Last month, Chu-Gooding founding principal Annie Chu had the unique pleasure of serving as Keynote Speaker at SCANPH‘s 37th Annual Conference celebrating “Visionaries in Action.” It was an honor to speak with so many of our city’s affordable housing warriors, who are currently battling innumerable challenges (construction and material cost escalation, tariff threats, lack of sufficient federal support, etc.) and deserve to be lauded for the selfless work they do each and every day.

Having a roof over one’s head is not a privilege. It is a human right. It is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations, and it is a foundational psychological need in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Like the air we breathe, without shelter we cannot achieve safety, love, belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation. As Maya Angelou wrote, “The ache for home lives in all of us… the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.”

Thank you to the Southern California Association of NonProfit Housing (also known as SCANPH) for this incredible honor, for your tireless advocacy for the local affordable housing community, and for continuing to fight for much-needed housing justice across Southern California and beyond.