A new grant from the state of California will allow housing to be built for farmworkers displaced after the Half Moon Bay shooting, San Mateo County announced.
The Joe Serna, Jr. Farmworker Housing Grant will allow the county to partner with the city of Half Moon Bay to build 28 manufactured housing units.
Those families displaced by the shooting will get priority on 18 of those units, officials say.
“Our farm and ranch workers play an essential role in San Mateo County’s community and economy,” said Iliana Rodriguez, the assistant county executive who led the grant effort said in a statement. “We are happy that the work we have been doing to provide housing stability to farmworkers in our county is being bolstered by the state and the governor.”
7 people died in the Half Moon Bay Shooting in January at two different locations. Five of the seven victims were Asian.
The victims were identified as:
1.Qi Zhong Cheng, age 66, Half Moon Bay
2. Ye Tao Bing, 43, unknown residence
3. Jing Zhi Lu, 64, Half Moon Bay
4. Jose Romero Perez, 38, unknown residence
5. Marciano Martinez Jimenez, 50, Moss Beach
6. Zhi Shen Liu, 73, San Francisco
7. Ai Xiang Zhang, 74, San Francisco
Authorities arrested Chunli Zhao, a 66-year-old Half Moon Bay resident.
In all, California Governor Gavin Newsom is awarding $16 million in grants for state farmworkers in seven areas.
Those areas are: Fresno, Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County, Watsonville in Santa Cruz County Kern in Kern County, Merced in Merced County and Madera in Madera County
“Farmworkers play a vital role in California’s economy and communities; it is an honor to play a part in expanding opportunities for homeownership for them and their families,” said Housing and Community Development Director Gustavo Velasquez. “Today’s awards are a welcome extension of the work HCD does each day to help provide safe, affordable, and reliable housing for the people who endure harsh conditions to put food on our tables and support a vital California industry.”
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