Michelle and Cesar both work at nonprofit organizations and are active members of the community. They first learned about Comm22 when a friend posted about it on Facebook. After attending a first time homebuyer class and realizing it would be mathematically impossible to purchase a home in San Diego with two nonprofit salaries and
Olympia and Brent have been community activists for many years, supporting organizations and groups who offer assistance to marginalized communities. With housing prices and rent steadily increasing, they are legitimately concerned about being priced out of their own neighborhood. Olympia has worked at Scripps Memorial Hospital monitoring pre and post-intervention heart rhythms for the
Gabriel, Mercedes, Angel (16) and Alfredo (14) live in an extremely small one-bedroom apartment in Logan Heights. The neighborhood has a high crime rate; police activity is a regular occurrence. Gabriel and Mercedes would give anything to move the boys into a safer community, so that the boys can focus on what they truly
Aurelio, Elizabeth, and Zoey (3) have lived in a mobile home rental for the past two years. It is very old and the landlord allows it to be in perpetual disrepair. Part of Aurelio and Elizabeth’s bedroom floor is caving in, and the ground beneath is closing in. The roof leaks, the home is
Hector, Guadalupe, and their children Ingrid (25), Jesus (20), and Hector (16) have lived in a 2-bedroom apartment in City Heights since they emigrated from Mexico in 2010. The entire apartment complex is poorly maintained, unsafe, and littered with trash. Gang and drug activity abound. Ingrid sleeps on the sofa, and the boys share
Baltazar and Ann and their sons Gustavo (14) and Cesar (20), and daughter Diana (16), are currently renting a home in National City. The owner of the home rents the house to the family for a low price because they agreed not to make any maintenance requests. As a result, the family does not
Abraham, his wife Kristina, and their children Elizabeth (9) and Mark (12) currently live in a small rented apartment in Imperial Beach. They constantly deal with ignored maintenance issues, including plumbing backups and mold. The children share a bedroom, and as they become teenagers, Abraham and Kristina desperately want to be able to provide
Zeynadu, a single mom from Ethiopia, and her sons Amir (7) and Aymaan (4) currently live in a small two-bedroom apartment. The boys love action movies, superheroes, and magic tricks (which they are getting pretty good at!) Safety is one of the biggest concerns for this family, as several of the units in the
Urbano, Mayra, Efrain (19), Daisy (11), and Emily (7) have lived in their three-bedroom apartment in National City for the past seven years. There are many disturbances in the complex, and it affects the children greatly. Vandals break car windows and light trash cans on fire. Management does not respond to these issues or
Pavel, Carmen, Tania (15), and Pavelito (9) lived in an extremely small two-bedroom unit in Jamul for 4 years before purchasing their Habitat home. Pavel emigrated from Cuba, and now works as a case manager helping refugees get the resources they need to get out of the welfare system and proudly stand on their
