Apple spends $400M to fight California housing crisis
Apple is combating the housing crisis in its backyard
Tech giant Apple announced it is spending $400 million to combat California's housing crisis in 2020 as part of a multiyear $2.5 billion commitment.
Apple is partnering on affordable housing projects and homeowner assistance programs with organizations including the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) and Destination: Home, a public-private partnership in Santa Clara County.
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Apple said its funding will create more than 250 units of affordable housing in the Bay Area surrounding its Cupertino, California, headquarters.
Apple CEO Tim Cook in Austin, Texas, on November 20, 2019. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
"As cities and states have been forced to pause many of their long-term affordable housing investments amidst the current public health crisis, Apple is proud to continue moving forward with our comprehensive plan to combat the housing crisis in California," Kristina Raspe, Apple's vice president for Global Real Estate and Facilities, said in a statement.
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Apple said its support for Destination: Home has helped fund 1,000 units of affordable moving, including 70 units for seniors at risk of homelessness.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 239.59 | +2.26 | +0.95% |
"Apple's contribution could not have come at a more crucial time, as the COVID-19 pandemic has only made our work to end homelessness that much more urgent," Jennifer Loving, Destination: Home’s CEO, said in a statement. "We were able to immediately invest their funding into several new housing developments that will provide a permanent home to vulnerable residents across the region and reinforce our Homelessness Prevention System at a time when we’re seeing an unprecedented number of at-risk families in need."
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Many Californians struggled with homelessness before the pandemic hit. Nearly one third of the nation's homeless people were in California as of January 2019, according to the University of Southern California's Homelessness Policy Research Institute.
Apple's commitments come as consumers' interest in what corporations stand for is growing. Similarly, Amazon got press for partnering with a homeless shelter on its urban Seattle campus.
FOX Business' Susan Li contributed to this report.
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