Breakfast at Trestle Glen affordable family homes in Colma

Trestle Glen residents Ping and Princess S, and their son, with San Mateo County Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson

HEART hosted a breakfast for forty supporters at the newly-opened Trestle Glen family apartments in Colma, next to the BART station. Guests got to meet a resident, Princess S. (second from right) who told the story of her family’s search for affordable housing once their son was born.

“Ping and I got married while we were in college, and we lived with his parents in Daly City for almost ten years while we were in school, and then working. When our son was born, I was so excited to be accepted at Trestle Glen, because we would now have room for him to crawl and play, and we could begin our life together as a family, and still be close to friends and relatives. “

“Helping our young families stay in San Mateo County is what HEART is all about,” said Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson, Chair of HEART’s Board of Directors, as she welcomed the guests, Her sentiments were echoed by Barbara Evers, Exec. VP of Borel Private Bank & Trust Company, on behalf of the private sector, “We need all kinds of families to be able to live in our county, and Borel wants to encourage businesses to partner with HEART and the public sector to build more affordable rental homes.”

Trestle Glen has 119 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental apartments for working families and was developed by BRIDGE Housing, with help from the city, the County and a $2.48M loan from HEART. The location on El Camino Real was originally a trailer park. Several of the residents who were relocated have been able to move back.

Trestle Glen surveyed the families to find out what services could help them succeed. The most popular are a free, weekly ESL class, and a monthly food pantry sponsored by Second Harvest. Many of the seniors, as well as Princess, are volunteering, noted Resident Manager Becky Joseph with pride, and BRIDGE plans to host scout troops, a homework club, and healthy cooking and shopping programs in 2011.

Ping is able to commute by transit to his night job at a hotel in San Francisco, and Princess is excited to talk about her experience, and is grateful for her opportunity. There are over 700 families on the waiting list, and they hope that their story will help HEART, the cities and county and private sector, continue to fund more affordable apartments, so other families can benefit.

Get more information about Trestle Glen here.

A special thank you to the staff of Woodlawn Memorial Park who came early to open their lot so we could park!