Thanks, Price Philanthropies, For Highlighting Our History & Work!

A huge thank you to our friends and partners over at Price Philanthropies for this generous write-up! It’s been our honor to work alongside you guys in this community. Here’s a cross-post of what they wrote:

The City Heights Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) has served our community for almost 40 years by promoting livable neighborhoods, affordable housing, and economic self-sufficiency. First founded in the early 1980’s in response to the Mid-City neighborhood being split in two by Interstate 15, CHCDC has continued to assist the community of City Heights through many challenges, not least among them the current pandemic of COVID-19.

In low-income neighborhoods like City Heights, the Coronavirus has caused job loss, illness, food insecurity, and other issues, leaving families wondering how they will pay rent and put food on the table. Under the leadership of Laura Ann Fernea, Executive Director, the CHCDC (along with many other community partners – see below chart for details) has quickly adapted their services to accommodate many of these needs. To date, they have provided rental assistance to almost 250 households and have distributed food to over 1,000 families with funds raised from Price Philanthropies, the Hervey Foundation, San Diego Foundation, among others.

“With more than 100,000 people now in City Heights, we’re able to at least assist several hundred and I’m proud of our team in being able to respond to the needs quickly and help people survive through this challenging time,” shared Fernea.

Over the last 20 years, the CHCDC has celebrated many wins with the City Heights community in spite of setbacks along the way. During its genesis, as the plans for the 15 freeway were being considered, the CHCDC had first negotiated four blocks of the freeway to have parks and plazas built over the top to decrease the amount of fragmentation the community was suffering.  Although they only received one of these promised blocks, they continued to facilitate citizen activism and community organizing, until City Heights finally realized many of the other aspects Caltrans had originally promised. These included two pedestrian bridges, two adjacent mini parks, transit plazas, plus most recently, the long-awaited bike path along the freeway and San Diego’s first bus rapid transit station, the Centerline, which allows residents to travel on the 15 from Escondido to downtown within minutes.

The CHCDC continues to help foster a culture of resilience within the community of City Heights adapting as various challenges arise. In addition to supporting residents with rental assistance and food during this difficult time of COVID-19, the CHCDC is also partnering with Price Philanthropies to help small, locally owned businesses keep their doors open through establishing a City Heights Business Relief Fund.  Of the roughly 240 businesses on the University Avenue corridor, 100 had to close during COVID and 120 are operating with reduced hours and/or other restrictions. This Fund will allow the CHCDC to assist small businesses with up to $5,000 in relief.
 
CHCDC’s pandemic response is an extension of its long history of improving the quality of life for City Heights residents.  From its conception, CHCDC focused on developing affordable housing which is central to their mission. “They started buying old apartment complexes early on and turned them into affordable housing,” Fernea stated. “They also provided economic development through job placement, business assistance, and wrap-around resident services to help people become independent and have the ability to buy their own home.”
 
The CHCDC still believes in providing quality housing to enhance neighborhoods and encourage community pride and involvement. They are partners in four low income housing properties with a total of 406 units and are currently working with Wakeland Housing & Development to build approximately 114 more units on four different parcels in City Heights with 15,000 square feet of community-serving commercial space for local non-profits. Each of their housing properties include holistic resident services to support residents in their pursuit of education, economic empowerment, and independence. In addition to housing, they are involved in transportation and community planning along with both leadership and economic development through placemaking projects such as the Fair at 44 on Price’s property at Fairmount and El Cajon where local residents and organizations sell their food and wares, along with the recent acquisition of New Roots Garden which supports local farmers economic opportunity.
 
CHCDC aims to continue assisting City Heights residents not only to survive during the current pandemic but also through the months following this challenging time. “We’re only one organization,” shared Fernea. “We can’t do it all. But at least we can do our part to help people not feel abandoned during this difficult time and make resources available for them to provide the basic needs for their families.”