Terms of service

1. Who this binds

These terms are a contract between you ("you" or "user") and Guardians of the AV ("we," "us," or "Guardians of the AV") — a grassroots project of Aaron and Anadora Turner, currently seeking fiscal sponsorship from Social Good Fund (a California 501(c)(3)) and forming its own nonprofit, Guardians of the AV, Inc. By creating an account, using any feature of the platform, or clicking "I agree," you accept these terms in full.

If you are using the platform on behalf of a partner organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization to these terms.

If you do not agree, do not use the platform. You can leave at any time — see §6 Termination.

2. What this platform does

Guardians of the AV is a community coordination layer — a digital tool designed to help people connect with housing support, partner organizations, and community resources in the Antelope Valley, California. Phase 0 (current) serves six populations: people experiencing homelessness or housing instability; formerly incarcerated individuals re-entering the community; veterans; individuals in mental health or substance use bridge programs; families with minor children at risk; and domestic-violence survivors (DV survivors — see the DV-specific note below).

We are a coordination layer, not a health-care provider, case-management system, or licensed social-services agency. We do not provide clinical care, legal representation, housing, or financial services directly. We connect people to partners who do.

DV-survivor note: We do not collect, store, or process information that identifies any individual as a domestic-violence survivor. If you are a DV survivor, our platform does not ask you to disclose that status. Resources relevant to DV are listed in the resource directory without collecting user-level context. This is a structural design choice, not a policy — see our privacy policy §VAWA for the legal grounding.

3. Your account responsibilities

• Provide truthful information when creating your account. We rely on the information you give us to connect you with the right resources.
• Keep your login credentials secure. You are responsible for activity under your account.
• Notify us promptly at terms@guardiansofsolano.com if you believe your account has been compromised.
• You can close your account and request deletion of your data at any time via Settings → Delete account. We process deletion requests within 30 days consistent with our privacy policy.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, harvest, or systematically download resource listings, partner data, or user-generated content from the platform.
• Impersonate a partner-organization staff member, navigator, social worker, or Guardians of the AV operator.
• Harass, threaten, or intimidate other users, partner staff, or residents.
• Use the platform to distribute unsolicited commercial messages or misinformation.
• Attempt to circumvent security controls, access other users' accounts, or probe the platform for vulnerabilities without written authorization (see our security disclosure policy).
• Use the platform in any way that violates applicable law, including California Penal Code §502 (unauthorized computer access).

Violations may result in immediate account suspension. See our ethics commitments for how we enforce these rules and how we handle appeals.

5. Privacy

Our privacy policy governs how we collect, use, store, and share your information. These terms incorporate the privacy policy by reference. If there is any conflict between these terms and the privacy policy on a privacy question, the privacy policy controls.

By using the platform you consent to our data practices as described in the privacy policy, including the collection of your phone number for verification purposes and the optional collection of demographic information you choose to provide.

Your California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA) are not waived by these terms — see the privacy policy §CCPA for your opt-out and access rights.

6. Termination

You can leave anytime. Close your account at Settings → Delete account. We will delete your personal data within 30 days of your request, subject to any legal retention obligations described in the privacy policy.

We can suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or our ethics commitments. We will give you notice and an opportunity to respond except where immediate suspension is necessary to protect other users or platform integrity.

Kill-switch as design principle: The platform includes an operator-controlled kill-switch that can pause data collection and processing across the system if a safety or privacy threat is detected. This is documented on the ethics page. It is not a termination of your account — it is a system-level safety mechanism.

Sponsor subscriptions are governed by the sponsorship terms including refund policy. Canceling your account does not automatically cancel an active subscription — cancel the subscription first via the Stripe customer portal, then close your account.

7. Disclaimer and limitation of liability

The platform is provided "as is" and "as available." We make no warranty that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that the resource listings it contains are current, accurate, or available.

We are not liable for: outcomes of referrals to partner organizations; the acts or omissions of partner organizations; technical failures outside our control (including Supabase, Vercel, Twilio, or Stripe outages); or indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform.

What we do not disclaim:

• Your California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act rights (Cal. Civ. Code §1798.100 et seq.) — these are statutory and cannot be waived by contract.
• Liability for gross negligence or willful misconduct (Cal. Civ. Code §1668 — we do not contract out of this).
• Refund rights for sponsor donations as stated on the sponsor page (full refund within 7 days of first charge; partial prorated refund thereafter).

8. Dispute resolution

Informal resolution first. If you have a dispute with us, please email terms@guardiansofsolano.com and give us 30 days to resolve it before filing any claim.

Small claims. Either party may bring individual claims in Los Angeles County Small Claims Court (or the appropriate California small claims court) without arbitration.

Arbitration (for claims over small-claims threshold). ⚠️ COUNSEL REVIEW — we intend to include a binding individual arbitration clause with a class-action waiver, governed by JAMS rules, seated in Los Angeles County, California. This clause will be finalized by counsel before Phase 1 launch. Until that revision is published, disputes are governed by California courts in Los Angeles County.

Arbitration opt-out. ⚠️ COUNSEL REVIEW — we intend to provide a 30-day opt-out window from the arbitration clause for new users. Details will be specified in the revised terms.

9. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes not resolved by arbitration (see §8) are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California.

Guardians of the AV is a California-based grassroots project; its planned nonprofit, Guardians of the AV, Inc., is being organized under California law. The platform operates primarily in the Antelope Valley, California.

10. Changes to these terms

We will notify you of material changes to these terms at least 30 days before they take effect, via:

• Email to the address on your account, and
• A banner on your account dashboard when you next sign in.

If you continue using the platform after the effective date of the revised terms, you accept the changes. If you do not accept the changes, you may close your account before the effective date.

Non-material changes (typos, formatting, broken links, clarifications that do not alter your rights) may be made without advance notice. The "last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the most recent revision.

11. Contact

Questions about these terms: terms@guardiansofsolano.com. We commit to a substantive response within 30 days.

General questions: partners@guardiansofsolano.com

Security disclosures: guardiansofsolano.com/security