Letter to Editor | In Support of YES for Homes

— from Peggy Rhoads —

We will have the chance to vote for the San Juan County Homes Fund in the November 6 election. You may have seen articles and letters online or in print, seen the booth at the Library Fair and at other venues, calling us to vote YES for Homes, not Yes for Houses. This is an important distinction.

Many of us come to Orcas and the other islands to call it home, a place to raise children, develop a career, expand our appreciation of nature’s beauty. But a house or an apartment is a necessity in finding a home and the San Juans do not have enough housing to enable all who work here to call the islands Home. They must spend disproportionate amounts on transportation, gas for their cars, daily trips on the ferry, and time away from their families. A win for YES for Homes in November can dramatically increase the availability of affordable housing in San Juan County and insure that we address the lack of opportunity for working people to live here and for employers to fully staff their businesses.

My father grew up in a tar paper house in West Virginia. It was not until I was in 9th grade that my parents were able to earn and borrow enough money to buy two acres and build a house on the eastern slope of the Colorado Rockies. I am committed to making the opportunity for the workers of San Juan County to fulfill their dreams of affordable housing and establishing a Home here, a place that many of us call Paradise.

For more information see the YES for Homes website at yesforhomes.net/about/.