According to a recent survey distributed by the Housing Authority City of Santa Barbara (HACSB), tenants and landlords are interested in becoming better educated on housing priorities and issues unique to our region.

Hot-button topics include tenant rights and responsibilities; resources for rent and mortgage relief during the COVID-19 economic downturn; rental mediation and workforce housing.

To address these and other housing matters, 2nd story will host the third annual Housing Santa Barbara Day, which has been expanded to a five-day virtual event with workshops on Saturday, Oct. 24, Monday, Oct. 26, Tuesday, Oct. 27, Wednesday, Oct. 28, and Thursday Oct. 29.

All workshops are free with online registration; to sign up, visit www.hacsb.org.

“We’re excited that we have been able to expand the number of workshops from three to eight this year,” said Jerry Morales, workshop organizer and HACSB leasing agent. “We will be recording them and making them available for viewing from the HousingSantaBarbara.org website.

“They will also be translated into Spanish with subtitles with the exception of the workshop on resources for undocumented households; that workshop will be held in Spanish and translated with subtitles into English.”

The tentative schedule is:

Oct. 24

· 10 a.m. — Main speaker

· 10:30-11:30 a.m. — Tenant Rights and Responsibilities

· 11:30 am-12:30 p.m. — Resources for Tenants and Landlords for rent and mortgage relief

· 12:30-1:30 p.m.  — Rental Mediation

· 1:30 p.m. — Workforce Housing

Weekday workshops: beginning at 5:30 p.m.

· Oct. 26 — Resources for undocumented households

· Oct. 27 — Accessory Dwelling Units (46.4%) –

· Oct. 28 — Emergency Disaster Preparedness

· Oct. 29 — Home Ownership Programs

October is National Housing America Month, a time when communities throughout the country celebrate local housing efforts and a time to raise awareness for the need for additional affordable housing through education, advocacy, and empowerment.

“This month is also the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara’s 51st year of working to make affordable homes available to low-income families, seniors and disabled individuals through a variety of programs,” said Rob Fredericks, executive director/CEO of the Housing Authority.

“While we have provided help to many, there is much more to be done and this virtual venue brings together our local housing and service providers to raise awareness and highlight the need for more affordable housing across all income ranges,” he said.