_14297_34265589.png){kind=logo}
To Mutual Housing California Residents and Friends,
Sometimes you do your job and you make progress and you know deep down inside that, yes, you are making a difference in people’s lives.
You go home. You barely think about it. The next day it’s the same thing, and then it’s the same the day after that, and it all gives you the good and modest feeling of satisfaction that comes with just doing your job.
Then you go to Washington, D.C., for a conference put on by the Rural Local Initiatives Support Coalition. You sit in on a leadership session, and you listen while your peers light up the seminar – with praise for your team and your organization and what you’re doing, how you’re doing it right, and how you have become a model for the country.
Fantastic, is the only thing I can say, about the recognition Rural LISC attendees showered on us at Mutual Housing of California. We got it for the World Habitat Award we won last year for the opening of the first certified Zero Net Energy rental housing community at Spring Lake in Woodland. We got it for moving ahead with the second phase of the same project. We got it for our progress toward building an affordable housing community welcoming to LGBTQ seniors, and we got it for the work we do every day – building and maintaining quality affordable housing throughout the Sacramento area and establishing programs where resident members become leaders and participants and the managers of their own communities. They work together, to expand and realize the potential of their lives, for themselves and all their neighbors.
Like the Rural LISC leaders told me in D.C., “You’re a model that everybody should be following. Nobody else out there is doing this kind of work.”
What makes us different is our commitment to leadership development. Producing sustainable affordable housing is only half of our deal. Like the stories below will show, our programs are just as important as the walls in which they take place, in which our residents live. We are not just real estate developers. We are people developers, too. As they take advantage of the programs and services we offer, the people who live in our communities empower themselves in ways they may have never thought possible.
And around the country, other people are noticing.
Mutual Housing Breaks Ground on Positive Net Energy Phase
On a cool March morning, a light intermittent rain couldn’t keep the 60-plus resident members and supporters of Mutual Housing at Spring Lake from overflowing with positive spirit.
They also were treated to the poignancy of a little poetry reading by resident member Saul Meneses, whose verse told the story of how much it means to live in a place that is permanent and affordable:
“To have a home where my head can rest,
“There is no gold in the world with which you can pay.”
A full slate of key stakeholders followed up on the tone for the day that Mr. Meneses set. One by one they shared their unique perspectives that demonstrated an unyielding will to build up the lives of the agricultural workers and their families who live in Spring Lake.
The community now awaits the addition of 39 more Spring Lake homes, each of them ready to supply even more advanced energy and water saving capabilities that will go beyond their zero net energy counterpart. More efficient building techniques, advances in construction materials, all-electric heat-pump water heaters and air conditioning and ventilation systems and other equipment will provide for a further shrinking of the community’s energy-consumption footprint.
Spring Lake’s second phase will include photovoltaic panels that can achieve 105 percent zero-net energy, thanks to the design by Kuchman Architects, with energy efficiency consulting from Redwood Energy. That means the new buildings will be able to store 5 percent more energy than they use. The design also calls for the installation of a grey water reuse system that will cut irrigation water needs in half.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided major financial support to Mutual Housing at Spring Lake with a $3 million loan. Additional predevelopment funding came from NeighborWorks® America and Wells Fargo Bank. The State Treasurer’s Office allocated additional investment through the low income housing tax credit program. The City of Woodland contributed to Spring Lake through its affordable housing fund, while Wells Fargo Bank and the California Community Reinvestment Corporation supplied construction and permanent loans.
“Mutual Housing at Spring Lake is now set to grow into an even greater success,” said Roberto Jiménez, Mutual Housing California’s CEO. “We are delighted that the financing and all the other hard work came together to add more apartments and make the community even more energy sustainable.”
Housing Advocacy Champion Rises Up From Mutual Housing Community
Mutual Housing resident and affordable housing advocate and champion Andrea Noble recently made history. On May 2, she strode to the podium in a hearing room in the state Capitol building to tell the Assembly Judiciary Committee about an easy way to reduce homelessness in California:
“Because current law allows landlords to refuse rent payments from third parties, many people are struggling to find or keep their housing. I urge you to support AB 2219 and help prevent people from becoming homeless when there is money available to pay their rent.”
