Telling Our Stories: The Housing Chronicles

Episode 20: Thomas Berkeley Square Development: The Why Matters (Part II)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2171623/open_sms] Alan Dones, a revered developer sits with us and tells a story that began fourteen years ago - and hasn't ended yet. His journey developing what is known as Thomas Berkeley Square, the principled and unwavering way he navigates obstacles, the grace with which he speaks truth to racist power, and the eager joy with which he looks at the future is a testament to the best parts of humanity. This is the second half of a two-part series. Support the show [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SX7996NXWGHUC]

Episode 19: Thomas Berkeley Square Development: How it Happened (Part I)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2171623/open_sms] Alan Dones, a revered developer sits with us and tells a story that began fourteen years ago - and hasn't ended yet. His journey developing what is known as Thomas Berkeley Square, the principled and unwavering way he navigates obstacles, the grace with which he speaks truth to racist power, and the eager joy with which he looks at the future is a testament to the best parts of humanity. This is Part I of a two-part series. Support the show [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SX7996NXWGHUC]

Episode 18: Lessons and Ambitions: Berkeley Housing Preference Policy (Part III)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2171623/open_sms] We return with this final segment (recorded at the same time as Episodes 16 and 17) which wraps up our three-part interview on Berkeley’s first Affordable Housing Preference Policy. City of Berkeley’s Community Development Project Coordinator Anna Cash, former Program Director of the Community Economic Justice Clinic at East Bay Community Law center, Jasmine Poyaoan and our very own Ayanna Davis former Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families discuss: What were some of the hardships during the organizing of this policy? What are some of the lessons we can pass on from those hardships? What are their hopes with how this Right to Stay, Right to Return takes root and becomes a tool for repairing harm. Connect with our guest(s):                                                                                                        Ayanna Davis - former Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families, Inc.  Website: https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb [https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb] Email:mamaayanna@healthyblackfam.org Phone: (510) 285-6689  Anna Cash - Community Development Project Coordinator at City of Berkeley Website: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences [https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences] Email:HousingPreferences@berkeley-ca.gov Phone: (510) 981-5304   Jaasmin Poyaoan - former Program Director of Community Economic Justice Clinic at East Bay Community Law Center and current Program Director of Economic Justice Program at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (San Francisco)                                  Website: https://ebclc.org/ [https://ebclc.org/] and https://lccrsf.org [https://lccrsf.org/]/ Email:jpoyaoan@lccrsf.org Phone: (209) 787-0093                 Relevant Links:  1. Applying for Berkeley Housing Preference Certificates: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences [https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences]   2. Doorway: The New Regional Bay Area Affordable Housing Portal: https://housingbayarea.mtc.ca.gov/ [https://housingbayarea.mtc.ca.gov/]  3. Finland’s Housing First https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/05/Taina-Finnish-Housing-First-Policy.pdf [https://www.un.org/development/desa/dspd/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2019/05/Taina-Finnish-Housing-First-Policy.pdf] 4. Emergent Strategy: Organizing for Social Change (Adrianne Marie Brown’s Book Summary) – Forte Labs https://fortelabs.com/blog/emergent-strategy-organizing-for-social-justice/ [https://fortelabs.com/blog/emergent-strategy-organizing-for-social-justice/]                                                                   Support the show [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SX7996NXWGHUC]

