Bay Area Housing Costs Temper an Otherwise Warm Welcome for Afghan Asylum Seekers

The Bay Area has been home to a vibrant Afghan community for decades. California lawmakers have been showing unified support in welcoming Afghan asylum seekers to the Bay Area, proposing legislation and holding a string of town halls in support of resettlement efforts. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August, KQED reports that local service provider Jewish Family & Community Services resettled 77 Afghans in the East Bay — which is typically the number of people they resettle over six months. But a warm welcome doesn’t solve a major issue at hand: the Bay Area’s and California’s housing affordability crisis. We’ll speak with Harris Mojadedi, a local community organizer and member of the Afghan Coalition, about the status of resettlement efforts here in the Bay Area and what Bay Area residents can do to help.