And with that simple statement, Noble became the first-ever Residents United Network member to testify at a state committee hearing for legislation. Her perseverance and dedication helped convince the committee to move the bill forward, and it also marked another chapter in her development as a true affordable housing leader.
Noble is a resident member and volunteer at Mutual Housing on the Greenway in South Sacramento. From the beginning stages of Mutual Housing California’s partnership with Housing California’s Residents United Network (RUN), Andrea has consistently and fiercely advocated for affordable housing. Despite her full-plate as a grandmother and care provider for three grandchildren, she attends most Lobby Days, affordable housing advocacy trainings, and other RUN activities. “I was impressed by her fearless outspokenness and the ability to weave in her professional network of caregivers like herself throughout the state to support this cause,” one Mutual Housing community organizer told us.
Andrea’s belief in the ability of sustainable affordable housing to change lives comes from first-hand experience. For many years she paid the going rate for rental homes that kept her close to family. Due to poor management, the conditions in one of them became unsafe and unbearable for Andrea and her children. She was forced into a hard choice to move, but still wound up in the same kind of less-certain housing arrangement that destabilize so many people in California.
“For more than a year my kids and I stayed at some motels in the neighborhood we were used to,” Andrea recalled. “We also couch-surfed as they say but, always with the ever-present dread of invading others home spaces.”
Eventually, Andrea learned about an opening at Mutual Housing on the Greenway, and the life-changing, life-improving results for her and her children soon followed.
“My son’s grades improved, their teachers started telling me they were developing a more positive rapport, and before you knew it they were 18 and graduated,” Andrea said. From the difficulty of her past housing challenges, Andrea has since leveraged the stability of a good home for the benefit of her family and countless others with whom she can distinctively empathize.
Andrea has participated in RUN’s annual retreat/summit over the past three years to develop advocacy strategies that she brings back to other resident members of Mutual Housing California. Last year, she traveled to Washington State with other RUN leaders to support a sister network, Resident Action Project (RAP), to learn even more. She then went to Washington, D.C., with RUN to march for tenants’ rights. In addition to her leadership development through RUN, Andrea traveled to Los Angeles with other resident members to take part in NeighborWorks® America’s Community Leadership Institute. With the skills that she continues to foster, she has become one of Mutual Housing California’s strongest resident advocates for affordable housing, fighting homelessness one legislative visit at a time.
Andrea wants to end homelessness. She was recognized in November 2017 for her efforts by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty at the Hunger and Homeless Community Awards with their highest honor—the Grantland Johnson Leadership award.
With your support resident members like Andrea will continue to be empowered to give back to their communities and multiply the impact of sustainable housing for all. If you would like to see more residents rise up, contribute by making a donation to Mutual Housing California.
Mutual Housing Volunteers Come in All Shapes
Beyond their individual skills, the staff of Mutual Housing California show their heart in untold and unexpected ways. This month, we celebrate three outstanding Mutual Housing Maintenance Technicians for the volunteerism and immeasurable support they have lent to our communities:
- Shannon Phillips opens the computer lab every Saturday for the youth and adults at Mutual Housing at River Garden, to hold computer classes and host Saturday morning movies. You can often find Shannon tuning up the computers at the lab at the same time that resident members are putting them to use. At the highly utilized lab, Shannon helps keep the computers connected to the internet and to the printers. The computer lab’s usual class hours run on Saturdays run from 9 a.m. to noon, but sometimes residents — especially children — ask him to keep the lab open longer. Sometimes Shannon sacrifices his whole Saturday to support the enrichment of resident youth members.
- Luis Garcia works at the Mutual Housing on the Greenway community where he conducts youth mentorship and peer-support meetings on the second Thursday of each month for youth resident members between the ages of 12 and 18. Originally Luis wanted to create a safe space to engage youth in fun activities such as watching movies, playing board games, painting, and cooking. Luis has since added job readiness and Culture of College components to the youth group meetings at Greenway. The youth work on their three-year plans, their five-year plans, and even their 10-year plans. They also fill out mock applications for part-time or summer jobs and research real Sacramento job openings. Next up for Luis, he plans to research scholarship opportunities with the youth, with a focus on UC, CSU and community college entrance requirements.
