A Place to Call Home | With Elizabeth Cruz - The Echoes Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Camille Hall-Ortega (00:00):
What does it mean to have a place to call
home? The question may seemsimple. It likely conjures up
feelings of warmth and security,being provided for. But perhaps
the better question to ask is,what does it mean to have no
place to call home? This is thequestion that faces all too many

(00:20):
of our neighbors.

News Clip (00:22):
It's being called the perfect storm. With rising
costs, rent has become out ofreach for more local families,
and though there aren't enoughaffordable housing units either
to help them.

For many in America and around the world,
the reasons for housingchallenges run the gamut,
ranging from wages that don'tkeep up with inflation, rising
property taxes andgentrification, folks falling on
hard times like unexpectedmedical issues that lead to
insurmountable financialchallenges, or simply growing

(00:54):
older, dealing with incomeconstraints, and struggling to
keep up with requiredmaintenance on a home, leading
to its disrepair.

News Clip (01:03):
Cost of living grow along with a shortage of
affordable housing units. It'stwo reasons city leaders say
renters are willing to stay in aproperty filled with problems
and filth.

For instance, according to a 2021
report from the University ofTexas at Austin, five hundred
homes are demolished every yearin San Antonio due to disrepair.
And San Antonio has led in thenumber of demolitions ordered
compared to all other Texascities. Demolitions mean more
neighbors without homes. So in2022, the city piloted a

(01:37):
different approach that wouldrebuild instead of tear down.
I'm Camille Hall-Ortega from theH.E.Butt Foundation.
This is The Echoes podcast. Ontoday's episode, we welcome our
guest, Elizabeth Cruz. Elizabethis a social worker for San
Antonio Affordable Housing, andshe's the project manager at the

(01:58):
center of their initiativecalled Project Rebuild, an
effort featured in a recentEchoes article. I'm here with my
co-host, Marcus Goodyear.Welcome, Elizabeth.

Marcus Goodyear (02:08):
Hello, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Cruz (02:09):
Hi, Marcus.

We're glad to have you. We know we give a
little intro upfront about yourwork, but it's very brief. And
so we'll wanna hear just allabout what you're up to in your
role over at San AntonioAffordable Housing. What do you
do?

I am a licensed clinical social worker, and I am
the program manager forOperation Rebuild. And I have
the pleasure and honor to workwith homeowners to help them
restore their homes. For a lotof these homeowners, these were
homes that they're theyinherited from their parents or

(02:52):
a sibling or this is the homethat they raise their children
in. These homes are deemedeither dangerous premises or
have a demolition order. And tobe able to restore that for
these homeowners has been just Ican't even put into words, but
as I'm saying it, I havegoosebumps.

Yes. I'm sure I can only imagine. What
would you say are some of yourfavorite parts of your job, or
what are the wins that you liketo celebrate in your job?

I'm thinking about the most recent one that I
feel is a homeowner who had losthope, didn't understand,
continues to ask me why do youcare, and can't even fathom the
idea that someone would helpthem. And to get to the point

(03:46):
where I just last week said, areyou beginning to feel a little
more hopeful? And she said, I amnow.

That's beautiful.

What do you tell somebody when they say why
do you care? I mean, what what'syour answer in that situation?

Because that is what I do. I care. I am
privileged to work in aprofession or have a job that
aligns with my personal values.I get to serve. I get to to
share, and I get to be the handsand feet of Jesus, you know, and

(04:28):
I am a person of faith. So Icare because He cared.

That's so good. I want to give a little
bit of context for thelisteners. Can you just tell us
a little bit more aboutOperation Rebuild? What does it
look like?

So Operation Rebuild is a demolition
diversion program, and a lot ofhomeowners are losing their
homes because they can't affordto restore, to rehab their
homes. And we were creating asituation for homeowners that
cannot afford to fix their homesand have to get a notice to

(05:03):
vacate and have to leave theirhomes. And they end up
experiencing homelessness, andwe get to restore their home. I
think the the story that wasfeatured, this homeowner
received a notice to vacate, andshe, left her home and just said

(05:27):
she found herself praying thatGod, sent someone to save her
home. And I was looking for herand had it took me about three
months to find her.

This is Olga?

Yes. Olga Escobedo, who we who we we
featured in Echoes. Now you saidit took you a while to find her?
Can you say more about that?

When they receive a notice to vacate, then
they have to go. So we'reworking with the development
service department to, "Okay, Ifyou deem it a dangerous premise,
put them on our list. Let mefind them, and let me help them
relocate." I spent a lot of timefinding our homeowners. A lot of

(06:08):
time.

And what what kinds of places did you find
them in? Were they living inapartments? Or...

