March 2018 - In This Issue:
TWO WEEKS OUT! Investor Briefing is March 23
 









We're reached the two-week mark for our 2018 Investor Briefing! It's taking place  March 23, 2018 from 10:30am to 1:00pm at the   Santa Clara Convention Center

This is our biggest event of the year and it is THE place to network with Bay Area leaders, make new friends and see old ones. Make sure you get your tickets - we had nearly 500 attendees last year and the seats are filling up fast.  Buy your tickets today and we'll see you on the 23rd!



Homebuyer Empowerment Loan Program (HELP) 

Helps First Buyers!
A few months ago Housing Trust rolled out our Homebuyer Empowerment Loan Program (HELP) which assists middle-income first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance. It got off to a great start in terms of awareness thanks to coverage in the San Jose Mercury News and we are happy to announce a young couple in Gilroy just purchased their first home thanks to the program!
Thancy Camancho Gutierrez, a fantastic representative from Wells Fargo, worked with the couple and was able to get to the close of escrow in less than a month - which is incredibly helpful since it means participants in HELP can be as competitive as anyone else when searching for a home while still getting assistance with their down payment. 
The HELP program is open to any lender approved by Housing Trust and we are working hard to get the word out so others can get to that joyful "we-got-the-house!" moment.
Think you know someone who can use HELP? Click here to see the program details!
Board Member Spotlight: Ash Kalra

 

As an attorney, city council member and now Assemblymember in California's 27th district, Ash Kalra has managed to travel far and has come full circle when it comes to home. He grew up in the Hayes neighborhood in San Jose and lives there today. He credits his eleven years spent as a public defender in the Santa Clara Public Defender's office as a big part of what shaped his view on housing, adding that part of what brought him to Housing Trust was the idea to make housing a reality for everyone in the community and the public/private business model.

Kalra, whose term as a board member of Housing Trust just ended, came to serve our organization in late 2008 and said he appreciated CEO Kevin Zwick's leadership as the Bay Area shifted from the Great Recession to the housing crisis we know today. Kalra, who is Chair of the Aging and Long Term Care Committee, has also seen the number of homeless climb in amount and in age over that time. "Right now there are more first time homeless who are seniors than ever before," said Kalra. "We have to solve this problem and we all have to chip in with resources and ideas to solve it."

 "Even those in the past who were either hesitant or opposed to the idea of the government getting involved are seeing the dire need that is out there now," said Kalra. "People need a workforce they can house and they need to be able to attract people to come here. Business leaders, CEOs and homeless advocates are now all ringing the same alarm."

"These are homes, not some abstract unit of measurement," said Kalra, who is enthusiastic about the four new Housing Trust board members whose terms just began. "We are doing this for the families and for the homeless and the veterans and the seniors and everyone who is struggling to get by here. And we are going to get to a better day because we all push forward in an optimistic way."

 

A Big Thank You to #InvestorBriefing18 Sponsors!




 

Housing Trust Silicon Valley
95 S. Market St., Suite 610
San Jose, CA 95113