In her own words:
I’m a San Francisco native—I grew up in the Fillmore and the Bayview. Housing was always something that was hard for people to afford. People never knew if they’d have enough money for food, or if the lights would be on next week. At one point, my mom and I had to live in a shelter, because she couldn’t afford rent.
I graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep and went to SF City College, where I studied social and behavioral science. Then in 2016, I started working for the school district as a special ed paraprofessional at Balboa High.
One of the main things I love about my job is to be someone the kids can trust, someone who sees them as human beings—I didn’t have that growing up, especially someone who looked like me. Being an educator in San Francisco, it’s hard to find affordable housing: you either make too much or not enough, and it’s even harder if you’re a single person.
At first, I moved to Fairfield, because I couldn’t afford to live where I worked. The commute was hard, but at least I didn’t have to choose between paying rent, paying the electricity bill, and buying groceries.
At SFUSD [San Francisco Unified School District], we heard rumors about this new housing, but it had been talked about for so many years, people didn’t really believe it. I never had luck with lotteries, but I thought, “I’m going to give it a try.” I stuck with it, and once I finally got approved, it was surreal!
To be an SF native and to be able to live in the Avenues now, in the city that I know and love… it’s a blessing. I’m a nature person, and my apartment is super close to the beach and Golden Gate Park. I walk outside the door, and it’s like: automatic peace.