Family. No. No. They can't afford to get an
apartment. So with family,friends, some have even ended up
in the Haven For Hope, theshelter here in San Antonio.

Wow. And so I imagine that even just that
those moments of being able toto find them, that's a win.
Right? That you're reaching outwith hope for them.

For sure. For sure. It's a win. And, a little
interesting story with Olga'scase. I involve the family. A
lot of the homeowners are,elderly, and I involve the whole
family. What's who's yoursupport system? Because the

(07:02):
support system will benefit fromthe generational wealth that
hopefully we're able to giveback. And also, it it gives that
homeowner an opportunity to besuccessful. And I invited all
the kids.
Everybody was involved. Well,one of her daughters, in

(07:23):
Atlanta, she came to visit andshe told her mother, I wanna
meet this woman. And so we wentto our favorite taco place, and
she sat across from me with armscrossed. "What's the catch?" And
I was like, "No catch."

(07:46):
This truly is a great program.Whatever's paid out in the rehab
of the home, she has to justcommit to keeping her home for
twenty years and turn to acovenant with us. And so her
sister said, "Yeah. Mama pays itback with time." And and I said,
"That's exactly right."

Wow.

And now every time the sister comes in from
Atlanta, she tells her mother,you know, invite Liz out. Let's
go get a taco. Yeah.

Oh, I love that. People might find it hard
to believe that they're reapingthese benefits without a catch.
How do people qualify foroperation rebuilds?

So there is an income eligibility, and we have
to submit all the documents tothe city. They get verified,
income verified, and they're outyou know, whatever they need, I
help with documentation. I helpthem look. Let's go request your
award letter. So there's a lotof steps, and so I help

(08:54):
facilitate that process, make iteasier for them.
They can't have any liens ontheir property, and we help with
that as well. The the homeownerthat now has a little bit of
hope, we had to help her removea deceased brother from her
title, and it was often it wasjust an oversight in the title

(09:18):
company where they didn't seethe the the legal paperwork. And
then with an attorney, I waslike, what do I need to do? And
the attorney said, "Hey. She'sthe homeowner, and here's the
language here." I don't speaklegal.

Yes. Right. Neither do I.

So making connections, you know, that
attorney, he's someone that'sreally invested in the West
Side. We want a twenty yearcommitment. We wanna give him a
product that will last, twentyyears. You know, the the
buzzword is trauma informedapproach, but we also give a
trauma informed response when wework with the homeowners. Any

(09:59):
contractor that touches ourfamilies, we talk to them.
We kind of set up, anexpectation of how we will do
this work for this family.Getting the links with DST, to
help us with some of these feesand just building the

(10:21):
relationship with them. Sobefore you give them a notice to
vacate, "Hey. Go out with Lizand let her talk to the
families." That way I don't losetrack of them.

Right. Right.

And I get to find out where they're going.

That's great. We're talking a lot about
Operation Rebuild, but I knowfolks are gonna be interested in
what are people facing when itcomes to affordable housing. I
know, Marcus, you you werereading up on some statistics
even just lately. Right? Justseeing... what is the housing

(10:53):
situation look like in SanAntonio specifically?

Yeah. The the median price of a home in San
Antonio is over $300,000 rightnow, the median price. And, rent
for a 400 square foot apartmentis starting at $650, which $650
a month seems affordable. Butfor 400 square feet, I think the
room I'm in right now is biggerthan 400 square feet.
And, you know, if you're tryingto get a house, you're looking

(11:19):
at potentially thousands ofdollars in rent every month. So
what are what are thedifficulties that people are
facing who can't find affordablehousing? It's just not an option
for them.

That's the buzzword, affordable housing.
You have developers saying, "Oh,we are building affordable
houses," and and I'm this is mysarcastic voice. It isn't
affordable for the community.And as you mentioned, let's say
the $650 is the when you're on afixed income, when all you get

(11:57):
is $900 a month, In order torent an apartment, you have to
make- some places expect you tomake three times the rent, good
affordable housing, say twotimes the rent.
Well, two times of $650 alreadyputs you over what, $1,300, and
they're only getting $900. Sothey're ineligible. So they

(12:19):
can't even afford to get anapartment with their income. So
these developments that aregoing on around San Antonio are
still unaffordable. And eventhough they have affordable in
their name.
So that's a problem. Right now,I'm working with four families

(12:41):
that I need help relocatingthem. And we're going to pay for
their temporary lodgings. And Istill can't get them in because
they still have to meet that twotimes the rep requirement.

What do you wish people knew, specifically
San Antonians? What do you wishthey knew about housing issues
that a lot of people don't know?

