SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Each day that she wakes up in her new home, Heidi is slowly washing away the trauma of living on the streets.

“Anger, hurt, loneliness, confusion, not knowing if I’m going to have something to eat, roof over my head, and you’re alone,” Heidi explains.

What You Need To Know

  • SB 423 would expand on an affordable housing bill that was passed in 2017 called SB 35, which streamlined the approval process for 100% affordable housing developments, cutting down the time it took for developers to begin construction

  • According to the nonprofit group, California YIMBY, SB 35 has led to the production of more than 18,000 affordable housing units across the state, since it passed in 2017

  • With SB 423, the previous law would remain in effect until 2036

  • The new law will also expand affordable housing construction in coastal communities and strengthen labor regulations on certain projects

Heidi says it all happened at once: losing her job, then her apartment, and eventually she ended up on Skid Row.

She was homeless for almost 15 years until 2022, when an affordable housing building in Historic Filipinotown opened, and an outreach worker on Skid Row asked if she wanted to apply for a room.

Heidi says that moment gave her the second chance she needed.

“I just feel that there’s a reason why I’m still here. And there’s a reason why God blessed me with this home. I’ve been able to create my own home, my own peace, feel safe,” said Heidi.

This 64-unit permanent supportive housing building that Heidi now lives in took shape in Los Angeles, in record time.

And that’s mostly because of a state law that passed in 2017, which streamlines the approval process for projects that are 100% affordable housing.

This law will expire by 2026, but there is another bill sitting on Gov. Newsom’s desk that, if passed, would expand the law — allowing affordable housing developers to build in some coastal communities — as well as extend the law to expire in 2036, giving California another decade to increase its affordable housing supply.

One major supporter of the bill is Ben Winter, the Senior VP of Linc housing, which developed the building that Heidi lives in and others just like it across the southland — including this 125-unit supportive housing facility in Westlake.

Winter says these laws speed up one of the initial challenges in getting their projects completed, which is gaining approval from the city.

“Even though the zoning allows you to build multi-family housing, there are additional layers of review that local cities can add on to the process. And that adds lots of time — six months to a year — and time is money,” said Winter.

This current law cuts that approval process down to about 90 days.

Winter says the sooner these projects can be built, the sooner people like Heidi can move in — and begin a journey that Heidi says — changed her life.

“I still feel the same when I first moved in. It’s just a wonderful feeling that I can’t even describe, but it’s just such a blessing,” said Heidi.