 Dear Friend,
This month Peoples’ Self-Help Housing is celebrating its 50thAnniversary!
In August of 1970 when a group of people, concerned about those in the community having difficulty finding housing, organized to address the situation and to take advantage of newly available funding, I’m not sure that they knew exactly what a legacy they were creating.
Fifty years later, I am so grateful for their vision, personal sacrifice and effort as it has made our organization what it is today. Although we have changed in so many ways – we are now no longer a group of grass roots volunteers hefting our own shovels to a single lot, but a $200M business, 200+ employees strong – we are fundamentally the same; people with a heart for others and for affordable housing.
Our State continues to face many of the same challenges it did in 1970. Strains on budgets, pressure on natural resources, differences of opinion on how to plan, pay for and protect our beloved communities. Viewpoints continue to be varied and at times, can lead to heated and protracted debates, but our style has never wavered, always looking to the long-term solution, and building collaborations and good relationships.
As we did fifty years ago, we all still agree that California needs more housing. Not second homes, vacation or short stay rentals but housing for hard working people already living in the state. The folks teaching our children, caring for our seniors, stocking our supermarkets, and keeping our hiking trails and parks beautiful for all of us to enjoy.
As many of you know, I will be retiring very soon and I couldn’t be more proud to be handing off to my successor an organization that is strong, dedicated to its mission, and habitually looked to for its pragmatism and compassion. Thank you for all the ways you have made the first fifty years of Peoples’ Self-Help Housing possible, here’s to the next! |
President’s Summer Book Club
Celebrating 50 Years!
50 Years. 50 Stories. 
