Webinar: Housing, Health & Resident Rights
This webinar was held on May 23, 2016. View the recorded webinar here.
Housing affordability and quality can have an impact on the health of both adults and children. For example, adults who experience housing unaffordability can experience depression, and affordable housing is associated with lower risk of hospitalization among infants from vulnerable, low-income families. During a time when Los Angeles is undergoing an affordable housing crisis, with over 52% of households in the county experiencing high housing burden, it is imperative that communities understand their options and their rights.
This webinar will feature two housing advocates who are actively engaged in housing issues across Los Angeles, including South LA and Watts. They will cover topics such as: What constitutes affordable housing; the difference between section 8 and public housing; renter’s rights and responsibilities; and how redevelopment affects housing options. The information shared will be reflected against the case study of the Jordan Downs Redevelopment Plan.
Speakers:
Sasha Harnden, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
Thelmy Perez, LA Human Right to Housing Collective
Presenter Bios:
Alexander (“Sasha”) Harnden is a Staff Attorney in the Housing and Communities Workgroup at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA). He works in LAFLA’s South Los Angeles Office, primarily on housing issues and land use and public policy decisions affecting low-income neighborhoods. Sasha has been employed with LAFLA since May 2013. Prior to joining the Housing and Communities Workgroup, he worked as a Staff Attorney in the Community Economic Development Unit and the Eviction Defense Center. Sasha received his JD from UC Davis School of Law, where he also received an Environmental Law Certificate, Pro Bono Certificate, and Public Service Law Certificate. Prior to law school, Sasha earned a BA in Environmental Studies and Economics from UC Santa Cruz.
Thelmy Perez is a tenant organizer and the coordinator of the Los Angeles Human Right to Housing Collective, a city-wide housing rights coalition striving to build a tenants movement powerful enough to preserve and expand public and affordable rent-stabilized housing and tenants’ rights for all Angelenos. Thelmy has been spokesperson for the Collective since 2012 and has worked to build tenants rights and challenge the gentrification of LA’s working class communities since 2006. Thelmy has been working on Environmental Justice issues in Jordan Downs since 2012.
