SV@Home is excited to convene our regional housing partners throughout Santa Clara County in celebrating a virtual Affordable Housing Month 2020! Full of virtual events, activities for all ages, and invigorating conversations, AHM 2020 brings our community together to learn, engage, and act on how we can work to make Silicon Valley a more affordable place to live for all of our residents.
Did you miss out on an Affordable Housing Month 2020 event?
Never fear! Going virtual has allowed us to record many of our events and partner events for you to view at your convenience. Check out some of these great events below:
Week 1
5/5/2020: Artist Draw-Along with Arely Cardenas (Hosted by SV@Home)
LIVE on FB: local artist Arely Cardenas in the Affordable Housing Month Draw-Along with her original art piece interpreting “Home.” This is part of our Draw-Along series happening every Tuesday at noon in the month of May!
In Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America, author Connor Dougherty shares the vast history of California’s housing policies and how those policies have created an uncertain and unaffordable future for many Californians.
5/7/2020: Empower Homebuyers Santa Clara County Webinar (Hosted by The Housing Trust Silicon Valley)
The Empower Homebuyers SCC program provides down payment assistance loans to first-time homebuyers. Funded by the 2016 Measure A Affordable Housing Bond, the program will assist low to moderate income households. Learn more here!
5/7/2020: San Jose Jazz: Live From Home with Amy D. (Hosted by San Jose Jazz)
Everyone deserves access to a safe, stable, and affordable home. With her gorgeous, soulful voice giving life to inspiring lyrics, Amy D.’s music invites reflection, healing, and growth. Support both a local artist and housing access by tuning in!
5/8/2020: Intro to TechEquity Webinar (Hosted by TechEquity Collaborative)
An introduction to TechEquity: how we got into the housing affordability crisis and what’s happening in the housing + workforce worlds to combat it. For those new to TechEquity, this is a great primer to help you get plugged in quickly.
Week 2
5/12/2020: Artist Draw-Along with Harumo Sato (Hosted by SV@Home)
LIVE on FB: local artist Harumo Sato in the Affordable Housing Month Draw-Along with her original art piece interpreting “Home.” This is part of our Draw-Along series happening every Tuesday at noon in the month of May!
This workshop explores new and creative ways to create the diversity of housing stock needed for all our community members at every income level through shared equity, public land, and successful large scale market rate development.
Learn about the opportunities BAHFA presents to provide the 9-county Bay Area with robust regional housing infrastructure and potential state, federal, corporate, and philanthropic resources to deliver the “3 Ps” of production, protection, and preservation.
What do housing and environmental justice have to do with public health? How do we work towards a community that is resilient ecologically, socially, and economically? Join us and experts from around the region as we tackle these questions together.
5/14/2020: What the General Plan Review Means for Housing (Hosted by SPUR)
San Jose’s general plan review task force is wrapping up its work on recommendations to send to the city council this fall. Learn about the review and whether the city will meet the challenge of the region’s housing shortage and affordability crisis.
A conversation about housing, homelessness, & COVID-19 with Jason Elliott, Senior Counselor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Housing & Homelessness and Kate Gordon, Director of The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research.
Week 3
5/19/2020: Artist Draw-Along with Lila Gemellos (Hosted by SV@Home)
LIVE on FB: local artist Lila Gemellos in the Affordable Housing Month Draw-Along with her original art piece interpreting “Home.” This is part of our Draw-Along series happening every Tuesday at noon in the month of May!
5/19/2020: Landlords and the Eviction Moratorium (Hosted by Project Sentinel & City of Milpitas)
Learn about how the Santa Clara County eviction moratorium can impact local landlords. Project Sentinel will discuss specific actions landlords can and can’t take during this period. This event is beneficial for both landlords and tenants.
5/19/2020: Much Ado About ADUs: Part 2 (Hosted by Palo Alto Forward)
Join Palo Alto Forward’s 4th annual ADU Workshop where a panel of renowned experts will be at hand to share their ADU stories and experience. We will walk you through financing and prefab options and share successes and pitfalls to avoid.
