Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY – PRESS CONFERENCE

San Diego Habitat for Humanity Launches Home Affordability Advocacy Campaign
Announces Support for San Diego Housing Federation $900M Bond Measure to Build 7,500 Homes

WHAT: San Diego Habitat for Humanity joins local elected officials and affordable housing organizations and advocates, as well as Habitat organizations across the country, to launch a new national advocacy campaign aimed at improving home affordability for 10 million people in the U.S. over the next five years.
The Cost of Home campaign seeks to identify and improve policies and systems through coordinated advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal levels, focused on improving housing affordability across the housing continuum in four specific policy areas: increasing supply and preservation of affordable homes, equitably increasing access to credit, optimizing land use for affordable homes, and ensuring access to and development of communities of opportunity.

HOW: San Diego Habitat for Humanity is an early supporter and member of a partnership, led by the San Diego Housing Federation, to bring a $900 million housing bond to the ballot box in November, 2020. If passed, this measure would provide 7,500 affordable housing units for veterans, homeless families, elderly, and disabled residents of our City.  In addition to building much-needed housing, these local funds are even more important to secure because they make San Diego projects eligible for matching funds from the recently passed Propositions 1 and 2 statewide affordable housing funding.

WHY: Nearly 19 million households across the United States are spending at least half of their income on a place to live, often forgoing basic necessities such as food and health care to make ends meet. In San Diego County, only 47 percent of residents own their home, in contrast to the national average of 69 percent.  When the Cost of Home is any family’s health, education, or future, that cost is too high.  We are working together to help make the Cost of Home something we can all afford.

WHEN: Monday, July 8, 2019 | 9:00am

WHERE:  1805 Harrison Avenue, San Diego 92113 – LOGAN HEIGHTS

WHO (INTERVIEW/PHOTO OPS):
San Diego City Councilmember Vivian Moreno | District 8
San Diego City Councilmember Chris Ward | District 3
Lori Holt Pfeiler | President/CEO, San Diego Habitat for Humanity
Stephen Russell | Executive Director, San Diego Housing Federation
Rick Gentry | President/CEO, San Diego Housing Commission

More details about Habitat’s Cost of Home campaign and ways get involved are available at sandiegohabitat.org/costofhome.

Information about the San Diego Housing Federation’s affordable housing bond can be found at https://www.housingsandiego.org/policy-overview.