The Daily Californian, by Olivia Buccieri
The Partnership for the Bay’s Future, with funding from other organizations, provided the city of Berkeley and the East Bay Community Law Center with a “challenge grant” and support to advance tenant protections and preserve existing affordable housing through policy changes.
The East Bay Community Law Center, in partnership with the city of Berkeley, will receive $220,000 in grant money over the next two years to develop properties for affordable housing, according to Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín.
“We have a collective responsibility to help the housing crisis,” Arreguín said. “This is a collaborative cross-sector effort to address affordability by really the three Ps: by protecting the tenants, by preserving existing affordable housing and by producing new housing. All those are really central to keeping our region diverse, affordable and equitable.”
The challenge grants were received by seven Bay Area governments in partnership with local community organizations, according to a Partnership for the Bay’s Future press release.
The grant program, which is managed by the San Francisco Foundation, is also funding a two-year fellow intended to help develop the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act and the “right to return” policy to prevent displacement and maintain housing affordability, according to Arreguín.