If we start with just neighborhoods and and some
of the homeowners, they don'twake up saying, "I want my house
to just fall apart." I justwanted to fall apart." Who does
who says that? No one.
They want their homes. Theywanna take care of the homes.
Some of the individuals can'tafford some of the repairs. Some

(13:24):
of them are too old to take careof their lots, and or have
mobility issues. That shouldn'tbe a reason for you to lose your
home.
We have lost our humanity inknowing our neighbors, helping
our neighbors. Instead ofcomplaining to the city, going

(13:44):
to your neighbor and saying,"Hey. Is there something I can
help you with? Oh, I'll pull outthe trash for you. I have a
grandchild. You know, I'm gonnapay my grandchild $20 to go mow
your lawn. Is that okay?"
You know, whatever it is, wewe're just losing our humanity
and and that sense of neighbors,neighbors helping neighbors.

(14:07):
It's just becoming something ofthe past.

That's huge because I think, you know, for
people of faith, we know thatwe're called to help others.
Just like you said, be the handsand feet of of Jesus. And so we
need to be mindful of what thatlooks like, specifically, with
these challenges, with housingchallenges. Now I'm curious

(14:34):
because with Operation Rebuild,you've told us a lot about the
process. So how people qualify,and then what the process looks
like for while their home isbeing rebuilt, And, kind of what
some of the stipulations are forthem to be able to to have that,
you know, enjoy that rebuilthome. But we know that it kind

(14:58):
of starts with a home indisrepair that's been identified
for for demolition. And we knowdemolition is not cheap. It's
expensive. Right?

Yes. And, homeowners are held responsible
for the demolition. They have topay that fee.

Woah.

Yes. So it started there, and a
councilwoman, in D5 decided,there's too many demolitions in
this district. We need to dosomething about it.

So imagine I receive a demolition notice, and
I have to pay for that. But thereason I'm receiving the
demolition notice is that Idon't have enough money to take
care of my home. I mean,obviously, I'm not gonna be able
to pay for the demolition. Sowhat happens then?

There's a lien on the property.

Oh, gosh.

And it really is it just it's just so
counterproductive. There areother programs prior to
receiving a demolition orderthat you can apply for. There
are the city has a lot of rehabprograms, but, you know, they
received thousands and thousandsof applications. And then you
have to narrow it down and, oh,we can only fix a thousand this

(16:14):
year.
So that's 2,000 other homes thatare not being addressed. And
then you talk aboutaccessibility because these
applications have to be filledout and everything uploaded in a
computer. Well, what happens toindividuals that have don't have
access to a computer or theInternet or, you know, it's like

(16:37):
who doesn't have that? There's alot of people that still do not
have access to a computer or anor Internet. And we have to help
facilitate that.
But let's let's talk about otherprograms, other supports, and
and really building arelationship with them. Let's
see if there's other ways we canhelp them.

Mhmm. Preventative.

Absolutely. Instead of, yeah, preventive,
instead of reactive. Andsometimes it's as simple as,
helping a homeowner clear outtheir lot. There's a lot of
trash. There's a lot of debris.And a lot of the elderly,
sometimes their children, theiradult children. Oh, well, you
know, we'll take it to mom'shouse and dad's house
and, you know, and leave things,cars that break down and and and

(17:24):
things like that. So there's alot of reasons why things get, a
lot of there's a lot of stories,but getting to the bottom and
seeing how we could resolve, andand bring solutions that don't
require the demolition order andreally adding more injury

(17:45):
and retraumatizing thehomeowners.

Amazing. A recent issue of Echoes, we told
the story of Olga Escobedo,which we've spoken a little bit
about her. We tell the story ofwhat you've mentioned that
unfortunately rings true formany people in San Antonio
facing the same issues, which isthat she was, you know, elderly.
She inherited a home from herparents, and the home began to

(18:13):
fall down around her because shecouldn't afford the repair, and
she couldn't do it herself. Andso she was facing her home was
was facing demolition, and weheard the story of you finding
her and letting her know thatshe was gonna be a part of
operation rebuild.

Well, for me, truly was an honor, working with
the family. And I just didn'twork with her. I worked with the
family. We said we have manymeetings. I never wanted when
she signed documents, I neverwanted her there alone. I wanted

(18:53):
her support to be there andwitness. I explained things over
and over because if I don'tunderstand legal, you know, and
I have a master's degree, Ican't imagine some others that,
you know, maybe just went tohigh school and maybe didn't
finish some that didn't finishhigh school. So explaining the

(19:14):
terminology, the legal documentsand what it meant. You know she
was just, I just want my house.
She was ready to sign and I waslike, "Wait a minute, Wait a
minute. I really want you tounderstand, and I want your
children to understand..."

