the roosevelt junior high school walkout marked the beginning of mendoza's work for the improvement of mexican american communities in san jose. inspired by the community service organization (cso) which cesar chavez had been a part of, in 1968, mendoza and her husband, gilbert mendoza, founded united people arriba (upa). mendoza's husband had attended westminster school while it was still segregated before mendez v. westminster. upa had the mission of addressing issues faced by all communities in the city, not just those most important to the mexican american community. the organization did not limit itself to a specific issue, but rather throughout the years worked to address issues brought up by community members in regards to education, health care, housing, police brutality, and immigration among others. the upa became an independent organization which relied mostly on fundraising and donations to continue operating.