Adinah spent many years struggling to secure affordable housing in Sonoma County. A Bay Area native, she and her son moved to Santa Rosa in 2015 for work. Her search for a long-term lease that they could afford turned out to be tougher than expected, which resulted in renting overly-priced apartments or group house-shares in Santa Rosa and Petaluma. Adinah and her son even experienced homelessness for six weeks when they had to abruptly leave due to an issue with a property manager.
Adinah has always held a steady job, even throughout her search to find housing, stating that “the whole time I was working a full time job, I was homeless — it’s not like I was not working.” Unfortunately, her income was just enough so that she didn’t qualify for assistance programs offered by the government. And as a single mom with no child support, she was constantly struggling to make ends meet, always feeling like she was on the cusp of a financial crash.
Thankfully, Adinah qualified to get help on a downpayment, and was able to buy a two-bedroom one-bath condo in Rohnert Park. After putting down 5% and refinancing, she is in a good financial situation with her home locked in for 30 years. She currently lives in her condo with her new husband and her son, and works as a sales manager for a design firm in Marin County.
Adinah believes “housing is a human right, and that there’s not enough assistance in Sonoma County for people who are struggling to find permanent housing. We have to get past protecting the wealthy and instead prioritize people over property values. I’d like to see Sonoma County institute housing as a basic human right into their legislation and policies.”