811 FOREVER! Help us buy our house
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811 FOREVER!
811 is a longstanding communal house in Santa Cruz where over the years countless low-income and working class punks, artists, weirdos, queers, activists, dreamers and dogs have put down roots for however long or short a time and contributed to this beloved place that is a home base for our community.
Our house is being put up for sale. We want to buy it.
In this beach and university town just over the hill from Silicon Valley and a 1.5 hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, the housing crisis and economic disparity has been escalating and is coming to a head right as a new rent control measure is coming up for election. Rent has been skyrocketing as wages has been stagnant and the number of houseless folks rises every year. Many low income and working class people are left wondering how long they can survive in this town.
We don’t know how else we will be able to stay in this community.
In the lead up to the vote on rent control in the municipal election this November, many landlords have decided to sell rather than continue into the unknown future of new possible regulations. Our home was bought by the current landlord right after the 1989 earthquake. He rebuilt it after significant damage, put in a foundation and has taken good care of it since then. When we were given a chance to buy it before it went onto the open market and our landlord seemed supportive of our interest - even excited to help make it happen - the choice seemed obvious.
We know that we have to try. But we can’t do it alone.
We are putting everything we have into this, personal savings and a lot of hard work. We don’t currently have enough for the down payment, which at 20% would be $145,000 but we are not that far off. At one of our many meetings in the last week someone joked, “If every punk that ever lived at 811 gave us $500, we would have a down payment.” Obviously not everyone has $500 they can spare, but in the almost 2 decades this house has been in our community, so many people have come through these doors, slept on the couch, eaten well at a BBQ, drank some home made cider and talked about our dreams around the backyard fire pit long into the night - we have a huge network to draw from, based on years of reciprocity and shared values.
It’s a lot of money but we also know that it’s about more than that.
Our long term vision is to turn this house into a Residential Land Trust and Non-profit Low-Income Housing. The more we raise for our down-payment, the less residents will have to pay to live here each month, and the less the banks will be taking out of our community in the form of interest. When we pulled some tarot cards after one of our meetings, trying to get some perspective on what felt like a very complicated and overwhelming situation, it was so clear that this struggle was about love and desire for a better world as much as anything financial or material. We are so rich in so many ways - all the connections we have been building through having an open door and being a long term resource in our community. People are so ready to hear about an inspiring example of mutual aid and generosity, of folks getting to stay in their homes, and of affordable housing options for the future. We are committed to helping make this dream a reality and we are grateful for any support, financial or otherwise that you can offer.
In love and solidarity, 811
811 is a longstanding communal house in Santa Cruz where over the years countless low-income and working class punks, artists, weirdos, queers, activists, dreamers and dogs have put down roots for however long or short a time and contributed to this beloved place that is a home base for our community.
Our house is being put up for sale. We want to buy it.
In this beach and university town just over the hill from Silicon Valley and a 1.5 hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, the housing crisis and economic disparity has been escalating and is coming to a head right as a new rent control measure is coming up for election. Rent has been skyrocketing as wages has been stagnant and the number of houseless folks rises every year. Many low income and working class people are left wondering how long they can survive in this town.
We don’t know how else we will be able to stay in this community.
In the lead up to the vote on rent control in the municipal election this November, many landlords have decided to sell rather than continue into the unknown future of new possible regulations. Our home was bought by the current landlord right after the 1989 earthquake. He rebuilt it after significant damage, put in a foundation and has taken good care of it since then. When we were given a chance to buy it before it went onto the open market and our landlord seemed supportive of our interest - even excited to help make it happen - the choice seemed obvious.
We know that we have to try. But we can’t do it alone.
We are putting everything we have into this, personal savings and a lot of hard work. We don’t currently have enough for the down payment, which at 20% would be $145,000 but we are not that far off. At one of our many meetings in the last week someone joked, “If every punk that ever lived at 811 gave us $500, we would have a down payment.” Obviously not everyone has $500 they can spare, but in the almost 2 decades this house has been in our community, so many people have come through these doors, slept on the couch, eaten well at a BBQ, drank some home made cider and talked about our dreams around the backyard fire pit long into the night - we have a huge network to draw from, based on years of reciprocity and shared values.
It’s a lot of money but we also know that it’s about more than that.
Our long term vision is to turn this house into a Residential Land Trust and Non-profit Low-Income Housing. The more we raise for our down-payment, the less residents will have to pay to live here each month, and the less the banks will be taking out of our community in the form of interest. When we pulled some tarot cards after one of our meetings, trying to get some perspective on what felt like a very complicated and overwhelming situation, it was so clear that this struggle was about love and desire for a better world as much as anything financial or material. We are so rich in so many ways - all the connections we have been building through having an open door and being a long term resource in our community. People are so ready to hear about an inspiring example of mutual aid and generosity, of folks getting to stay in their homes, and of affordable housing options for the future. We are committed to helping make this dream a reality and we are grateful for any support, financial or otherwise that you can offer.
In love and solidarity, 811
Organizer
Sean Crossno
Organizer
Santa Cruz, CA