Sometimes known as backyard homes/cottages, granny units, or casitas, ADUs are a great investment for a whole variety of individuals and families. Learn about regulations and best practices on how to get started with building your own ADU.
5/20/2020: A Win-Win: Using Faith-Based Surplus Lands for Affordable Housing (Hosted by SV@Home)
This webinar provides an overview of how faith-based organizations can develop underutilized real estate assets into affordable homes and other facilities and services such as community-based health clinics, HeadStart programs, child day care and more.
5/20/2020: Growing Up Around Transit: Transit Oriented Communities (Hosted by SPUR)
How can MTC’s Transit Oriented Development policy be updated to best increase the housing supply, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support economic growth around bus, rail and ferry stations?
5/20/2020: Affordable Housing Finance 101 (Hosted by Housing Trust Silicon Valley)
Housing Trust’s Chief Lending Officer Fathia Macauley gives an inside look at how Housing Trust, public entities, private lenders and equity investors are working to create more affordable housing in our region. Learn the basics of affordable housing finance, how homes go from pre-acquisition to move-in day, and how the industry is meeting the challenges caused by COVID-19 and the new economic climate.
Now, more than ever, access to affordable housing, jobs, and services is crucial to sustaining our community’s public health and boosting our economy. Join Santa Clara Community Advocates for a discussion with housing, business, and environmental leaders about how we can design El Camino Real as a successful, vibrant, and neighborhood-serving corridor.
The conversion of tax credits into dollars for development can often be confusing for many community development practitioners. This workshop will provide clarity and understanding for developers, nonprofit community development staff, planners, government officials and CRA bankers about the differences in the ability of LIHTC (Low Income Housing Tax Credits), NMTC (New Markets Tax Credits), and HTC (Historic Tax Credits) and their ability to generate funds for development.
The launch of a video series featuring five affordable housing communities in Santa Clara County. The videos showcase the high-quality affordable housing properties, the residents that call them home, and the dedicated staff who make home happen.
People Acting in Community Together discusses the moral framework of affordable housing and homelessness during the COVID-19 crisis with multi-faith clergy and community leaders, centering the needs of the community in a recovery plan for Silicon Valley’s most vulnerable.
The housing crisis was already a challenge before COVID-19; come and learn from top experts from around the state for a discussion on the future of affordable housing, housing finance, and related state housing legislation.
5/21/2020: What Happens When You Eliminate Parking (Hosted by SPUR)
Multiple cities around the Bay Area have eliminated parking minimums for new development projects. Join panelists to hear what cities learned in the process and what are the resulting impacts, both positive and negative, they’re experiencing.
5/21/2020: At the Intersection: Affordable Housing and the Census (Hosted by SV@Home)
The 2020 Census is a big deal. It helps determine federal funding allocation local jurisdictions will receive for a variety of resources and services that benefit vulnerable communities. This includes funding for school programs, public safety and emergency response, health care, and affordable housing. Census-derived data determines a variety of local housing needs. This webinar delves into the importance of the Census and its implications for affordable housing and homelessness funding at the local level.
5/21/2020: Our City Storytime with Jacky Morales-Ferrand (Hosted by San Jose Public Library)
Come join the San José Public Library for Our City Storytime! Read by Jacky Morales-Ferrand, Director of Housing for the City of San José, this episode’s books will relate to themes of home and neighborhoods.
Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley joins the Milpitas Housing team to discuss their mission and how they have been providing emergency repairs, specifically for those impacted by the coronavirus.
5/21/2020: The Present & Future of Affordable Housing Funding (Hosted by Catalyze SV)
We need more affordable housing projects both small & large, but how do we pay for them? Join experts who currently get funding for affordable housing projects, as well as advocates devising new ways, for a lively roundtable discussion.
