Affordable Housing News, Action Update, With a Joy….March 10, 2023

Hello all from Marisol!

This week I experienced Hebrews 10:24 come to life through the beauty of God’s orchestrating power! Many brothers and sisters came together, concerned for one another, stirring each other up in love and good works! You’ll read in this story about how a team of missionaries from Missions Door and 20 students from Phoenix, Arizona, gave up their spring break to serve our Pasadena Hispanic Church and our community! They worked on demolishing structures where we will soon build a center for our youth and a playground for our children! They participated in an affordable housing tour and learned about the work we do at Making Housing & Community Happen. Truly, such amazing people! 

Stories in This Issue

• 2023 State Housing and Homeless Bills—Which ones do we support? And how?  MHCH Housing Justice Forum on Tuesday, March 28, at 7 pm.
• State and Local Housing Legislation Supported by MHCH by Bert Newton.
• A Great Joy: Hosting 20 College Students from Arizona and Initiating Them Into Our Housing Justice Work! by Anthony Manousos.
• Celebrating the Lives of 97 Unhoused People Who Died Last Year in Pasadena by Anthony Manousos.
• Good News About Safe Parking and Safe Haven Programs Shared at the Clergy Community Coalition by Anthony Manousos.
• Mary Nelson: Champion of Faith-Based Community Development and Affordable Housing by Jill Shook and Anthony Manousos with video about the life of Mary Nelson.

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Hosting 20 College Students from Arizona and Initiating Them Into Our Housing Justice Work

by Anthony Manousos

What a joy it was to host a group of 20 college students from Arizona who came to Pasadena under the auspices of Missions Door–the organization for which Jill has worked as a missionary and “catalyst” for over 20 years. Led by Myke and Melody Dickens, this enthusiastic group of Christians did a work project at the Hispanic Foursquare Church co-pastored by Jose and Marisol Lopez, who is also an MHCH staff person.

Jill and I took them on an affordable housing tour of the city where they had a chance to see first-hand completed projects and those under construction. They saw Heritage Square South (69 units of supportive housing for seniors which will open up later this year), the site of the Civic Center project next to City Hall (106 units of affordable senior housing), and Westgate (where 97 units were set aside as affordable with no cost to the city due to the inclusionary policy we helped pass).

They also learned how advocacy is crucial to making affordable housing like this happen. They enjoyed playing the Unjust Housing Game and learned how racially biased housing policies have created economic disparities and led to displacement of people of color. They then came to our home to learn about our MHCH housing justice work over a meal of Mexican food (beans, Spanish rice, bolillos, and pastries). We felt blessed to be part of this service learning experience with such amazing young people!

 If you’d like to learn how you can be involved with our work, check out this 20-minute presentation which we shared with this group. It is narrated by Bert Newton, our MHCH organizer and resident theologian.