U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge announced $115 million in federal disaster relief funds to help California recover from this year’s damaging storms.
She visited Santa Barbara last week and said the funding provides an opportunity to improve infrastructure and create weather resilient communities.
“These storms are not going to stop. How do we build houses that are more resilient, that are more energy efficient, that are going to stand for some time?” Fudge said.
She was joined on her visit by Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal. HUD works closely with Congress to address housing and homelessness. She said the country overall is about 1.5 million housing units short and California is a big portion of that.
“Housing is a crisis everywhere, but here it is particularly acute because the numbers are so big,” she said.
Around 170,000 people experienced homelessness in California last year, according to HUD estimates. In Santa Barbara County, recent data shows that 1,887 people live outdoors, in vehicles, or in temporary shelters.
Fudge said the way out of this crisis is to build more housing, faster.
“It is a matter of getting communities to agree to allow us to build housing. We have to change the way we think,” she said.
Fudge toured Buena Tierra, a former hotel in Goleta that’s being converted to permanent supportive housing. It’s a HomeKey project with federal, state and local funding scheduled to open later this fall.
Fudge also visited with residents at Gardens on Hope, an apartment complex for low-income seniors, many with HUD vouchers. Recent reports show more and more seniors at risk of homelessness due to high housing costs.
Gardens on Hope Resident Kathleen Riel expressed relief and gratitude for her secure housing.
“Now that I’m no longer in fear of being on the street and have food to eat, I can give back to the community,” she said.
Residents told Fudge that there should be more affordable housing developments like theirs, where low-income seniors can live independently with access to a supportive community.
The HUD relief funds will be dispersed throughout the state, including the Central Coast.
