Affordable Housing Programs Could be Slashed With State Budget Cuts

As local redevelopment agencies remain in limbo, and Gov. Jerry Brown’s elimination of them seems imminent, it is the homeless people in Rohnert Park who depend on redevelopment agency-funded programs and housing that could suffer the most.

The hit is doubly hard. Included in Gov. Brown’s total $12.5 billion in cuts statewide are $750 million in cuts to disability services. Advocates for homeless outreach and programs for the disabled fret what this could mean to an already marginalized population.

COTS' funding is varied. According to Records, of the program's $2.8 million budget, $500,000 is paid for by local redevelopment agencies and $88,500 of total funding comes from the California Human Services Commission — all of which could be cut.

“The social service cuts in Gov. Brown’s budget would profoundly impact the people we serve,” said John Records, the executive director of the Committee On The Shelterless, or COTS. “I’m really concerned that as the social service safety net is shredded around us, our programs will have a harder time helping people.”

In Rohnert Park, six homes house about 17 families at any one time, who are transitioning out of homelessness. Of those 17 families, 78 percent are placed in permanent housing each year, according to Mike Johnson, the associate executive director for COTS.

At Vida Nueva, the permanent housing for formerly homeless people that opened in 2008, 24 units provide housing for about 75 people in a community that offers life skills classes and very low rent.

Another 125-150 families remain on the waiting list.

“These are all previously homeless people, who are all very low income and almost all of them have a disabled head of household,” said Glen Weaver, director of housing programs in Rohnert Park. “This is the first program of its kind in Sonoma County — it’s very progressive.”

One hundred percent of the counseling services tenants at Vida Neuva receive, from the staff at COTS, are funded by redevelopment. 

In addition to subsidized housing, Vida Nueva provides tenants with programs such as parenting classes, credit repair, monthly dinners to help build a sense of community and help with substance abuse issues.

“These programs help homeless people rebuild their shattered lives,” Weaver said.

“The city of Rohnert Park gave us this piece of land,” he added. “A lot of cities talk about helping out the low income and homeless, well, Rohnert Park really put their money where their mouth is.”

For now, it’s unclear what the cuts will mean for the people who want to get out of homelessness.

"You have to want it," said Michelle Bruce, a formerly homeless woman who was addicted to speed most of her life. "I always was in abusive relationships, and I couldn't survive on my own. No one ever told me I could."

But Bruce, who is now taking classes at Santa Rosa Junior College to get a degree in case management, said COTS and Vida Nueva helped her get her independence back.

"It opened up all kinds of freedoms for me — watching TV, taking a bath, having my own food in the fridge."

Editor's note: Interested in this story? Check out our story about how other , or our . Listen to what Bruce has to say, click on the video to the right.

Vida Nueva is managed by Burbank Housing.