Housing Testimonials
Everyone is impacted by housing and we all have a story to tell. To uplift the empowering stories of our neighbors, friends, colleagues, and members of our community, HLC will begin highlighting housing testimonials of those who would like to share. If you would like be part of this project, email Kara at krivera@hlcsmc.org.
Fiona Hsu
When I was a senior in college twenty years ago, I took a course called Social Change that changed my life.
Our Graduate Student Instructor invited a group of us over to his apartment for a pot luck dinner – he wanted to show us what Social Change looked like in real life. When I arrived at the Oak Park Apartments in Oakland, I was shocked at the deplorable living conditions. Russell, our GSI, explained that he was helping to organize the residents in a lawsuit against their slumlord. Our pot luck meal included delicious soup that a resident had made us, and then she stopped by to say hello and share her story about escaping Cambodia. We went to visit other residents, including someone who had been a village elder and he gave us a blessing before we left. I drove home confused and heart-broken by what I had seen, but also uplifted by the power of the people I had just met. See full testimonial.
Fiona Hsu is a board member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and Head of Community Development Finance at Silicon Valley Bank.
Kalimah Salahuddin
Around fourteen years ago my family and I found ourselves homeless. Nothing surprised me more at the ease in which that happened. One day we had housing and the next we didn’t. I never in a million years thought that something like that would happen to me. I had a job. I worked hard. Yet there we were. That year without housing, without an address, was horrible. No family should have to face that trauma. I was very lucky to get help and after living in hotels and the Shelter Network of San Mateo County, my family and I were able to get back into secure housing. So many families in the shelter with me at that time were not as lucky. So many amazing, loving families, who were showing so much courage and resilience during such a tough period. I owe it to those families to do everything I can to ensure that having secure housing isn’t left up to just luck in this county. For the families that work hard in this county every day, it is an essential right to have access to stable housing. That is what motivates me.
Kalimah is a board member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the President of Jefferson Union High School District’s Board of Trustees.
Meg McGraw-Scherer
The year after I finished college I got a job working in a day shelter for homeless women in downtown Seattle. I was 21 and had never spent any significant time with people who were homeless. The first few months were eye-opening. I learned so much…how people can become homeless and how incredibly hard it is to live homeless. I saw the myriad of reasons it happens: mental health challenges, substance abuse, physical disabilities, lack of education/ability to get a job, no family support/safety net, plain bad luck, etc. The women in the shelter ranged from their late teens, to Pearl, who was in her late 90’s. And, because many of these women became my friends, I learned the ins and outs of how they had become homeless and their plans to escape it. Most importantly, I realized how meaningful and important a Home is.
Since that time, I have always worked in affordable housing. I believe it is an absolute right, not a privilege. I think it is the key to almost everything. We need homes to hold down a job, raise a family, feel safe, and become part of a community. It’s everything…
Meg is a board member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the Senior Housing Finance Consultant at California Housing Partnership Corporation.
John Tastor
John is a board member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the Executive Vice President at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Andrea Osgood
This is a picture of Bill Vandenburgh, one of the founders of Eden Housing, and my son. Separated by a mere 90 years – almost to the day – these two fiery spirits inspire me every day to build and fight for homes for all families.
Bill Vandenburgh was the men’s basketball coach for Cal State Hayward in the late 1960’s and took his job of tending to the student athlete very seriously – making sure his players were able to succeed both on and off the basketball court. Even though formal segregation and racism was waning nationwide, Bill knew that housing discrimination and institutional practices made it hard for many African-American families, including his student athletes, to find a safe place to call home. See full testimonial.
Andrea is a board member of the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and the Vice President of Real Estate Development at Eden Housing.