day, drinking and getting high. Then, at 22 years old, a spiritual experience changed his perspective on life and he said he realized what was important. He began to read the Bible.

“I began to see that the answers were not in surfing or partying, but that they come from up there,” Flagg said as he pointed to the sky. 

Growing up in East Los Angeles, Flagg had always been a part of the Hispanic community and learned Spanish there. So when he moved to Tucson he felt at home. He prefers to live in South Tucson, he said, rather then the “ritzy area on the Northwest side.”  

Flagg attended a Christian college in L.A. and began to work at a Catholic worker house in northern California that focused on at-risk boys. There he learned the inner workings of a Catholic worker house, an experience he brought with him when he left California with only a pack on his back.   

He arrived in Tucson in 1983, just two years after Casa Maria was established to address rising poverty in south side Tucson.

Every morning at 8 a.m., Flagg opens the soup kitchen at Casa Maria and works until around noon handing out more than 500 bagged lunches and 150 family bags for the people who line up at dawn for what could be their only meal of the day. Food is served solely by donation and a shower is provided for those who need it. A room full of donated clothes is also available. 

In 2006, Flagg was featured in the Tucson Weekly as one of Tucson's heroes, not only because of his continuing efforts with Casa Maria but also for his activist role with the low-income communities in South Tucson. 

Flagg said his next challenge is getting people registered to vote because the “only way to make a change is if everyone is a part of the decision.”

Flagg and other core group members are promoting Propo­sition 400, which is a half-cent sales tax increase that the city says will bridge the $51 million shortfall in the city's 2011 budget. Flagg said this would cause less cuts in city services like SunTran and services that assist the low-income community.

“People like to feel a part of something," Flagg said. “If it makes a difference with them involved, it makes their experience that much more rewarding.” 

His life on a personal level is no different from his work. He enjoys the simple life. When asked if he ever worries about how he lives on just $10 a week salary he said, “I don't really worry about it because in the end I know that God will provide for me as he always has.”

Written by Kirsten Boele You are reading Shelter Coordinator: From Surfer to Activist articles