Salud Carbajal, 24th District Representative, second from right, tours Artisan Court — housing for youth aging out of foster care, the formerly homeless and low-income downtown workers. He is joined by Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara staff and Board of Commissioners including, from left, Dale Fathe-Aazam, Director of Property and Development, Rob Fredericks, CEO, and Geoff Green, Commissioner. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA – With federal funding for affordable housing facing deep cuts, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara (HACSB) recently gave 24th District Rep. Salud Carbajal a tour of key housing properties, programs and an overview of the difference they make for residents.
HACSB shared stories, successes and milestones about these national models of excellence in affordable housing with Rep. Carbajal to allow him to share the information with his colleagues in Washington and inform them on the importance of funding affordable housing. The proposed Federal budget for Fiscal Year 2016 cuts funding for affordable housing programs by 13 percent, putting several vital programs at risk, including Public Housing, Section 8, HOME, CDBG and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
“Affordable housing is a critical need on the Central Coast, and the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara continues to lead the effort in providing permanent housing to our low income residents,” said Rep. Carbajal. “Meeting with residents today and seeing the housing units first-hand, puts into perspective the incredible impact these affordable housing units have in our community. As proposed budget cuts threaten affordable housing programs, I will continue to fight to fully fund these programs in Congress.”
Rep. Carbajal toured the local affordable housing properties with HACSB CEO Rob Fredericks and several other community leaders. Rep. Carbajal spoke with residents to learn about their experiences and the positive impact this housing has had on them.
“Far too many people are living in a state of homelessness on our streets – 790 people in the City Santa Barbara,” said Fredericks. “How do we solve the problem? Through additional affordable housing! Yet, the Trump administration is proposing catastrophic cuts to basic safety net programs, including affordable housing. If this stands, we would have to reduce our Section 8 program size by nearly 200 households. Now is the time to increase funding for affordable housing, not to reduce it.”
About the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara: The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency created for the purpose of providing safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources. Since 1969, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has developed and/or secured over 3,600 units (about 1,200 owned or managed and 2,400 of Section 8 subsidy) of affordable rental housing for Santa Barbara through a variety of federal, state, local and private funding sources. Please visit the website at www.hacsb.org.