Balancing Two of Ventura County’s Biggest Challenges

Darrin Peschka

Ventura County Transportation Commission, Government and Community Relations Program Manager

What are two of the biggest challenges facing Ventura County? Jobs and affordable housing.That’s what I took away from the third session of the Ventura County Leadership Academy, when Cohort XXVII took a dive into housing and the local economy.

If you’ve been in the county for even just a short time, it’s no surprise to hear that housing is expensive and good-paying jobs can be scarce. Yet having a group of experts illustrate those points using research, data and real-world experiences was eye-opening, even for someone who has lived here for years. 

Denise Wise, who is CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura, described the difficulty many people with low incomes face in a county where the average rent for an apartment is now upwards of $2,000 a month. Haider Alawami, economic development manager for Thousand Oaks, listed housing as one of the biggest challenges facing the city. Alex Nguyen, the city manager of Oxnard, called the gap between housing costs and wages “Mount Everest.” In his city, where a large portion of the adult working population has no formal education, Nguyen said the biggest challenge is getting residents the skills they need to be employable.

Like most places, Ventura County was walloped the by COVID-19 pandemic and shutdowns. Bruce Stenslie, who is president and CEO of the Economic Development Collaborative, described some of the impacts the pandemic has had locally, including unemployment levels that for a brief period hit near-record highs. Low-income workers were hit particularly hard, Stenslie said, widening the inequity that already existed. Even before the pandemic, job growth in Ventura County was slow, and it remains to be seen what the long-term economic impacts of COVID-19 might be.

Although it would be easy to feel discouraged when hearing about problems that seem insurmountable, several speakers offered glimmers of hope, from recent investments in affordable housing projects to programs that kept businesses afloat and workers employed during the pandemic.

Speaker Jim White, a VCLA alum, encouraged cohort members to “find their passion” and be part of the solution. White has given his time to numerous community organizations through the years, including the Ventura YMCA, Ventura Housing Authority and VCLA, and is currently a citizens representative on the Ventura County Transportation Commission.

As we get ready to start a new year, I know that I’ll be thinking about what my passion will be in 2022. I’m sure my VCLA colleagues will be doing so, too.