Housing advocates hold rally, bus tour to speak out against rising rents in San Fernando Valley
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A coalition of housing advocacy groups on Thursday held a rally and bus tour to speak out against rising rents in the San Fernando Valley and citywide.
"No one wants to live in the street. No one wants to live in the thin line between 'I might have a home today and I don't have a home tomorrow,'" Jenny Colon, a member of the nonprofit Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, said at the rally in Van Nuys. She said her rent is due to triple where she lives, an increase that she simply cannot afford.
Colon and other housing advocates visited apartment complexes in the San Fernando Valley where rents are being raised, forcing some tenants to face eviction and possible homelessness due to lack of affordability.
"This just can't stand in Los Angeles. This is not who we are. We need something different," said Rae Huang, who advocates for the homeless at the state level.
In an interview with ABC7, she expressed frustration over seeing residents lose the battle to keep a roof over their heads. "They fall into homelessness because the wages they're receiving is just not enough to upkeep with housing costs -- which then increases our mental illness, our mental health."
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Michael Powelson, a 68-year-old resident of a San Fernando Valley apartment building and advocate for the homeless, was among those who attended the rally.
"I'm reaching retirement, so I could very much be out on the street," Powelson said.
