By Amy Whelan, City of Morgan Hill

What is Economic Mobility?

Economic mobility is generally an individual or a family improving their economic status or prosperity. The city of Morgan Hill is committed to finding ways for improving economic prosperity for all Morgan Hill residents.

The city’ s commitment to implementing economic mobility strategies is based on the 2023 Housing Element, which requires Morgan Hill to develop a plan to connect Spanishspeaking and lower-income community members to jobs and housing resources, while also increasing their sense of belonging within the community. The Housing Element is one of nine State-mandated elements that is included in every city’ s General Plan.

Some Morgan Hill community members are facing an uphill battle:

• In Morgan Hill, approximately 36 percent of the population is Latino, but Latinos make up an estimated 2 percent of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics( STEM) industry sector, a traditionally well-paying industry.

• Nearly 2,000 households in Morgan Hill are categorized

as extremely low income, but there are only 130 housing units appropriate for their income levels.

• Fifty percent of all Morgan Hill renters are cost burdened, spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

The city works with many local partners, such as Community Solutions, to offer ongoing programs and events to help connect Spanish-speakers with resources. Additionally, for the past 10 years, HouseKeys has served as the city’ s affordable housing program administrator. They assist first-time homebuyers and renters of Below Market Rate( BMR) housing in Morgan Hill. HouseKeys hosts in-person appointments at Morgan Hill City Hall on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. Schedule your visit to get questions answered about how to apply for affordable housing, selling your Below Market Rate home, or current rental and ownership opportunities.

Resources:

• The city’ s Economic Mobility webpages.

• A 2024 Economic Mobility report,“ Elevate Morgan Hill,” that identifies community needs.

• Understanding how the city’ s affordable housing program administrator, HouseKeys, can help.

Strategies and Actions

From an economic mobility and jobs perspective, the city is working toward( 1) increasing access to education, training and employment by connecting Spanish-speakers and day workers with job opportunities;( 2) promoting entrepreneurship through expanded business training programs, such as“ Fundamentos de Negocios” for Hispanic entrepreneurs; and( 3) encouraging local employers to develop job postings in Spanish.

Related to economic mobility and housing, the city is committed to( 1) increasing housing knowledge and access through promoting all housing resources;( 2) increasing affordable housing units, such as encouraging construction of Extremely Low Income( ELI) housing; and( 3) growing knowledge within the community about affordable housing programs.

ELI housing refers to housing that is affordable for households earning 30 percent or less of the area median income( AMI). For Morgan Hill that means $ 55,300 for a family of four.

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