Last week, Sonoma Valley Collaborative staff spent the afternoon with 20 Teen Services' Keystone Leadership Program members to guide them through our Housing Advocacy Worksheet (adapted from YIMBY Action) to create effective, personal statements to support a better housing future in Sonoma Valley.

Most people don't understand housing policy, but they are affected by it and should have a voice in it. The workshop emphasized how teens are the experts on their own stories and asked how Sonoma Valley's high cost of housing affects them, their families, their friends, and schools. Now the teens are equipped with a tool for civic engagement generally, and tailored advocacy statements ready to send to decision-makers on the City of Sonoma and Sonoma County Housing Elements.

Here are their statements:

“I live in a one bedroom apartment that can’t hold a family of five. Our rent has gone up, and it is far from school. I am always late. Housing can bring more families, make a diverse and connected community, provide privacy, and can be comfortable, letting you sleep well. It is crowded everywhere, with big families trying to live in small spaces. It’s a broader problem, because it can also cause the population to decrease, with less students, teachers and families. Make housing affordable for families with low income!”

— JAY, 11TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“I don’t think decision makers understand how not having a stable home can mess with a young person’s mental health and well-being.”

— LITZY, 12TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“I struggle with housing as I am in a family of four in a one bedroom apartment. My parents do what they can to stay in Sonoma without going bankrupt—that is what we don’t want. They have to take care of two kids and pay bills and rent. It’s very expensive in Sonoma and in the future it might result in leaving Sonoma. The thing about housing is that it gives you a place to stay at night. Having it is the way we live and needs to lower in price, and lower income housing needs to be built.”

— CRIS, 10TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“[We need] more lower-income houses, less larger houses being occupied by individuals instead of families, less vacation homes where locals don’t live. People growing up here can’t afford to stay. Protect people from getting moved out and being unable to be somewhere after it’s renovated.”

— DIEGO, STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“Living in a household of 6 in a small trailer home, an obstacle that my family and I feel is the limited space we deal with, the high prices, and poor house condition. Something I value about housing is privacy that each of my family members don’t have. We all live in a crowded environment where we need to pile up in a few rooms. The high cost of rent and bills causes struggle to afford basic daily-life necessities. My daily-life obstacles are a broader problem, because if I don’t have privacy, that limits my ability to study and have a place to do my school work without interruptions. Many of my school peers can relate to my struggle. The high cost will cause people to move out of Sonoma to a more affordable place. This will cause the school population and community population to decrease in a town that should be our home. There needs to be a vital change to occur in our community. Instead of having people escape and seek out different places to call a home, you need to help families and people stay and receive the resources they need for living an enjoyable lifestyle.”

— ESME, 10TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“Considering how many low-paying jobs support Sonoma being a tourist destination, the lack of housing that people in those jobs can afford is going to slowly cripple this community.”

— HUNTER, 10TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“My math teacher, a person who most people at the high school know, is struggling to afford to live in Sonoma. One time in class me and my friends were discussing why we don’t really like Sonoma. We looked up the average mortgage for a house in Sonoma County and looked up the average paycheck for a teacher in Sonoma County: the average mortgage was about $2,700 while the paycheck came to around $2,500. We brought this up to the teacher, and she says the only reason she can afford her home is because her dad was in the military. Stability is important with housing. We can’t have our teachers moving every couple years because they can’t afford housing. This affects teachers and civilians. It can make civilians want to leave Sonoma County. We need the municipal and County government to build and make plans for more affordable housing in the Springs, unincorporated and city areas.”

— VINNIE, 10TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“Glen Ellen is a pretty expensive place and some people have to work all the time to afford it. Rent also gets more expensive and sometimes there are multiple families in apartments so it is a struggle to pay for other things like gas and food. It is also difficult to save up for things and have spare time. Being able to afford housing is extremely important for caring for a family when relying on one source of income. This affects more people in Sonoma County due to how expensive it is and how jobs pay little. This is a horrible act of injustice since there are so many single family homes and people resist affordable housing, so the policy makers should listen to all the people in need and make changes. ”

— JOEL, 11TH GRADE STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBER

“My aunt lives in a comfortable two bedroom condo downtown. This is well located and good for one person, but very costly. My cousin has access to walking to school, nice restaurants and near the central location of our community’s events. In comparison, I live in a low income trailer park in a three bedroom home. I have a much tougher time getting around to work and places I’m expected to be as a student.”

— SATYA, STUDENT AT SONOMA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL, TEEN SERVICES MEMBEROURCE

Thank you to Teen Services and Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma Valley for hosting us, and providing Sonoma Valley's youth with a safe and stimulating place to gather, Sonoma Valley Education Foundation for providing Mary's Pizza for this fantastic group, and Sonoma Valley Catalyst Fund for its support of our effort to engage underrepresented people in advocating for housing affordability policies, projects and funding.