Bay Area Housing Group Addresses Community Uncertainty, Finance Questions in Pandemic

Photo by Federico Pizano. Used under CC BY 3.0

Richmond, Calif.

When the fallout of the pandemic started to hit Richmond, the affordable housing organization Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services jumped into action, setting up a rapid response fund for families and making its money management and housing education courses virtual. Nikki Beasley, the organization’s executive director, spoke with “Civic” about inequities in housing and wealth in the Bay Area, how to think about financial and housing stability in a time of uncertainty and how crucial homeownership can be to that stability across generations.

“Oftentimes too, with our peers, they have been able to support their children with their down payment, to get into ownership using equity in their home or savings or using disposable income which we — as an African American community — does not have, as many of us don’t come from families who have owned homes or had disposable dollars to put X amount away and all of the investment tools that others are able to take advantage of.”

— Nikki Beasley

A segment from our radio show and podcast, “Civic.” Listen at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at 102.5 FM in San Francisco, or online at ksfp.fm, and subscribe on Apple, Google, Spotify or Stitcher

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