Episode 17: Right to Stay, Right to Return - Berkeley Housing Preference Policy (Part II)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2171623/open_sms] In this Part II of our three-part interview, we continue our conversation with Anna Cash (Community Development Project Coordinator at City of Berkeley, Jassmin Poyaoan former Program Director of the Community Economic Justice Clinic at East Bay Community Law center and current Program Director at Economic Justice Program at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (San Francisco), and Ayanna Davis (Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families). We dive deeper into Berkley’s new Preference Policy. What is a policy? What might this new policy mean for those that were unfairly pushed out or are currently at risk of systematically being run out of Berkeley? Connect with our guest(s): Ayanna Davis  - Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families, Inc. Website: https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb [https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb] Email: mamaayanna@healthyblackfam.org Phone: (510) 285-6689 Anna Cash - Community  Development Project Coordinator at City of Berkeley Website: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences [https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences] Email:  HousingPreferences@berkeley-ca.gov Phone: (510) 981-5304 Jaasmin Poyaoan - former Program Director of  Community Economic Justice Clinic at East Bay Community Law Center and current Program Director of Economic Justice Program at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (San Francisco) Website: https://ebclc.org/ [https://ebclc.org/] and https://lccrsf.org/ [https://lccrsf.org/] Email:  jpoyaoan@lccrsf.org Phone: (209) 787-0093  Relevant Links: 1. Affordable Housing Rental Listings on Alameda County Housing Portal (for Maudelle Shirek Building applications click “see rentals”):  https://housing.acgov.org [https://housing.acgov.org/] 2. Applying for Berkeley Housing Preference Certificates: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences [https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences] 3. What is a policy – Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy] 4. From Prop 209 to Prop 16: Historical, Legal, and Activist Perspectives on Affirmative Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRH7-g0Y1oI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRH7-g0Y1oI] 5. Opinion: Turning Crisis Into Opportunity: Why Berkeley Need TOPA Now: https://baysfuture.org/opinion-turning-crisis-into-opportunity-why-berkeley-needs-topa-now/ [https://baysfuture.org/opinion-turning-crisis-into-opportunity-why-berkeley-needs-topa-now/] 6. Housing Protection, Preserving, and Producing – Metropolitan Transportation Commission:https://mtc.ca.gov/funding/investment-strategies-commitments/housing-solutions/housing-protection-preservation-production [https://mtc.ca.gov/funding/investment-strategies-commitments/housing-solutions/housing-protection-preservation-production] Support the show [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SX7996NXWGHUC]

Episode 16: Grassroots Organizing - Berkeley Housing Preference Policy (Part I)

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2171623/open_sms] In this Part I of a three-part series we are joined by City of Berkeley’s Anna Cash City of Berkeley’s Community Development Project Coordinator, Jassmin Poyaoan former Program Director of the Community Economic Justice Clinic at  East Bay Community Law Center and current Program Director at Economic Justice Program at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (San Francisco), and Ayanna Davis Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families as we discuss the housing conditions in the Bay Area which forced the community to organize towards what is now the City of Berkeley’s first Housing Preference Policy - which went into effect January 1, 2024. Connect with our guest(s): Ayanna Davis  - Deputy Executive Director at Healthy Black Families, Inc. Website: https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb [https://healthyblackfam.org/e4bb] Email: mamaayanna@healthyblackfam.org Phone: (510) 285-6689 Anna Cash - Community  Development Project Coordinator at City of Berkeley Website: https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences [https://berkeleyca.gov/community-recreation/affordable-housing-berkeley/apply-affordable-housing-preferences] Email:  HousingPreferences@berkeley-ca.gov Phone: (510) 981-5304 Jaasmin Poyaoan - former Program Director of  Community Economic Justice Clinic at East Bay Community Law Center and current Program Director of Economic Justice Program at Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (San Francisco) Website: https://ebclc.org/ [https://ebclc.org/] and https://lccrsf.org/ [https://lccrsf.org/] Email:  jpoyaoan@lccrsf.org Phone: (209) 787-0093  Relevant Links: 1. Roots, Race, and Place Report - Othering and Belonging: https://belonging.berkeley.edu/rootsraceplace [https://belonging.berkeley.edu/rootsraceplace] 2. Affordable Housing Policy: https://berkeleyspeaks.org/affordable-housing-preference-policy-hpp/ [https://berkeleyspeaks.org/affordable-housing-preference-policy-hpp/] 3. Black Exodus From Berkeley: https://dailycal-projects.netlify.app/2022-01-21-exodus [https://dailycal-projects.netlify.app/2022-01-21-exodus] 4. Is the Tech Boom Putting Pressure on Berkeley Rents? – Berkeleyside: https://www.berkeleyside.org/2014/07/03/is-the-tech-boom-putting-pressure-on-berkeley-rents [https://www.berkeleyside.org/2014/07/03/is-the-tech-boom-putting-pressure-on-berkeley-rents] 5. The Mental Health Consequences of the Global Housing Crisis – National Institutes of Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797748/#:~:text=These%20patients%20struggle%20with%20a,and%20depression%20for%20several%20reasons [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9797748/#:~:text=These%20patients%20struggle%20with%20a,and%20depression%20for%20several%20reasons] Support the show [https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=SX7996NXWGHUC]