On Saturday, we went to Downtown and North Park for a tour of affordable housing options. Prior to the tour, I had very little knowledge about affordable housing and especially how seniors, who are on the brink of homelessness, struggle with housing. Our first stop was Potiker Family Senior Residence in Downtown. An elderly woman named Irene showed us her unit and talked to us about her experience there. She was very welcoming and positive but her story was heartbreaking. Before coming to Potiker, she had to deal with bedbugs and cockroaches. Next, we visited Sara Francis Hometel which provides transitional housing to seniors. The living spaces there were very small and kind of smelly. They seemed very closed off with no natural light coming in. The hallways were also very narrow. We then visit Celadon which was interesting because it did not look like what one would expect for an affordable housing site. We visited Atmosphere, which also looked very modern. They were both within close proximity to different stores, transportations services etc. We also visited the New Palace Hotel, which consists of single room occupancy housing for seniors.
Our last stop was North Park Senior Apartments, a first-of-its kind affordable housing development in North Park that provides programs for LGBTQ residents. I was really impressed by its eco-friendly architecture and senior friendliness. They had color coded floors to help seniors with memory problems as well as flashing doorbells to help those with hearing problems. They made sure that every room, stairwell etc. had natural light coming in. One could tell that they really thought about what would be best for their residents’ happiness and wellbeing. Overall, I learned a lot from the field trip. There are several affordable housing options in San Diego such as single room occupancy hotel, studio rooms, small apartments etc. but they are extremely limited. My biggest takeaway is that affordable housing is an escalating concern with long waiting lists and limited availability of housing.
Our last stop was North Park Senior Apartments, a first-of-its kind affordable housing development in North Park that provides programs for LGBTQ residents. I was really impressed by its eco-friendly architecture and senior friendliness. They had color coded floors to help seniors with memory problems as well as flashing doorbells to help those with hearing problems. They made sure that every room, stairwell etc. had natural light coming in. One could tell that they really thought about what would be best for their residents’ happiness and wellbeing. Overall, I learned a lot from the field trip. There are several affordable housing options in San Diego such as single room occupancy hotel, studio rooms, small apartments etc. but they are extremely limited. My biggest takeaway is that affordable housing is an escalating concern with long waiting lists and limited availability of housing.