CCRH staff give testimony during recent California Strategic Growth Council meeting

CCRH staff—Galen Dobbins, Policy Associate and Iliana Chevez, Director of Tribal Programs—gave testimony during a recent California Strategic Growth Council meeting. Galen and Iliana spoke about the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program, recent changes to vanpooling within AHSC, and the ability of rural and Tribal communities to access AHSC. Both expressed gratitude for our continued partnership with SGC, as they continue to make the AHSC program better and more equitable.

Galen discussed Vanpools, and the need for them in both rural and Tribal communities. Vanpools are the most affordable and reliable transportation for agricultural workers in disadvantaged and low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley and other agricultural areas in California. Members of these communities often commute long distances to their worksites and could not be served by fixed route transit systems.

The option of providing vanpool services is particularly important for Tribal communities as well, given the reality of the physical distance of many Tribal communities from urban centers. As a result, Tribal members often travel long distances for many of their needs, including employment opportunities. In addition to the physical isolation and location of Tribal land, the low population density of Tribal communities means that efficient transit routing is difficult. The flexibility of vanpool services solves the problem of long distances between passengers who need a ride in these communities.

Iliana discussed the realities of Tribal communities, and the need for AHSC guidelines to reflect those realities. The collaborative efforts are better served when AHSC can be more easily accessed by Tribal communities.

You can listen to both Galen and Iliana provide their testimony in the video below: