CHICO –When The Foundation resident Debra Raabe became homeless several years ago, she felt lost, hopeless and alone. She didn’t know what she was going to do and was scared of living on the street.
Raabe went to Safe Space shelter during the day but was forced to wander the streets of Chico at night. She set up a tent behind the Chico Police Department for awhile and temporarily stayed in a motel.
“I felt I didn’t belong,” Raabe said in an emotional speech during a press conference and ribbon cutting held Thursday to officially open The Foundation, a brand new affordable housing development in Chico. “I was lost and felt like I had done something wrong. The community treated me differently during that time.”
The process took a long time but she was ecstatic when she got a call telling her a unit was available for her at The Foundation.
“I’m so thankful and grateful to be here,” Raabe said.
Today, Raabe lives in a one-bedroom apartment at the Foundation, located on Park Avenue and owned by Jamboree Housing Corporation. The location once housed the Jesus Center, a nonprofit dedicated to helping people dealing with homelessness. The building was demolished and the Jesus Center moved to a different location. The Foundation contains 59 homes for individuals, working families, vulnerable seniors, people with mental illness and those with special needs who earn up to 30 to 60% of the Area Median Income, according to a press release. The development took five years to complete and opened to residents in July.
There are studio apartments, one bedroom units, two bedroom units and a three-bedroom single family home for the onsite manager.
The event was held by Jamboree Housing Corporation and partnered with the Butte County Affordable Housing Development Corporation. PRx Digital in Silicon Valley was hired by Jamboree to handle marketing and communication for the event and help the press who attended.
The city’s needs for more quality affordable housing increased after the devastating effects of the Camp Fire, the North Complex fires and the recent Park Fire, which is still burning. According to a press release, the Camp Fire destroyed more than 18,000 structures and 75% of these were homes.
Jamboree worked with the state of California to support available federal tax credits administered by the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee.
“For me driving up and seeing the residents walking along and thinking about why we did this is so exciting,” said Jamboree President and Chief Executive Officer Laura Archuleta before the press conference. “Affordable housing is difficult. The development is 100% occupied and the building is fire resistant.”
After Raabe’s speech, Jamboree Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer Michael Massie told the crowd that sometimes taking the first step toward affordable housing is simple.
“Sometimes all you need is a little bit of help,” Massie said.
The Foundation is Jamboree’s first affordable housing community in Chico. The project was funded from several sources including nearly $3 million from the city of Chico via Home and Community Development Block Grant funding programs.
PRx Digital in Silicon Valley handled the marketing and communications and other details for the press conference and ribbon cutting.
“This was a long process,” said Massie. “A lot of people had to do a lot of work, but the process went smoothly. The Jesus Center is fantastic and a pillar of the community.”
The Foundation also offers a community room, a community kitchen, community garden, laundry facilities, computer lab, barbecue area, dog run, bike parking and bike repair stations, onsite resident services, onsite parking and onsite property management. Social activities are held such as bingo and the staff provide information to residents about where to grocery shop, where food banks are located, where banks are and where they can find cleaning services.
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