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AFFORDABLE HOUSING - Maria Briones is a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and lives in Los Angeles.
I am 68 years old. I am a grandmother. I am homeless.
I never anticipated that, at this point in my life, I would be living in a hotel and placed on a waitlist, hoping for an affordable apartment to open up so I can finally have a safe and permanent place to call home.
Seniors are the fastest growing demographic of Californians becoming homeless, according to a study released last year by UC San Francisco’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. I am also part of the 80% of homeless seniors who had housing before becoming homeless, whether that was due to loss of income, conflicts with a landlord or California’s high housing costs.
In my case, relentless harassment from my previous landlord and numerous code violations in my apartment building caused me to become homeless again. The city’s housing department ordered me to vacate my home because of the numerous maintenance problems my landlord refused to address. Fortunately, the city placed me into the St. Joseph’s Center housing program and I have been living in the hotel for nearly a year.
The city has promised to move me into a new affordable home, but so far nothing has happened. Why? There is hardly any affordable housing in Los Angeles.
In fact, there is practically no affordable housing available for low-income seniors like me, and others who don’t make enough to afford the state’s high housing costs.
Despite double-digit increases in homelessness across the state, despite the lack of affordable housing, and despite homelessness polling as a top issue for Californians, the state has made very little progress on investing in the housing so many of us need. In 2022, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to build 1 million affordable homes by 2030. Two years later, the governor is nowhere near that goal.
Making matters worse, in the most recent state budget passed last month, over $1 billion was cut from affordable housing and homeless services programs. California is spending less than 1% of its budget on housing, while some $18 billion annually is the investment needed to solve this housing crisis.
What’s worse, state legislators recently refused to include Assemblymember Buffy Wicks‘ proposed $10 billion affordable housing bond on the November ballot. This bond would have provided a huge kickstart to the goal of building 1 million affordable homes across the state.
It is initiatives like these that can turn the tide against homelessness and housing insecurity, offering hope and stability to seniors and vulnerable populations. That’s why I strongly supported Proposition ULA in 2022, known colloquially as the “mansion tax,” to tax the wealthy and fund affordable housing in Los Angeles.
The state of California should follow suit and do its part. We have immense wealth right here in California, with more billionaires than nearly anywhere else in the world. Taxing the wealthiest among us to fund housing solutions is not just sensible, but morally it’s the right thing to do.
It is an investment in the future of our communities, ensuring that everyone, regardless of age, race or income, has access to safe and dignified housing. By doing this, Newsom can deliver on his promise of 1 million affordable homes by 2030.
I’ve always believed the phrase, “you get what you pay for.” We can’t solve the housing crisis on the cheap.
(Maria Briones is a member of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and lives in Los Angeles.)
