Six years ago, at a young adult event, I met my beshert, now my husband. Three years ago, I began working as a Jewish communal professional, and today we are raising two boys with the hope that they can be part of the vibrant San Francisco Jewish community that brought us together.
I can relate to all the families in the Feb. 19 cover story, “Squeezed Out: Housing prices gut dream for Jewish middle class.” I propose taking the successful Moishe House model to the next level by creating a co-op housing opportunity for Jewish communal professionals with young children in San Francisco. Here are my reasons:
1. To offset subsidized housing, I would gladly take on more responsibility for organizing and hosting events in which I can participate with my family while growing “the village” for more families looking for community.
2. Co-op living provides experiential learning for our children, teaching them to take leadership roles with their peers, develop empathy and create their own meaningful rituals.
3. Other Jewish professionals I know often will take Friday off to get ready for Shabbat. I would love to share that responsibility with them. Living in a co-op guided by shared Jewish values would enable family units to take turns getting the entire household ready while others are able to work on Friday; that way everyone can enjoy the benefits of a relaxed Shabbat meal with community.
4. I think the co-op lifestyle thrives when its members are open to sharing resources and will actively participate in our homegrown village to share everything from baby gear to cars to babysitting.
5. I feel strongly about living in the same community that I program for. That is why my husband and I have found creative solutions to stay in San Francisco and hope to continue to raise our sons here.
The reason Jewish professionals with young families are in dire need of this kind of solution is that many of us are two-income families, which means a large portion of our income goes directly to child care and/or preschool. We feel defeated in calling San Francisco a permanent home because we can’t start saving for a down payment until our children begin public school.
Wouldn’t it be great to provide an innovative housing solution that can unite young families, enabling them to share resources and Jewish values with the larger community? This would allow them to start saving for a permanent neighborhood address while continuing to build the future generation of Jewish leaders in San Francisco.
is the holiday program manager at the JCC of San Francisco.