Affordable Housing for Oakland's Teachers

Teachers Rooted in Oakland (TRiO) teams up with Riaz Capital to lower the rent burden for Oakland's teachers.

OAKLAND, Calif., June 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A renewed partnership between Riaz Capital and Teachers Rooted in Oakland (TRiO) will provide subsidized housing to up to 100 teachers in the coming years. The two organizations announced the expansion of their existing partnership to provide affordable housing to teachers in Oakland. This partnership has resulted in successfully housing dozens of teachers over the past year.

Riaz Capital, a leading workforce housing developer, has been a pioneer in providing quality affordable housing in the Bay Area. By partnering with Teachers Rooted in Oakland, the firm has also been instrumental in supporting the educational community.

TRiO's Solution 

Teachers Rooted in Oakland is a nonprofit organization that advocates for affordable housing for educators in the Oakland area. It is a privately funded partnership between the City of Oakland and the Oakland Unified School District designed to recruit and retain teachers of color. There's empirical evidence that students of color tend to perform better under teachers of color. The biggest challenge these teachers face though - in contrast to their white peers - is the unaffordability of housing in Oakland.

New teachers in Oakland earn less than $53,000 per year, while the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Oakland has risen to more than $2,168 per month, creating an untenable 50% rent burden. For aspiring teachers, especially teachers of color, the cost of living presents a major obstacle to living in the communities where they work. To address this crisis, the TRiO program provides crucial support to Teacher Residents through its housing subsidy program. The organization was founded on the principle that every teacher should have access to safe and affordable housing.

Riaz Capital Partnership

The renewed partnership between Riaz Capital and TRiO will continue to provide much-needed relief from the housing crisis that has impacted so many essential workers in the Bay Area. The buildings identified for the program are located in the heart of Oakland, close to schools, and will offer high-quality living spaces for teachers.

"Riaz Capital is thrilled to renew our partnership with Teachers Rooted in Oakland," said Riaz Taplin, CEO of Riaz Capital. "We believe that every teacher should have access to affordable housing, and we are proud to support TRiO in its mission to make that a reality."

"The goal is to help recruit and retain these educators, to keep them rooted in Oakland, to bridge the affordability gap between market rate and what teachers can actually afford, and it's available to all 2,000 plus OUSD teachers," Kyra Mungia, co-founder of Teachers Rooted in Oakland said.

The partnership between Riaz Capital and TRiO is a good example of how the city of Oakland can partner with private developers to affect positive change in the community. By providing affordable housing to teachers, Riaz Capital and TRiO are working together to solve the Bay Area housing crisis while supporting the city's ultimate goal of providing quality education to its students.

Contact:

Mathew Salter
+1 (415) 828-5800
[email protected]

SOURCE Riaz Capital