A.C., a single dad, is currently living in a local motel room with his two daughters, desperately looking for a place to rent.

He has a good job in construction and can pay up to $1,000 a month in rent. His girls have recently enrolled in school and they all have fallen in love with Borrego Springs and our small town with its friendly atmosphere. Without a miracle, they will have to leave town and relocate to a place with affordable rentals and we will have lost a gem of a family.

The Sanchez family of five lost their Santiago Estates mobile home in a disastrous fire a week ago that left them with only the clothes on their backs. Everything was destroyed, including their two cars. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

While the community has come out in force with support for them in the way of clothing and money, they too are desperately looking for a new home to rent as they rebuild their lives. They are currently staying with family members in a very crowded situation. They too are hoping for a miracle as available mobile homes in their park are as rare as home rentals in Borrego Springs.

According to a local realtor who handles rentals, it appears that affordable rentals have been replaced by Airbnb short term rentals that can fetch up to $3,000 a month or more during the season. This trend began when COVID hit and many people were looking to move to remote areas away from congested urban centers where the passing of COVID was more prevalent.

As our local homes were purchased and repurposed for high end renters, our local families were evicted, often resulting in them having to move out of Borrego Springs.

In the case of the Sanchez family, they have received funds from Kendall’s highly successful dinner fundraiser, donations from a door to door collection by neighbors Gloria Torres and Noe Delgado, as well as other funds from the Borrego Ministers’ Association and a Go Fund Me drive (https://gofundme.com/f/7hhuq4-ayudemos-ala-familia). All of this generous financial support is much appreciated by the family but does not guarantee them a home to rent.

As Maria stood weeping in front of the rubble that was once her home, she held her young grandson close and shook her head in despair. She had lost all family photos, legal papers, her son’s recent eye surgery medicine, her purse, their recently decorated Christmas tree and as she realized more and more of what was gone, she simply shook her head. Now she stands to lose a place to live in Borrego.

When Borrego Springs loses a family, we lose workers who are the backbone of our community. We lose students in our schools and declining enrollment is the death sentence for a school district. We lose families who are part of the rich fabric of our community.

Borrego Springs cannot afford to lose any more families and children. We need low income housing like never before. If you have ideas, please share them and let’s work together to address this crisis. Use the email: mdeichler@bsusd.net. Thank you.