SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A local mom says it has been a constant struggle to afford a place to live, even with a full-time job.
“The rent is too high, it's just too much,” Margo Velez said.
Velez and her daughters first got a glimpse of the unsheltered life years ago when the place they were renting forced them out due to renovations.
“The shelters weren’t very pleasant," Velez said. "As a mother, you want to guard your children from things you think are toxic or unhealthy, and shelters just aren’t for us. My daughters weren’t feeling safe. They weren’t happy and they weren’t thriving. So I decided to leave, so we stayed in a stairwell.”
Velez said the other challenge she faces is trying to connect to resources because she doesn’t qualify for help.
"I tried to seek help from different agencies. I call myself a blind spot," she said. "We had no traumas, no domestic violence issues, no teen pregnancies...They didn’t have anything for regular people like myself that have not suffered or endured anything traumatic,” she said.
Velez isn’t alone. Shelby Thomas with the San Diego Housing Federation says many families simply can’t afford a place to live.
“We are seeing more individuals who are just one paycheck or an emergency way from experiencing housing insecurity or potentially homelessness," Thomas said.
This comes as the county has released new tools, an interactive map that shows people where affordable housing built through county funds is located.
But Velez says that’s the only part of the solution, and until an answer is found, she’ll continue to fight to find a place to live.
"There's always hope somewhere," she said. "When one door closes, another will open. Just keep knocking and banging if you have to. I’m not going to give up."
