affordable housing
& homelessness
We don't just represent the struggles. We represent the solution.
PARTICIPATE IN OUR HOUSING NEEDS SURVEY TODAY!
As a part of the San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP) we want to understand how our community is impacted by the housing crisis. We appreciate you filling out this brief survey so when we meet with public officials we can share the story of the needs of our community that must be addressed.
Como parte de San Diego Organizing Project (SDOP) queremos comprender cómo está impactada nuestra comunidad por la crisis de vivienda. Agradecemos que llene esta breve encuesta para que cuando nos reunamos con los funcionarios públicos, podamos compartir la historia de las necesidades de nuestra comunidad que deben abordarse.
OUR FIGHT
We are protecting existing housing units, tenants’ rights, and advocating for services & policies that create more affordable housing and lift people out of homelessness.
Our Major Victories
For over two years, the St. Francis’ organizing team has been advocating for an inclusionary housing policy and access to affordable housing in Vista. An inclusionary housing policy would require housing developers to dedicate a certain percentage of new residential units to lower-income housing.The team embarked on months of organizing: attending 2 city council meetings, hosting a worship on the issue, leading 5 research meetings and 1 action with Vista City Council, and surveying over 400 fellow congregants.
On January 10, 2023, 350 community members flooded the Vista City Council halls to send a strong message to the city: institute inclusionary housing in Vista. And the city did just that.
Thanks to our advocacy efforts, Vista City Council passed the inclusionary housing policy in a 4-1 vote that will dedicate 9% of Vista’s housing developments for affordable housing.
Inclusionary housing in Vista is an important step to making our housing justice vision a reality.
Antonio Sanchez and his wife own a trailer and rent the land at Keystone Trailer Park, National City. During summer 2022, the new property manager at Keystone nearly doubled Antonio’s rent, and increased the prices of parking and utility fees. The management also treats the tenants very badly, threatening Antonio and his wife and entering their home without permission.
For months, Antonio and other Keystone residents have been organizing with SDOP, speaking at City Council meetings about the urgency of the rent increases and poor park conditions. Thanks to SDOP’s organizing and advocacy efforts, the National City City has voted to bring the rent control for mobile home tenants ordinance forward.
On December 6th, National City City Council passed rent control for mobile home tenants, preventing over 270 families from experiencing homelessness and protecting tenants from rent increases of over 5% until 2024. This is the first policy of Its kind In National City!
30 SDOP leaders attended the City of San Diego’s first ‘Housing Day’ on July 24, 2018, which has since been dubbed “Housing Action Day”. At the meeting, San Diego City Council members approved a ban on discrimination against recipients of Section 8 housing vouchers. The measure, which passed on a 6-1 vote with two council members absent, allows landlords to use credit scores and other legal means to select tenants, but prohibits them from saying “no” to an applicant based solely on whether they pay rent with a government subsidy.
Due to the expiration of an affordable housing covenant, more than 300 tenants in affordable housing site Peñasquitos Village were initially set to be displaced from their homes with nowhere to go, lacking protection or a plan for their welfare by the City of San Diego. SDOP joined tenants, faith leaders and labor allies to negotiate a resettlement agreement with the housing developers to fund a relocation program and to build on-site affordable housing to protect low-income families.
