Miami-Dade mayor's housing summit a brainstorming session on helping residents unable to pay rent
MIAMI – Jessy is facing what many in South Florida are experiencing – a rental affordability crisis.
"I'm in the predicament. Am I able, is it feasible, or am I going to have to move or am I going to have to leave the country?" she wondered.
Jessy found herself paying more rent after leaving her former apartment, which she called uninhabitable.
"How much were you paying for rent then?" asked CBS4's Ted Scouten.
"Then, at that place, $1,100," Jessy said.
"And what are you playing now?" Scouten asked.
"Almost $1,400," she replied.
It's real life stories like Jessy's that have local leaders looking for answers.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava hosted her "Building Blocks Housing Summit" at loanDepot park on Thursday.
"What is the bottom line you're doing here? What is everyone doing at this summit?" Scouten asked Cava.
"We're brainstorming and committing to building more supply. That's the primary focus of today, supply," she said.
The mayor announced a goal of 18,000 additional affordable housing units. That's above and beyond the 14,000 currently in the pipeline for a total of 32,000.
"What about teachers, public servants?" asked Scouten.
"Now we have a partnership with the school board, they have land that's available. We have already invested in one school property for teachers and other school employees, and three more are coming online," Cava said.
"We believe fundamentally that housing is not a commodity alone, housing is a human right," said Michael Weinstein from The Aids Healthcare Foundation and their Healthy Housing Foundation.
He announced they're committing a hundred million dollars toward affordable housing.
"Our commitment is to invest $100 million in Dade County, and we want to do both adaptive reuse, take existing buildings," Weinstein said. "But we also need new. And we need new that is inexpensive to construct and people can afford $400 a month. That's our goal."
Of that $100 million, $5 million will go toward Cava's Building Blocks Fund. That increases the funds available to $75 million to finance the development and preservation of affordable and workforce housing in Miami-Dade County.
You can follow the progress of current and future affordable housing projects with Miami-Dade County's Housing Affordability Tracker.
For affordable housing information in Broward, click here.
The housing crisis is leaving many desperate for help. That's why CBS News Miami wants to share your stories to show the crisis you're in or how you navigated the system. We will highlight these issues and work to get answers and solutions. Send us an email at housing@cbs.com.