Gov. Newsom Tours CVC, Meets with Residents to Discuss Homelessness, Housing

Century welcomed Governor Gavin Newsom to CVC on Tuesday, following last week’s State of the State address, where he called on cities to do their part to address California’s housing crisis.

Joined by Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia, Newsom’s tour of the CVC community took place ahead of his afternoon meeting with other mayors of other California cities to discuss housing plan compliance.

“Century is proud to stand side-by-side with the City of Long Beach in showcasing our work at the Villages,” Century Housing Corporation Senior Vice President Brian D’Andrea said. “CVC is a wonderful example of what can be accomplished through a collaborative and integrated model that brings together both the public and private sector to meet the needs of our community’s most vulnerable, including families, individuals and veterans. Together with our service provider partners, we are working hard to create an environment where our residents can live in dignity, heal and recover, and regain a sense of hope about the future.”

Following the tour, the Governor also met with residents to hear how the Villages have impacted their lives. Residents were candid with their experiences and highlighted the significant roles their case managers play in helping them overcome obstacles.

Mike Betts, a Navy veteran who has lived at the Villages for the past year and a half, told Newsom: “If it weren’t for this place, I’d be in the riverbed somewhere. They take good care of the vets out here.”

The Pachecos, April and Marcos, have six children from ages 5 to 19, and some of them have significant health problems and disabilities. April told Newsom that maintaining a job while keeping up with childcare has been a major hurdle to her family’s stability.

“It’s difficult to work and have children that have disabilities,” she said. “We struggle, with so many kids, with not being able to work as much.”

Newsom praised the City of Long Beach’s policies and programs, including CVC, as being good examples of what he’d like to see replicated elsewhere in the state.

“Affordable housing is our mission at Century,” Century Housing Corporation President and CEO Ron Griffith said. “We are incredibly grateful to our leaders at the local and state level for their support of our unique model here at Century Villages at Cabrillo. We look forward to the results of Governor Newsom’s efforts to hold cities accountable to and compliant with state housing law, and we are proud to be a part of his collaborative approach to homelessness and the housing crisis.”