It's a commitment.

It is a commitment, and it's ongoing. We
go have a taco at least once amonth. There's still some
things. It's the support thatshe needs to be successful. The
Olga that I started working withis not the Olga that I visit

(19:53):
with once a month now.
She's just happy in her house.She shows me every time she does
something different in her houseand it's just so beautiful to
see her, in her space and and itbe a space. And she's on top of
everything. "Hey, look. Thatnail looks like it's coming
out." You know. She is on it. "Ichanged the filters."

(20:17):
They have to also they have toattend the home maintenance
class, and she went with her andher daughter and I. We all took
the class. It was veryinformative. These are things
that she may not have donebefore. Well, let me just go
back a little further. Her homenever had central air or heat.

It's hard to imagine in South Texas. I
know, you know, there may belisteners in other states where
that that could be commonplaceto not have central AC, but it
is a must in South Texas.

While we're rehabbing, they're not allowed
to go in, but I would takepictures and I would send them.
When I visit with her, I wouldshow her. And she says, "But
what is that black thing?" And Isaid, "Oh, that's your central
air and heater." And she goes,"Oh, wow."
I would be doing our program adisservice if I didn't share how
much we gather everyone that'stouching our homeowners' homes

(21:17):
into the the mix and and andreally falling in love with the
family. Right? We're workingwith a family. We're not working
with a property. You know, thatwas one of the first things I
wanted to change, the language.It's not an address. This is a
family that lives at thisaddress. That's who we're
working with. I wanted to addthe humanity to our work.

(21:40):
But the contractor on his ownenclosed her back porch because
she wanted washer dryer, and shenever had. And so they put the
fixtures. Oh, we could put thefixtures on the back porch. So
he enclosed it for her. He goes,"If it were my mother, I
wouldn't want her having to dealwith the, you know, the

(22:03):
elements."

Ah, the elements.

Yeah. Yeah. And, so beautiful. It's beautiful. So
heartwarming. So anytime I seewhat we're doing for homeowners
and and serving them and the wayjust just like we're talking,
just talking to them like that.What's going on with you?

Yeah.

What's happening? How can we support
you? Again, getting to know whothe homeowner is and their their
history.

And you're getting to experience that every
day, and so I can imagine that'sjust rewarding.

So rewarding. I can't believe I get paid.

Well, you have communities of folks that
are grateful for the work thatyou do and your team, and so I
think it's beautiful. You talkedabout experiencing a different
Olga now, and I imagine thathousing crisis takes a toll
emotionally on folks. What doyou see? Tell us more about,

(23:04):
what you see for folks who arefacing housing issues and kinda
how you see that progression.

Olga held on to hope. She's a person of faith.
So she was, like, always holdingon to hope. However, she just
was not comfortable. It wasn'ther space. She was in someone
else's space, and she was livinglike that. And you just get
well, bounce from here to here.And and so it wasn't her space.

(23:36):
Now she's in her home. She'sjust so empowered.
I just look at the pictures. Ithink the pictures in the Echoes
magazine is just it shows hernow just that empowered, sense
of this is my home. I loveworking with the families,

(23:56):
seeing them go from hopeless tohaving hope, from not being able
to envision to, "oh, wow. Icould see the light at the end
of the tunnel." To move in andsay, "This is your home now."
Oh, wow. Just to be so in awe. Iremember the first time we

(24:17):
walked through Olga's house.Olga was ecstatic. She was just
so happy, but her daughter wasin the back and you could see
the tears running down her face.
That's their home. And, yes,it's a property that property
identified as a concern in theneighborhood, but there's a
family that's there. So how canwe support the family and then

(24:42):
rehab their home? So guess what?Now the support we've given that
family, they're going to havethe ability to sustain and
maintain their home after therehab.

We think of restoring homes and we imagine
the before and after picture ofthe house, which I've seen the
before and after picture of ofOlga's house. But you're talking
about the before and afterpicture of the of the homeowner,
of the person who lives thereand before hope and after hope
and before maybe beforegratitude and after gratitude.
It's just it's really beautiful.

Definitely. And, I think about the homeowner that
lost hope and is beginning tofeel some hope. Even before we
made a determination of whetheror not she could participate in
the program, she looked at meand said, "Thank you. For the
first time, I feel likesomeone's on my side."

(25:38):
It never gets old to hear that,to to see that hope, to that
just a slight smile. Like, wow.There is a somebody who does
care enough. Still questioningwhy, but someone does care.

