Press Conference On Preserving Affordable Housing: Here’s What We Said

“40 years ago, the City Heights community faced many challenges, but the defining struggle was against the devastation caused by the installation of the 15 freeway.

We rallied, we founded the City Heights CDC, and we fought back. We asked authorities and elected officials to stand with us, and some refused. The ones who did stand with us, we still remember.

Today, after nearly four decades spent working alongside our neighbors, we face a new defining struggle: the housing crisis.

We listen to neighbors, leaders, and community members every day, and concern over housing is the common theme we hear again...and again...and again.

And as the director of this organization, committed to continuing this long legacy of advocating for those in need, the fact that we have the support of authorities and elected officials in this report means everything.

The need for affordable, quality housing was already real and evident, and this pandemic has only made it worse. This report has given us needed information about how much affordable housing currently exists in San Diego and how much is needed.

Since we provide affordable housing, our offices experience a near-constant flow of people looking for a place they can afford. Currently, there are over 80,000 people on the SDHC waiting list hoping for an affordable place to live.

Our vision is simple: a community where people don’t have to choose between buying groceries and paying rent.

A community where families aren’t threatened, harassed, and evicted without options.

A community where everyone has a place to call home. Thank you.”

—Laura Ann Fernea & The City Heights CDC Team

To all of you who continue to stand with the most vulnerable in our community: thank you!

If you’d like to help more families stay safely in their homes and off the streets, help us help them by donating here. You’ve already helped keep hundreds of households safe, so let’s keep going!

Thank you to all the press conference attendees:

Council President Georgette Gomez

Councilmember Monica Montgomery

San Diego Housing Commission CEO Rick Gentry

Partnership for New Americans ED Ramla Sahid