- Jesus “Chuy” Canchola has been the Maintenance Tech at Mutual Housing at Spring Lake since he joined the community’s property management team in 2015. He has participated in countless community events and has regularly reached out to residents about programs and services available at the site. He has a teamwork mentality and has always been willing to do a little extra for the benefit of the community. Chuy also leads a non-contact martial arts class every week and has been doing so for almost two years. Ten to 15 youth and adults attend his classes for physical activity and martial arts discipline. Residents know him for his care for the community and for the youth resident members he serves.
- Chuy, Luis, and Shannon are making generational impacts. They epitomize the spirit of Mutual Housing and add to the richness of their communities through their professionalism and their willingness to give a bit more.
Do you have more to give? We have a variety of open volunteer positions available. Visit our website for more information:
Green Leaders Team Up with NeighborWorks VISTA
Rochelle Berman, who goes by Shelly, has been a Green Leader at both Owendale and New Harmony Mutual Housing communities for more than two years. She loves her fellow community members and cares deeply about their health. “Volunteering is a way to look beyond your own self, where you get to learn from others by hearing their experiences and stories. Volunteering is about achieving a positive goal and being appreciated for what you do,” explained Shelly. For her that includes bringing awareness of the dangers of poor indoor air quality and the negative health affects that come from using toxic cleaning chemicals in and around a household. Apparently, Shelly’s love and commitment has rubbed off on her fellow residents, with the number of Green Leaders in the two communities doubling over the past year from three to six. Shelly knows that a lot more work needs to be done, but she remains very optimistic about the future and fully determined to keep raising awareness on the environmental issues in her community. “I look to continue to empower fellow residents and community members to take control of their personal home environment and to carry that out into the environment around them and to also inspire others,” Shelly said.
Gerardo Ramirez, our NeighborWorks VISTA for green programs, touts Shelly as a prime example of the embodiment of Mutual Housing’s mission. Through Mutual Housing’s focus on green building practices and through our Green Leaders program, our resident members develop a strong sense of pride in their homes and community as they contribute to climate change solutions. For the past several months, Gerardo has been working with resident members in four of our Sacramento and Yolo county communities to develop Green Leaders teams. Each community has a green project resident leader who each identified their year’s project focus:
- At Mutual Housing on the Greenway, the leaders designed and hosted neighbor socials, providing a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to discuss a variety of green cleaning and green living ideas. The sessions were set up for lunch time and after 5 p.m. to accommodate many residents’ busy schedules and thereby increase overall participation. To encourage putting these new skills and techniques into practice, they also assembled cleaning kits for participants to take home.
- Mutual Housing at River Garden’s project focused on the importance of community gardens, sustainable food practices, monitoring pollution caused by industrial farming, healthy food access issues, and cooking meals with locally-sourced fruits, vegetables, and animal products. Local farmer Shayne Zurilgen, Owner of Fiery Ginger Farm, offered insights into the sustainable practices that keep him in business and toured their community garden. The community also has youth resident leaders to help engage younger resident members.
- The Green Leaders from Mutual Housing at Lemon Hill will be hosting an energy conservation workshop where they will be educating fellow residents on why it is important to conserve energy and will provide tips on managing an energy efficient home. Gerardo also supports the electric vehicle Our Community CarShare program in this community.
- New Harmony Mutual Housing Community’s project is dedicated to creating materials to advertise the “green cleaning” cabinet within both New Harmony Mutual Housing Community and the adjacent Owendale Mutual Housing Community. Residents will get to learn more about indoor air quality, toxic cleaning chemicals, health dangers from using toxic chemicals, and how to make green cleaning products at home. They also plan to participate in the upcoming grand re-opening event marking the completion of it’s green renovation.
To learn more visit our website at http://www.mutualhousing.com/green-leaders-program/
