A long-time resident of downtown Salt Lake City, Lydia Martinez had her first interaction with The Other Side Academy when they set up shop in an area just a few blocks away from her home. What had been a more run-down and crime-ridden part of the city transformed into a cleaner, safer place over the course of a year, all because of The Other Side Academy’s dedication to creating a community for and helping those that society has always left behind.
Last summer, Mayor Mendenhall of Salt Lake City announced her partnership with The Other Side Academy to build a cottage community that would help the homeless of Salt Lake City take back their lives and become independent. Lydia loved the idea of this mission and was excited for The Other Side Academy’s growth and success in their cause. She had no idea she herself would join that growth — until she found out a friend’s husband was part of the cause and was hoping Lydia’s agency, Elle Marketing & Events, could help.
Lydia likes to call herself a “storyteller that just happens to own a marketing agency.” And she’s put her passion for storytelling to good use. At the heart of all the content that Elle Marketing provides for The Other Side Village, there is one goal in mind: to not only tell the stories of the Village, but to tell the stories of its residents. Lydia has visited homeless encampments to learn firsthand about how these individuals found themselves on the streets. Without the proper resources available and no way to access help, some of these people have been homeless for as long as twenty years. The Other Side Village is their chance to break out of this cycle — and thanks to the Other Side Academy, so many have already had this life-changing opportunity.
One of the things that Lydia admires the most about The Other Side and the vision for The Other Side Village is their shining example of using social entrepreneurship to permanently change lives. Lydia first realized the power of social entrepreneurship when she worked with the South American organization Pro Mujer, an enterprise that provides micro-loans for less fortunate women in Latin America to start their own businesses. The Other Side Academy has done something similar — they started businesses staffed by their very own graduates. Because of these “social enterprises,” the organization is 100% financially independent. And they’ve given new starts to their diligent students — because everyone deserves the opportunity to contribute to society.
Lydia strongly believes that The Other Side Village will become a template for long-term restorative housing for the homeless. She’s excited to see how it will grow and how many lives it will touch. It’s already touched hers, and now, her life — and the lives of every resident of this cottage community — will never be the same.