Attainable Housing Spotlight: Catherine Stihler

One of the biggest challenges people face today in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties is affordable housing. 

For Catherine Stihler, working to create affordable housing as the CEO of Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay is one of the most simultaneously challenging and rewarding endeavors she’s undertaken in her career which is saying a lot given her professional path in open technology, running Creative Commons, and working in the European Parliament representing Scotland. 

“It's incredibly important work. It's really the families that we're serving and the impact that the work has on the children that keeps you going every day when dealing with permitting, change orders, and all sorts of things that come your way when you're actually building. We don't just talk about affordable housing, we actually try to do something about it by building affordable homes, and so that's the wonderful thing about Habitat for Humanity.”

A recent National Low Income Housing Coalition report stated that in order to afford the average cost of rent and utilities in California without spending 30 percent or more of your income, you’d need to make an average of $8,559 a month as a household, an out-of-reach income level for many residents in Monterey County and beyond. 

Habitat for Humanity Monterey helps to offset this inequality by supplying families and individuals with affordable housing opportunities. “The fact that we are building homes for ownership and giving families the opportunity to have a home and break out of the cycle of rental poverty is a great mission,” says Catherine. “I believe it’s so necessary because the lack of affordable housing and the lack of affordable home ownership opportunities for people in Monterey County is so stark and affects everything that we do.”

Giving these residents, people who are integral parts of the community, the opportunity to live in the areas where they work and contribute to the region’s economic success, not only boosts morale, it also creates supportive, thriving neighborhoods nourished by hope and a sense of community. 

Last year, Catherine was introduced to Regenerative California at the November Attainable Housing Forum and was energized to connect with people who are contributing to finding new and innovative ways to address attainable housing. “I think what Regenerative California is trying to do is really admirable. And it was just a great privilege to have those two days in Asilomar, really thinking creatively about how we can solve the housing challenge together.” 

This year, Habitat for Humanity is celebrating its 50th anniversary, and the partnerships that have contributed to the organization’s longevity: the developers, community, and volunteers who are excited about this work and want to see change happen. “We can't lose sight of affordable home ownership,” Catherine. “The home is so important: what we call home, how we build homes sustainably, and with care in mind. That is something that I want future generations to be able to benefit from, the opportunity of home ownership.”