At REDA Self-Sufficiency Starts with Housing
(Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
As a student, finding housing is one of my biggest priorities, but I was able to rely on my parents to show credit history and proof of income. For refugees arriving in the US finding housing is one of the first challenges to rebuilding their lives. They must do so often before they learn English and with none of the proof of income, credit, or rental history I was able to use when getting my first apartment. This problem is not unique to refugees or the city of Sacramento but one non-profit, the Refugee Enrichment and Development Association (REDA) is helping clients rebuild their lives.
Sacramento is often given the moniker “the forgotten capital” but the housing crisis has not forgotten Sacramento. For many living in the city the difference between housing and becoming unhoused is one financial emergency. The problem was exacerbated by the pandemic and the city is failing to respond in an impactful way. A 2022 report from the California Housing Partnership found that nearly 60,000 households in Sacramento County do not have access to affordable housing. To meet the average monthly asking rental price of $1,625 for an apartment, renters would need to make $31.25 an hour which is 2.1 times the state minimum wage. Between the end of 2020 and 2021, the average asking price rose by 10.3%, continuing to outpace the minimum wage. It is not difficult to understand how between 2019 and 2020 the number of homeless in Sacramento jumped 67%, rising to a record 9,300.
This is significant because there are only 3,405 available beds for those experiencing homelessness. The impact of this is especially difficult because homeless counts are inaccurate and can fail to include individuals couch surfing, living in cars, or those simply who went uncounted. Funding from the State and Federal level to address housing production and preservation decreased by 28%, a slap to the face to those working to address the increasingly overwhelmed and underfunded housing and homeless services. A lack of transparency on what those existing funds are being used for and the slow nature of housing projects has led to extreme frustration. Refugees arriving in Sacramento during the current housing crisis are still required to be self-reliant with a job and housing after 90 days of support from governmental resettlement agencies.
Earlier this quarter I sat down with Hamidullah Hamidy, a case manager at the Refugee Enrichment and Development Association (REDA) a non-profit organization serving mostly Afghan and Arab refugees in the Sacramento area. They offer a wide range of services in two offices. The first office where Mr. Hamidy works, they first assess what clients' most immediate needs are and best connect them to services that can help them. Case managers work in Farsi, Dari, Pashto, and Arabic. Most employees speak at least three languages and help with a wide variety of assistance including translations and applications. All of their employees speak at least two languages if not more and many have gone through the process of applying for citizenship themselves. Maintaining respect while offering services is integral to how they operate. Their second office houses the youth and education center which offers programs for children, English education, and workshops. We sat down to discuss how refugee self-sufficiency starts with housing, how REDA is helping clients get closer to that goal, and why he chose to work with REDA.
New arrivals receive only 90 days of support from the federal government before they are expected to be self-sufficient. This includes securing their own housing and a job. Most refugees cannot meet requirements at most minimum wage jobs including the ability to communicate in written and spoken English and reliable transportation. This is additionally frustrating for those who previously had certifications, degrees, or experience that will not be accepted by US employers. Regardless of securing a job only 1% of apartments available are under $1,000 and as stated above someone would need to make $31.25 an hour to afford an apartment. Entry-level jobs, even those that do not require English language communication or a driver's license and pay over $30 do not exist. Details like this begin to illustrate the inhumane situation greed has created in Sacramento and why many refugees struggle with mental health while juggling PTSD, resettlement, and meeting their basic needs.
Speaking with Hamidullah Hamidy, he explained refugees are drawn to Sacramento because they have relatives and friends who already live here and can offer support but this is also driving up housing costs. If refugees have legal documents they are eligible to receive some benefits before they find a job but those who crossed the border illegally are not eligible for any benefits and are in extreme danger of becoming homeless. There is little REDA can do to connect these families with services and so some of the clients they help remain homeless.
Arrivals have slowed now but after the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan caused the collapse of the Afghan military and subsequent takeover by the Taliban in 2020 between 2021 and early 2022 refugee assistance programs in Sacramento County and surrounding areas were completely overwhelmed by the volume of arrivals. Mr. Hamidy explained all available hotels and apartments were completely full and families were forced to stay in temporary housing for anywhere between 2-3 months. Right now families' most immediate need is still housing, but thankfully motels and apartments for temporary placement have some availability. Many families are very large with as many as nine members staying in a one to two-bedroom motel or apartment. The cramped space and lack of regular amenities like a kitchen makes it extremely stressful, especially for those caring for their young children. The rent for an apartment that can accommodate large families is extremely high and it is extremely difficult to meet for families relying on government assistance and for those already working a job. REDA is working to help with applications for low-income housing programs not just in Sacramento county but also in nearby counties but simple availability and extremely high rents remain a major challenge across surrounding counties.
Refugees are often denied affordable housing because they do not have credit or rental histories because they have not existed in the US before arriving. Most property managers will immediately deny someone without the same credit or rental histories that are impossible to get without having already rented something that is impossible for new arrivals. Case managers work to prove to property management these refugees are eligible for public benefits and rental assistance from other resettlement agencies and can reliably pay their rent. It is a struggle to be approved and up to the property manager's discretion. Fortunately, most can be accepted but this is by no means a short or simple process and the physical and mental stress of navigating this process has significant health consequences.
When I asked what community members could do to support this process Mr. Hamidy asked that people who have already navigated this process help their friends and neighbors understand the process of building credit and spread the word to property managers who don’t feel comfortable renting apartments to refugees because they don’t believe they will be able to cover the second month rent that these individuals are reliable.
Next to securing housing, learning English is the biggest step to self-sufficiency. Access to daycare is one barrier, they recommend parents split their time between the morning and afternoon so one parent can attend classes in the morning and the other in the afternoon. Some clients are eligible for daycare through cash assistance programs but this is limited. At the education center, REDA offers English classes but they focus on connecting clients with classes near their apartments because transportation is another huge barrier. REDA organizes volunteer drivers and distributes bus passes to families but these are temporary measures and so their main goal is helping people get their driver's license. Workshops on the importance of having a driving license, especially for women, have been extremely successful. Many women have been able to get their license for the first time after REDA connected them with driving teachers. Thirty women have completed the program and successfully gotten their driver's license. This is a huge step in the right direction and helps families access a much wider range of services and available jobs. Getting a driver's license opens many job opportunities not only because of reliable transportation but also because many refugees are starting to do Doordash, Uber Eats, and Amazon delivery to cover the part of their rents not covered by assistance. These jobs require little English and are more widely available than other opportunities that have application and interview processes clients are not familiar with.
All of these programs hope to make clients self-sufficient but the work is difficult and it can be emotionally draining. Hamidullah Hamidy explained he works at REDA because helping another human in real need is extremely valuable to him. As a former immigrant, he explained he knows the challenges new families experience very personally and at the end of the day he feels blessed to know he helps another human regardless of where they came from. He hopes that community members will want to help this mission and explained REDA can connect donors and volunteers to help however they want. Some donors wanted to donate shoes, some wanted to help with rent assistance, and were connected with families. He asked that people go to their website or reach out directly over the phone at (916)500-4299 or by email at info@redacenter.org. He wants people to know all of the Afghan refugees people talk about and see on the news are simply people looking for a safe place to stay with their families and continue their education, nothing else, simply a better life. He is proud to be a staff member because the goal is to provide a service for all needy families. They are just a non-profit but hope they can get more providers to help REDA. He hopes one day he can see REDA not just in California but in all other states to help refugees and those in need.