Ventura County, CA – Housing Trust Fund Ventura County (Housing Trust Fund VC) announced today that Housing and Community Development (HCD) Director Gustavo Velasquez will keynote the nonprofit’s signature event – Compassion Campaign 2022 on Thursday, May 12th at Maravilla Gardens in Camarillo.

“We are honored that Director Velasquez sees the work we are doing here in Ventura County to provide safe, equitable homes for all and will be sharing his perspective on the state of affordable housing in California,” said Linda Braunschweiger, CEO, Housing Trust Fund Ventura County. “This year’s Compassion Campaign will be an unforgettable immersion experience, highlighting that our lives are connected through one common need – housing.” Similar to immersive experiences offered by the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, guests will take a deeply moving journey as they experience housing challenges faced through the eyes of members of the local community, from farmworkers to bankers, students to teachers, baristas to veterans. Tickets for Housing Trust Fund Ventura County’s Compassion Campaign may be purchased at www.HousingTrustFundVC.org. 

“I’m excited to be back in Ventura County and be a part of the 2022 Compassion Campaign event,” HCD Director Gustavo Velasquez said. “As we all know, housing is the foundation for everything else one needs to live a decent life, and this administration has made it a top priority to create the affordable housing our state so desperately needs. From the recent release of our new Statewide Housing Plan to big developments in many of the programs HCD administers, we have a lot to talk about, and I look forward to an insightful discussion.” 
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In May of 2020, Gustavo Velasquez was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to be the next Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. In this leadership role, Velasquez leads California’s housing policy agenda and administers a wide range of programs that produce, preserve, and protect affordable housing and communities of opportunity across the state.  Velasquez was a senior director at the Urban Institute, a renowned national research organization working to provide data analysis and insights to policymakers and practitioners. Velasquez served for nearly three years as assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and served on behalf of president as the strategic lead of the fair housing and inclusive community agenda for the Obama administration. During his tenure, HUD achieved groundbreaking enforcement victories in fair lending and in major housing discrimination cases. Velasquez led efforts to promulgate the landmark Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, a key tool for cities, states, and other HUD funding recipients to reduce inequality and disparities in access to opportunity. 

Three loans to be funded, Fillmore Terrace in Fillmore, Mesa Ojai in Ojai, Westview II in San Buenaventura

Ventura County, CA – Housing Trust Fund Ventura County (Housing Trust Fund VC) announces two, $1 million lines of credit (LOC), one each from Community West Bank and Mission Bank, along with a $250,000 below market interest rate loan from CBC Federal Credit Union. The funds will be used as part of Housing Trust Fund VC’s Everyone Deserves a Home revolving loan fund, a community impact note that provides flexible, below-market interest rate loans for the development of affordable housing in Ventura County. Three upcoming developments that will receive funding are a new pre-development loan for Fillmore Terrace being developed by Peoples’ Self-Help Housing Corporation (PSHHC), a GAP loan for Mesa Ojai being purchased by Mesa, and a construction loan to the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) for Westview II.

The LOCs provided by Community West Bank and Mission Bank and the loan from CBC Federal Credit Union join a pool of funds from other public and private investors, sponsors, and donors to provide lending capital in support of Housing Trust Fund VC’s Community Promise of building safe and equitable homes in Ventura County. Brian Schwabecher, Chief Banking Officer of Community West Bank stated, “Community West Bank is proud to support Housing Trust Fund Ventura County with financing for their housing initiatives, and we’re also honored to help sponsor the Everyone Deserves a Home Compassion Campaign event on May 12.” The nonprofit’s annual fundraiser takes on a unique twist this year as a guest immersive experience shining light on housing equity as told through the lives of connected individuals. Please visit: 
www.housingtrustfundvc.org/compassioncampaign2022 to learn more.