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Impacts of the Housing Affordability Crisis: The impacts of the housing crisis affect every community across Alameda County. • As housing is increasingly unaffordable, especially for very low and extremely low income people, long-term residents are forced to move out of neighborhoods and communities where they have lived, worshipped, worked, and have family and community ties. • As people move further away, traffic congestion impacts occur, especially from commuters to work. • When households spend over half of their incomes on housing costs, they have significantly less money to pay for other necessary expenses such as childcare, medical expenses, and food, which also decreases income to non-housing segments of the local economy. • Homeless is increasingly visible across our communities, and there are also increases in the `hidden homeless' such as families living in cars and young people aging out of foster care who are moving from couch to couch trying to stay sheltered. • Local businesses face an increasingly difficult time attracting and retaining needed employees. Recent news articles have highlighted restaurants unable to find servers and school districts losing teachers as they take jobs in communities where they can afford to live. Even local hospitals have reported being less able to attract M.D. residents, doctors, nurses and other essential health care works. Economic Development and business associations have named high housing costs as one of their top priorities. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION As mentioned above, the programs to be funded by the Bond were developed in response to critical housing needs across Alameda County and with significant community and stakeholder review and input. Community input and feedback was obtained through over 15 public meetings, including two widely publicized stakeholder meetings, eight Town Hall meetings held by the Board of Supervisors in each of the five districts across the County, and six Board committee meetings. Comments received at these meetings was augmented by an on-line survey available to the public, as well as letters and emails submitted to the County between March and early June 2016. Criteria Used for Development of the Bond Program The components of the Bond Program are designed to meet the following key criteria: ❑ Eligible uses of G.O. Bond proceeds: Bond-funded programs must be eligible for this type of financing, which means that they must be related to the acquisition or development of real property. Rental subsidies and housing operating subsidies, for example, are not eligible uses of bond proceeds. ❑ Addresses critical housing needs: Programs are designed to address some of the most critical housing needs across the County. 7