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California Needs Big, Bold Affordable Housing Investments Now

The following letter to California’s elected leadership was jointly authored last month by Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, and Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. There are nearly 50,000 shovel-ready affordable homes across California waiting for funds to begin construction and provide housing to low-income families and individuals.

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Fred Blackwell is the CEO of the San Francisco Foundation. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Foundation. Miguel Santana is the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. Photo courtesy of the California Community Foundation.
Fred Blackwell is the CEO of the San Francisco Foundation. Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Foundation. Miguel Santana is the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. Photo courtesy of the California Community Foundation.

Special to The Post

The following letter to California’s elected leadership was jointly authored last month by Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, and Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation:

There are nearly 50,000 shovel-ready affordable homes across California waiting for funds to begin construction and provide housing to low-income families and individuals.

Yet, during the latest budget negotiations unfolding in Sacramento, the May Revise proposal nearly zeroed out General Fund resources for affordable housing and homelessness solutions, apart from the state low-income housing tax credit, and proposed slashing of almost $2 billion in critical resources committed in previous budgets.

At a time of record level homelessness rates and rising housing unaffordability our state cannot afford, nor can our communities accept in good conscience, these cuts. We must finish the work. California has made great progress advancing affordable housing solutions, and we must continue to drive that momentum forward by using all the tools and resources available to us.

As philanthropists working across California, our institutions are committed to creating thriving communities and central to that mission is access to fair, equitable and affordable housing. As our legislators and the Governor move through final budget negotiations, they must make big choices on how to invest our state budget dollars to sustain and increase Californians’ well-being. Housing must be a top priority.

Legislators and the Governor must work together to move forward on a final budget that restores funding for housing investments. This includes resourcing the Multifamily Housing Program (MHP), the state’s largest and most flexible program for affordable housing production and core to the California Department of Housing & Community Development’s (HCD) ability to advance housing solutions for Californians.

And doubling down on a commitment to prioritize bold investments and structural change that can help us achieve housing justice and reduce racial disparities caused by decades of systemic racism and underinvestment.

Housing is deeply integral to our communities’ ability to live well and thrive. Without it, people face unemployment, limited opportunities, and poor health. When housing improves, everyone benefits.

Children do better in school, people live longer and it’s easier to find and keep a job. The California Community Foundation and the San Francisco Foundation have deepened our commitment to ensure everyone has a place to live – because the evidence is clear that housing is a prerequisite to establishing stable and thriving communities.

Yet, the level of funding required to ensure all people have a safe place to call home is beyond the capacity of philanthropies and nonprofits alone. Research confirms our daily experience – we have both the dire need and the deep public will to take action.

This is why we are seeing more donors funding housing, nonprofits shifting their focus, and local governments pursuing revenue and taking bold action. In both the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles County, for example, regional agencies and civic leaders are looking to advance local funding streams designed to invest in affordable housing solutions.

We need our state to do its part by investing boldly in affordable housing and homelessness solutions during the current state budget cycle.

We are at a key decision point where our ability to make a deep and lasting impact for our communities is on the table. In this moment, lawmakers must actively choose to prioritize solutions, progress, and our future.

California’s housing crisis is often framed in the numbers of people experiencing homelessness or tenants behind on rent, but these are more than just numbers. These are people. They are – and we are – all Californians. We are families, children, veterans, and seniors. We are neighbors.

We urge the Legislature and Governor, as they work to finalize a budget for Californians, to put our communities first– the people who are counting on them to do the right thing. Affordable housing solutions are what California’s residents need now, more than ever.

The need for housing investment is clear and the choice is yours.

Fred Blackwell is the CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. The San Francisco Foundation works hand-in-hand with donors, community leaders, and both public and private partners to create thriving communities throughout the Bay Area.

Miguel A. Santana is the president and CEO of the California Community Foundation (CCF), serving the Southern California region since 1915. CCF is committed to leading positive systemic change that strengthens communities, stewarding more than $2 billion in assets and delivering an estimated $300 million in grantmaking a year to hundreds of non-profits.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 5 – 11, 2025

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OP-ED: Like Physicians, U.S. Health Institutions Must ‘First, Do No Harm’

Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same. It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

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Albert L. Brooks MD. Courtesy photo.
Albert L. Brooks MD. Courtesy photo.

By Albert L. Brooks MD
Special to The Post

Presidential administrations significantly impact the health and wellbeing of our patients and communities.

Through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the agencies within it, such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the National Institutes of Health, this new administration will decide how financial resources are allocated, dictate the focus of federal research, and determine how our public health care insurance systems are managed, including the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the Children’s Health Insurance Program, the Vaccines for Children program, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The decisions made over the next four years will impact all Americans but will be felt more acutely by those most underserved and vulnerable.

As physicians, we are greatly concerned by the nominations announced by President Trump to critical healthcare related positions. Many of their previous statements and positions are rooted in misinformation.

Coupled with their lack of government and healthcare-related experience, we are concerned these nominees will significantly undermine public health, increase the number of uninsured people, worsen health outcomes, and exacerbate health disparities. Physicians observe Hippocrates’ maxim to “First Do No Harm,”, and we urge Trump administration officials to do the same.

It is critical that the leadership of HHS and its agencies make decisions based on facts, evidence, and science. Misinformation and disinformation must not guide policymaking decisions and undermine evidence-based public health strategies. Spreading these falsehoods also erodes trust in our public institutions.

Vaccines, in particular, have been a target of disinformation by some HHS nominees. In fact, research continues to confirm that vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines go through multiple rounds of clinical trials prior to being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for administration to the public.

Vaccines protect against life-threateningdiseasessuch as measles, polio, tetanus, and meningococcal disease and, when used effectively, have beenshowntoeliminateorsubstantiallyreducediseaseprevalenceand/orseverity.

Because of vaccine mis- and disinformation, there has been a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and whooping cough, endangering those who are too young or unable to be vaccinated.

Several nominees have spread disinformation alleging that fluoride in public drinking water is harmful. In fact, fluoride in drinking water at the recommended level of 0.7 parts per million, like we have in our EBMUD water, is safe and keeps teeth strong. Because of public health interventions dating back to the 1960s that have resulted in 72.3% of the U.S. population now having access to fluoridated water, there has been a reduction in cavities by about 25% in both children and adults.

We also encourage the next administration to invest in our public health infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical role of public health agencies in preventing and responding to health crises in our communities.

Health departments at the state and local levels rely on federal funding support and technical assistance to develop public health response plans, implement public health strategies, and work with on the ground organizations to serve hard to reach communities. Public health agencies are critical for protecting everyone in our communities, regardless of income-level, insurance status, or housing status.

Health officials should also work to protect the significant improvements in insurance coverage that have occurred since the passage of theACAin 2010.According to HHS, the numberofuninsuredAmericansfellfrom48millionin2010to25.6millionin2023.

California has led the way by investing in Medi-Cal and expanding eligibility for enrollment. In fact, it reached its lowest uninsured rate ever in 2022 at 6.2%. Voters affirmed this commitment to expanding and protecting access to care in November by passing Proposition 35, which significantly expanded funding for California’s Medi-Cal program. The administration should advance policies that strengthen the ACA, Medicaid, and Medicare and improve access to affordable health care.

Regardless of the president in power, physicians will always put the best interests of our patients and communities at the forefront. We will continue to be a resource to our patients, providing evidence-based and scientifically proven information and striving to better their lives and our community’s health. We urge the new Trump administration to do the same.

Albert L. Brooks MD is the immediate past president of the Alameda-Contra Costa Medical Association, which represents 6,000 East Bay physicians.

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Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of January 29 – February 4, 2025

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