EAST PALO ALTO, Calif., and
MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Envision Transform
Build-East Palo Alto (ETB), a coalition of community groups, today
formed an unprecedented partnership with Facebook (NASDAQ:
FB) and the cities of East Palo
Alto (EPA) and Menlo Park
to increase the supply of affordable housing in the Bay Area.
The partnership will foster new ways to approach the acute
regional housing crisis by stabilizing neighborhoods and stemming
the tide of displacement. A Catalyst Housing Fund will be created
to develop and preserve affordable housing in the area, an
innovative model that can be expanded to address affordable housing
problems throughout California.
Facebook will make an initial contribution of $20 million to the partnership, with $18.5 million going to the housing fund. The
partnership will also address community issues including legal
support for tenants and economic opportunities. Together, the
partners will work to bring in other private and public sector
organizations to contribute to the partnership and its initiatives.
The founding community groups in this partnership are Youth United
for Community Action (YUCA), Faith in Action Bay Area, Community
Legal Services in East Palo Alto
(CLSEPA), and Comité de Vecinos del Lado
Oeste, East Palo Alto. ETB
was assisted by the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, Public Advocates Inc.,
and the Law Office of Julian
Gross.
"The fund is designed to quickly benefit those most in need,"
said Doroteo Garcia of El
Comité de Vecinos del Lado Oeste.
"The money will be prioritized for homes that are affordable to
very low income families and protect existing households from
displacement."
"Our organizations have been working for decades to ensure
that the Bay Area remains a place where people of all
races and incomes can find healthy homes and good jobs, so we
approached Facebook to work on these issues with us," said
Tameeka Bennett of Youth United for
Community Action. "This exciting partnership shows what can happen
when the people who are most affected by the housing crisis are
engaged in a serious collaboration with other stakeholders to craft
creative solutions."
"We're creating a close partnership with local residents to
solve the challenges the region is facing," said Facebook Vice
President for Public Policy and Communications Elliot Schrage. "We hope to build on today's
announcement and add other partners from the community, private
sector and government to create viable regional solutions to the
affordable housing crisis and the lack of economic opportunities
for local residents."
Silicon Valley faces a crisis of access to affordable housing.
While half a million new jobs have been filled since 2010, Silicon
Valley built just 26 percent of the new homes it needed for
lower-income households between 2007 and 2014, a shortfall of
nearly 22,000 homes. The situation is particularly acute for
low-income and working-class communities, whose homes, livelihoods
and neighborhoods are threatened by the combination of rising
housing and transportation costs, declining economic opportunities
and insufficient resources. These communities are also among the
most economically, ethnically and racially diverse in the
region.
In addition to affordable housing, tenant evictions are a
primary source of local displacement. In the current environment,
tenants urgently need greater support to ensure that laws are
respected. Facebook will contribute $500,000 for a tenant assistance fund to provide
legal and rental assistance to low-income tenants threatened with
displacement from evictions, unsafe living conditions and other
forms of landlord abuse. Facebook will also contribute $250,000 to Rebuilding Together Peninsula to
support the building and upkeep of homes for low-income
residents.
To help expand economic opportunities for local residents,
Facebook will contribute $625,000
toward job training for science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) jobs. Facebook will also establish a dedicated
full-time local community liaison who will be responsible for
connecting local community members with open positions at
Facebook.
"The City of East Palo Alto
appreciates Facebook valuing the voice of the community by
ensuring our seat at the table as we find solutions to issues
facing EPA together," said East Palo Alto Vice Mayor Larry Moody. "This partnership solidifies a
long-term commitment to the people who live in the area and
reinforces Facebook's promise to be an active corporate
citizen."
The City of Menlo Park is also
supportive of this collaboration, and will sit with Facebook, ETB,
and East Palo Alto as members of a
partnership committee.
"Menlo Park faces the same
challenges as many of our neighboring communities in how to secure
and grow our diverse residential neighborhoods with housing prices
soaring, managing the onslaught of traffic impacts and how to
deliver the best education we can to our children," said
Menlo Park Mayor, Rich Cline. "I think such challenges become
opportunities if we find ways to unite our cities and community
organizations and bring in bold policies all with a revenue model
to help bring about real and positive change. Facebook is the ideal
partner to rally our region into action."
Youth United for Community Action (YUCA), is a grassroots
community organization created, led, and run by young people of
color, majority from low-income communities, provides a safe space
for young people to empower ourselves and work on environmental and
social justice issues to establish positive systemic change through
grassroots community organizing.
Faith in Action Bay Area, is a regional network of
community and faith-based organizations that addresses key issues
of healthcare access, education, safe neighborhoods, and affordable
housing in local communities.
Community Legal Services in East
Palo Alto (CLSEPA) is a community-based organization
that provides legal assistance to low-income individuals and
families in East Palo Alto and the
surrounding community. Their practice areas include housing,
immigration, and economic advancement, and they provide legal
assistance and advice to over 6,000 residents in need per year.
Comité de Vecinos del Lado
Oeste, East Palo Alto
is a committee of neighbors dedicated to tenants' rights, no
displacement, and affordable housing.
Facebook: Founded in 2004, Facebook's mission is to give
people the power to share and make the world more open and
connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and
family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and
express what matters to them.
Media Contacts:
Jamil Walker, Corporate
Communications Manager, Facebook
650-785-5818; jamilw@fb.com
Roberta Thomson, Corporate
Communications Director, Facebook
650-285-9721; bertiet@fb.com
Andrea Saul, Policy
Communications Manager, Facebook
650-822-4089; saul@fb.com
Leslie Fulbright, Communications
Strategist, ACLU of Northern
California
415-621-2493 x309; lfulbright@aclunc.org
Isabel Alegria, Communications
Director, Public Advocates Inc.
415-431-7434; ialegria@publicadvocates.org
Tameeka Bennett, Youth United for
Community Action (YUCA)
650-561-5662; tbennett@youthunited.net
Doroteo Garcia, El Comité de
Vecinos del Lado Oeste
650-771-3712; doroteogarcia@yahoo.es
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