House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee today helped unveil an affordable housing complex for developmentally disabled people in the city’s Richmond District.
Pelosi and Lee joined San Francisco Supervisor Eric Mar and several other dignitaries for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour at the St. Peter’s Place/29th Avenue Apartments.
Pelosi said, “San Francisco is a model for the country” that “demonstrates that when the community works together, it can reach a result that helps people.”
The apartments were primarily funded through the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Section 811 program for people with disabilities, with additional funding from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and other sources.
The building housed a church that was damaged beyond repair in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, but the lot was redeveloped with the assistance of the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center, a community based housing developer.
“So many people are in need of housing,” Lee said. “A big prayer was answered with this project.”
The complex includes 19 units of affordable rental apartments for low-income households that include an adult with a developmental disability.
Sarah Hoffman, who suffered brain damage from an early childhood illness, recently moved into the apartments after having been on a waiting list for six years for an affordable housing unit with the support services she needs.
“To have my own apartment will empower me in how I see myself,” Hoffman said. “This opportunity to live here is such a blessing.”
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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