So, Elizabeth, there's this thing we do in our
podcast where we pull audio fromthe foundation archives.
Foundation's been around since1933, and we wanted to share
with you a clip that's a littlebit more recent than some of the
audio clips we share. This isfrom a recent Laity Lodge
retreat. Laity Lodge is ouradult Christian retreat center.

(26:16):
And the clip we wanna play is,Alan Jacobs, who is a professor
at Wheaton College, and he'stalking about repairing a broken
world.
So I would just like to listento this and then and get your
take on it.

Alan Jacobs (recording) (26:32):
"What I'm always looking for is a way
to invite people along with me,Christians and non Christians
alike, to do the work ofrebuilding and renewing and
restoring a broken world. Torepair the broken world, not to
discard it, not to condemn it,not to throw it away, but to

(26:53):
repair it. And how what doesthat look like? What does that
repair look like? And how do weinvite other people to
participate in that with us?"

As you hear that, we're talking about
repairing homes. We're talkingabout, bringing hope to people
who may have lost hope. What'syour response to Alan?

I, 100%, align with what he just said. Some of
the cleanups we organize for thehomeowners in preparation for
the rehab, helping them pulltheir their valuables out and
then helping them discard thethings they want to discard. We
get together volunteers thathelp clean up the brush or and

(27:38):
mow lawns and cut trees and andhelp us do things like that. And
we can't- I can't do it alone. Iam a part-time contract
employee, so I absolutely needtheir community, whatever
community they're living in tosupport them to be successful in
their home.
And some of them need ongoingsupport, changing the battery on

(28:00):
the smoke detectors. I ran intoa homeowner that said, I have
mobility issues. My sister hasmobility issues. I can't get up
on a ladder to change. I couldhear it that it needs to be
changed, but I can't change it.
So simple little task that thecommunity neighbors, it's what I
said earlier. You know, we'relosing that where neighbors can

(28:23):
check-in on each other. I thinkministries, you know, outreach
ministries don't just outreachthose that are unsheltered,
outreach those that might needsome additional support, the
shut in, the the widows. It'sbiblical. Right?

Exactly.

We should be providing that kind of support.
So I'm always looking forvolunteers and anyone that feels
touched to to to volunteer, I amhappy to get their support.

I love that. I mean, that's exactly the
the question we would have foryou. And for folks who know that
the need is there, who have beeninformed by this time or by just
looking at their communityaround them, what are the next
steps that you might recommend?What's one thing?

So I don't expect you to go to people's
homes, knock on their door, andjust because, I mean,
unfortunately, there aresituations where there are
mental health issues and that'sthe reality and that's a reality
I've encountered. And I'mskilled in helping de-escalate

(29:27):
situations. So even when I havevolunteers, I'm there with the
volunteers making sureeverything is going the way it's
supposed to be going. Butgetting with outreach,
ministries that do outreach forthe seniors, and there are a lot
of programs that help, clear mowlawns, cut grass. You know,

(29:52):
those are necessary.
Some of my homeowners havemobility issues. How do they
maintain their property? Thoseare some of the citations they
get. Overgrown grass. A lot ofthem don't have support. So
let's support our community.

Beautiful. I think it's important for us to
note that, of course, we'retalking a lot about San Antonio
and the broader areas, Texas,but housing affordability
issues, housing challenges, it'severywhere. It's all over our
country and all over our world.And so we would say for the
folks who are looking to getinvolved in being a part of the

(30:30):
solution, that this is stillgreat advice for them, that
there are organizations that arealready doing the work, but they
need extra hands. And so it'sgreat to know that someone like
you who is boots on the groundin the middle of that help is
suggesting that that's a greatway to to start getting
involved.

Absolutely. Even helping get boxes as they move
and pack their things. You know,just there's so many things that
when we rehab their home,helping with refurnish it. We
are a country where we haveextra. You know, sometimes it's
sharing some of what we have.You know, we can't out give God.

(31:11):
So, that that's something I'vealways experienced. And so I
really do feel that it'simportant that we share our
time, and sometimes it's ourresources. So, you know, if you
can't give time, give resources.

I love that. Elizabeth, we're so
grateful for your time todaywith us and for all that you've
shared. We appreciate you. Thankyou so much for being here.

Yes, Thank you. Thank you for the work you're
doing.

Yes. Nice meeting you both.

The Echoes Podcast is written and produced
by Marcus Goodyear, RobStennett, and me, Camille
Hall-Ortega. It's edited by RobStennett and Kim Stone. Our
executive producers are PattonDodd and David Rogers. Special
thanks to our guest today,Elizabeth Cruz. The Echoes
Podcast is a production broughtto you by the H.E.Butt
Foundation.
You can learn more about ourvision and mission at
hebfdn.org.

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