Dear John, My name is Zoila Cabrera and I live in Santa Barbara, where I’ve been advocating for renters like myself for over two decades. Now I’m organizing with Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), an affiliate of PowerSwitch Action, to win meaningful protections for renters and truly affordable housing across our region.
Santa Barbara has a few tenant protections under a 2019 law, but it doesn’t stop landlords from making huge rent hikes or evicting renters and families. My three daughters and I were displaced from our home after our landlord tried to raise our rent way beyond what we could afford. We’re not the only family this has happened to. Across the city, greedy landlords are raising rents and displacing families, forcing them to find shelter in their cars or on the streets.
I don’t want other people to have to go through what I did. So I went with CAUSE, PowerSwitch Action, and a group of housing justice organizers and allies to Washington, DC where we disrupted a big corporate landlord conference. These landlords often rub elbows with elected officials who shape and decide on the policies that can protect renters like us. We went there to share our stories and to demand that elected officials side with tenants, and that landlords treat us with the dignity and respect we are owed.
Watch this quick video about why we're organizing for strong rent control in Santa Barbara |
