Agenda Item # 6.2 - Karla Sofia | Received 05/13/2022CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:Karla Sofia
To:City Clerk; All Council Members
Subject:EXTERNAL - May 16 Public Comment for Item #6.2
Date:Friday, May 13, 2022 11:09:39 AM
Dear City Council Members,
I am a student at Christopher High School and I am writing this to express my concern on
the issue of affordable housing. I would like to support that the city adopts a resolution to
declare the month of May as “Affordable Housing month.”
It is important that our city works on affordable housing because I have had many first hand
experiences concerning housing, and I am sure that many other people have had this
concern as well. We are a family of 6 living in a 2 bedroom apartment because it is the only
rent that we can afford. A lot of my close relatives are living in these same conditions as
well. Overcrowding is something that can slowly start going away if we consider affordable
housing. The homeless population is big in Gilroy as well. These people have to turn to
living in the streets because they can not afford a roof above their head. Maybe they can
technically afford it, but they can't afford other simple necessities. Ie: food and water. In my
case, my dad works 2 jobs while my mom has to stay home and take care of all of us.
Sometimes she has to hold garage sales so that we can have some sort of extra income. It
is not the most reliable source of income, but it is what we have to do to live here. There
also is the issue of housing in colleges being extremely expensive. I would rather live off
campus than on campus to save myself and my parents some extra money, but that would
not be possible without affordable housing.
Thank you,
Karla Sofia Berbera Acuna