Affordable housing is critical to addressing domestic violence and supporting survivors, especially during this health and economic crisis. Speakers cover strategies for providing housing to survivors, current partnerships, systems gaps, and how housing advocates can get involved.
Week 4
5/25/2020: Addressing the Housing Crisis During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Hosted by Eden Housing)
Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-24) speaks about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on affordable housing, and that the crises we’re already facing, including the housing crisis, homelessness crisis, and climate change, have not disappeared.
5/26/2020: Housing Production and Affordability with Evan Mast (Hosted by CA YIMBY)
Bad policy created California’s housing crisis. How can we fix the housing market and make housing affordable for everyone? Featuring Evan Mast, Applied Economist and housing researcher with the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
5/27/2020: SFHAC’s 2020 Spring Symposium: What Urbanism Looks Like Now (Hosted by SFHAC)
Featuring a conversation between Rich Hillis, Planning Director for the City and County of San Francisco and Jeffrey Tumlin, San Francisco’s Director of Transportation, moderated by SPUR’s Community Planning Policy Director Kristy Wang.
State Senator Scott Wiener shares how housing density and overcrowding contribute to community transmission, and how we can future-proof our cities to both flatten the curve and improve equity.
As the pandemic and homelessness crises converge, it has become clear a lot more people are a lot more vulnerable than we thought. These stories are more important than ever before: raw, sometimes uncomfortable, but always relevant to the moment.
One upside of the COVID-19 public health crisis has been the willingness of cities and states throughout the Country to enact eviction moratoriums, protecting tenants from eviction while the shelter in place order continues. But are these protections working, and what’s next for the tenants’ rights movement? This panel features attorneys from the Law Foundation of Silicon Valley, tenant organizers, and others to discuss how the moratoria came about and what they mean for the future of tenants’ rights in California.
5/28/2020: Our City Storytime with Librarian Ms. Bridget (Hosted by San Jose Public Library)
We love all the different people who make our community AMAZING! Join San José Librarian Ms. Bridget all about the things that make our city special.
5/28/2020: Supercharge Your Affordable Housing Advocacy with GreenTRIP Connect (Hosted by TransForm)
Neighborhood concerns about traffic and parking are often a major stumbling block to approve new housing development. GreenTRIP Connect, a free, online tool from TransForm, helps you calculate how smart location, affordable homes, and traffic reduction strategies can reduce driving and greenhouse gas emissions from residential development.
Learn how house sharing can help alleviate the rental housing shortage and create new sources of income. Catholic Charities House Sharing Program team shares information on the County’s free program with Roomily, a new online home sharing service.
5/28/2020: What It Will Take to Reopen Cities, with Richard Florida (Hosted by SPUR)
Is the coronavirus the downfall of density, or can cities around the world remain bastions of urbanism in the face of the disease? Join renowned urbanist Richard Florida for a discussion about the fraught connection between the pandemic and cities and what we can expect in the coming months and years.
Cupertino’s school are decaying—in large part due to the housing crisis. Artificial scarcity has rendered most city housing inaccessible for new, often younger families, leading to the continuous decline of school enrollment. Three schools are in danger of closing in the district. Building more diverse, affordable housing is essential to saving our schools.
The City of Milpitas hosts an Affordable Housing and Building Safety workshop to discuss proposed amendments to the city’s Below Market Rate (BMR) program and other housing related services the city provides to residents.
Think there is nothing affordable in Silicon Valley? Or that lenders only lend to those with more money? What about first time home buyers – are they all buying at $1M and above? Hear from a new home builder, lender and first time home buyer advocate to find out how and where there is still affordable homes in Santa Clara County.
5/29/2020: California Affordable Housing Legislative Update (Hosted by SV@Home)
SV@Home, CA YIMBY, and NPH present a webinar on the state of affordable housing during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an overview and analysis of Governor Newsom’s May Budget Revision, how the state is responding to COVID-19 as it relates to housing and homelessness, and an update on this year’s Three Ps legislative package. The webinar features CA Assemblymember Robert Rivas!
