Affordable Housing: Making a Difference in Your Community

Grant Baxter, our tenant living at the newly purchased Ximeno condominium in Long Beach, made possible by a grant by the County of Los Angeles Housing Authority City of Industry Fund, is enjoying his new activity: cycling. Although he owns a car, Grant decided that cycling rather than driving is a better way to get to his job at Office Depot in downtown Long Beach. His seven-minute ride provides him with daily exercise and saves money for gas. Grant is also pleased that he can have an impact on the environment by riding his bike rather than driving his car and polluting the environment. With the help of a friend from work he purchased a Vintage 1974 Schwinn bike which he refurbished and painted red. Every weekend Grant and a cycling club of over one hundred enthusiastic riders tour the coast by Seal Beach and Long Beach. The club has even taken trips as far as Newport Beach and back. Grant says that this activity has provided him a network of friends as well as an enjoyable, relaxing activity. Since moving to the condominium that he shares with two other tenants with developmental disabilities, Grant says that he is more independent. He keeps in close touch with his family, visiting them weekly. When he sees his sister, they bake a casserole which he takes back home and cooks for the rest of the week. He and his roommates share a three-bedroom, two-bath condominium unit with a common kitchen and living room. Grant is happy to live in a HOPE property where he can live independently, work, and ride his bike daily. Welcome to HOPE, Grant!