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Fall 2009
From the Executive Director Recently a colleague from a partner organization told me that we at RCD “undersell” ourselves. She told me that many people don't understand what we do and how important our work is. She had attended the Oxford Plaza opening and was very impressed by the building and especially the remarks from one of our new residents, who spoke about the difference that living at Oxford made for her family. I agree that we could do more to tell the stories of our residents and how affordable housing matters for their families and of the tremendous value affordable homes create for our communities. With a history and focus on housing development, we at RCD often talk about the buildings we construct, the deals we have completed, and the units we have brought on line. But we can best make the case for affordable housing by continuing to demonstrate that our projects significantly improve the lives of our residents. The best way to do that is to share their stories. RCD’s greatest contribution is that when we sharpen our pencils to negotiate a construction contract or send off another funding application we are advancing a process that changes and improves the lives of people. When we utilize our real estate skills to bring housing on line, we are creating great opportunities for our residents. Our hope is that with their new housing, our residents will realize hopes and dreams that were closed to them before living in our developments. So I agree that we should tell the stories of our residents. But I still feel that the pro formas and plans that turn into the buildings are magic. We are fortunate to work in both realms. The newsletter you are reading updates RCD’s progress on financing and building and it also has stories of our residents and how they are realizing their goals while living in RCD housing. I’m very glad that we have some great stories to share with you. Finally, thanks again to all of you who have worked with and supported RCD during our 25th anniversary year. This has been our most successful year of opening new housing ever. We couldn’t have done it without all of our partners, funders, and friends. Thanks, and we look forward to a great 2010!
Dan Sawislak, RCD Executive Director From RCD Board Member Jacque Keller In one of the most inspiring afternoons I've spent in a long time, I listened to the stories and future plans of applicants for the Irwin Mussen Scholarship. Earnest and serious students, they represented all different levels of education and need. Here are the winners: • Jacky Chan started at UC San Diego in September and has received a number of scholarships but is short $8,000, which he will work to cover. • Abigail Pinedo is currently attending Diablo Valley College, majoring in Restaurant Management and also teaching herself French and Italian. • Houria Bouaddou is studying biotechnology at Berkeley City College and does her homework at the kitchen table as her children do theirs. • Gregory Powell is enrolled at Merritt College and wants to be a substance abuse counselor. He volunteers at the Berkeley Drop-in Center and is a resident of Fox Courts. I had the pleasure of calling several of the candidates to announce the award and was thrilled to hear that this money will not only help them financially, but that it gives them a sense of hope that they are worthy of the award. The focus of the Irwin Mussen Scholarship is to grant money to deserving individuals to assist with tuition costs and text book purchases to help them in their educational pursuits. The RCD board services committee and staff members Kathy Treggeri and Linda Mackey developed the informational flyer, application, and interview questions for the first of what we hope will be annual scholarships. Fourteen applications were received and we awarded scholarships totalling $1,500. I personally believe we should support education for our residents and have pledged to raise $2,500 for next year's scholarship. Please help me in this endeavor by clicking below to make a donation on-line or by mail to RCD. Please note that your donation is to the scholarship fund and we'll restrict it for that purpose only. I appreciate your support and I can assure you that our residents will also be very grateful.
RCD's outstanding Americorps members were recognized at the LISC Bay Area Americorps Program graduation ceremony held in August at Fox Courts. Nicole Melas (left), Pera Gorson, and Danielle Hacker each contributed talents and energy in ways that produced amazing results. Nicole assisted in preparing over $29M worth of funding applications for 267units of housing, with $4.5M awarded to date. On many long days, she worked on several simultaneously, mastering the complexities and details of each. Her applications will have a significant impact on RCD's housing development over the next five years. Pera led the after school programs for youth at Stanley and International in Oakland and Bella Monte in Bay Point, encouraging the kids' curiosity and reinforcing academic subjects through activities the kids loved. One group made a large scale map of the world by putting continents drawn by each child together into a map on the floor. They listened to world music and tried to guess which continent the music came from, stepping onto the continent to indicate their choice. We will continue to use the curriculum she developed and documented at these and three other sites where programs for youth are a priority. Here for the summer, Danielle assisted with community outreach activities in for a project in pre-development in Martinez, including creating written materials, researching alternative transportation options for prospective residents, and assessing the need for affordable senior housing in that community. She also assisted with the permanent financing conversion of Fox Courts and helped curate the artwork for the community spaces there. Nicole, Pera, and Danielle each brought exceptional energy and talent to their assignments at RCD and we are grateful to them for their contributions. We are pleased to now welcome Brittany Andrews to the Youth Program and Nina Ebner to Housing Development. Their tenure at RCD is made possible through the continuing support of Bay Area LISC, recruiting Americorps Members to help advance the construction of affordable housing in our communities.
Ohlone Gardens has final approval from the Planning Commission of the City of El Cerrito and will go before the Design Review Board in early October. Their approval marks the final step in completion of planning entitlements. RCD has partnered with The Hatlen Center for the Blind to create a new headquarters office and program space for the Hatlen Center along with 57 affordable apartments for families and Hatlen Center participants. The Hatlen Center provides a one year program of training to visually impaired young adults in order to teach them how to live independently. The site, along the Ohlone Greenway and one block from San Pablo Avenue businesses and bus lines, is an ideal location for both families and Hatlen Center participants. Construction is expected to start in late 2011. Enterprise Community Partners has selected RCD to participate in their Green Retrofit Pilot Program which looks at the feasibility of retrofitting older buildings with green, sustainable, energy conserving materials and technologies. RCD will receive technical support, energy audits on the selected properties, and a grant to conduct the analysis. From RCD Board Member Kattye Giles There is a great need for affordable senior housing in Bay Area. I found this out when I began to look for it myself – closed waiting lists and substandard buildings were not hard to find; safe, affordable, available apartments were. I had lived in market rate apartments as I was raising my two sons as a single parent. I worked and could afford to pay regular rent. Eventually, and unexpectedly, my health became an issue and I could no longer work. I was living on disability income and was paying so much to rent I couldn’t pay medical costs and my other bills. Fortunately, I found an apartment in Berkeley owned by RCD that is set aside for seniors over 55. When I went for an interview, I learned a lot about what they do to help people in my situation. I moved to Margaret Breland Homes in December 2006 and have enjoyed being a part of this complex ever since. I know I’m lucky to have reasonable rent and people who are willing to help each other because I hear from people all the time who are struggling. I am now an active Board Member of RCD and have spoken at several public meetings on their behalf as we work to build more affordable housing. Affordable housing is not being built fast enough in our communities to keep up with the need. I think our seniors especially deserve a place to live where they can be comfortable and not have to worry about having enough food or money to last for a month. And I hope by speaking out we can all help make this happen.
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© 2009
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