The bay area's affordable housing crisis continues to expand, and students at Sonoma Student University, located in ‎Rohnert Park, are trying to cope with the implications.

Kendyl Saxby writes: Sonoma County is in a rent crisis that is negatively effecting everyone and it is only growing. People are stuck living in squalor due to the 1% vacancy rate in Santa Rosa. Families can no longer afford extracurricular activities for their children. College students cannot afford rent and end up living at home with their parents or homeless. Employers are losing workers who can no longer afford to live here.

Tess Von Arx states: The main reasons people are having trouble with subsidized housing assistance is that waiting lists can take up to eight years. Once they are “chosen” they must have deposits and great credit scores to even be eligible to use their vouchers in the 120 day period. Most apartments and private renters do not accept housing vouchers or they already have tenants with vouchers and do not wish to take more. This is a major problem within our community.

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See Also: Unaffordable Health Care in Sonoma County | Our Healthcare Must Be a Priority of Government | Healthcare in Sonoma County: Uninsured Continues | DACA Recipients Worried For Their Future | Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals in California