By Sisko J. Stargazer | Yuma Sun
‘Affordable housing, we do not have enough,” proclaimed Fernie Quiroz of the Arizona Housing Development Corporation on Thursday night.
“… We have a lot of families that work hard and they can’t afford a home anymore. You’re looking at three-bedroom homes ranging from $250,000 to $300-plus. Even if they wanted to rent, when’s the last time you saw an apartment complex being built in Yuma? None. There’s availability of new vouchers to be able to go after in the city of Yuma but it’s so difficult because nonprofits like us – we can’t even afford the land now to be able to go after tax credits to build affordable homes.
“I could go on, but I need you. I need your voice. I need your activism.”
The call to action was made Thursday during a panel at Maxed Out: The Story of Affordable Housing in Yuma. Held at the Historic Yuma Theatre, people gathered to hear Yumans tell their stories on housing and leaders discuss the ever-concerning topic of affordable housing.
As a result of a partnership between the Yuma Sun, the Arizona Republic, the Arizona Community Foundation of Yuma, Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy, NexGen Yuma and KAWC, the storytelling event balanced personal stories and experiences with numbers pertaining to the issue in Yuma.
