{"id":275312,"date":"2026-01-07T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=275312"},"modified":"2025-12-12T09:57:04","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:57:04","slug":"how-casa-of-oregon-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-affordable-housing-for-farmworkers-and-their-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/how-casa-of-oregon-is-rewriting-the-rules-of-affordable-housing-for-farmworkers-and-their-families\/","title":{"rendered":"How CASA of Oregon Is Rewriting the Rules of Affordable Housing for Farmworkers and Their Families"},"content":{"rendered":"

For 37 years, CASA of Oregon has been helping turn marginalized farmworker families into financially empowered landowners.<\/span><\/p>\n

Founded in 1988, CASA of Oregon began as a development consultant agency working with other nonprofits and housing authorities creating affordable housing for farmworkers and their families across Oregon. The organization now operates four interconnected programs, including affordable housing development, a loan fund, Oregon’s largest Individual Development Account network and its <\/span>Manufactured Housing Cooperative<\/span><\/a> Development Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

Transforming renters into owners<\/b><\/h3>\n

Nearly <\/span>140,000 manufactured homes shelter<\/span><\/a> Oregonians across the state, making it the largest source of unsubsidized affordable housing. However, predatory investors systematically buy up manufactured home parks and exploit residents who can’t afford to leave. And with relocation costs often totaling tens of thousands of dollars, residents have no choice but to absorb the rent increases.<\/span><\/p>\n

CASA of Oregon<\/span><\/a>‘s approach to manufactured housing is much more equity-centered, with residents collectively buying the land beneath their homes, shifting from renters to owners and restoring dignity through collective land ownership.<\/span><\/p>\n

This model is successful because the power dynamic of ownership has shifted to the actual residents in a truly collaborative and empowering way. At the core of these cooperatives are engaged membership bodies made up of residents that make decisions democratically when it comes to appointing board members on an annual basis, voting on their operating budgets and setting their own community rules.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The results have been significant. CASA of Oregon has helped create 28 resident-owned housing cooperatives, with over 1,800 individuals and families calling them home. Farmworker families, seniors on fixed income and low-income residents collectively own a community that they can be proud of.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Farmworkers are essential to all Americans’ ability to access healthy fresh food on a daily basis,” said Lisa Rogers, CASA of Oregon’s deputy director. “Once they have access to affordable housing in a stable community, they can establish roots within the community and find other needed resources, like food, healthcare and stores.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Policy support drives success<\/b><\/h3>\n

Oregon’s policies support this work as well. State laws cap rent increases at 6% annually and give residents first right to buy. State subsidies keep rent increases at just $75 when parks convert to cooperatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The state really gets it,” said Rogers. “They understand this is about keeping people housed.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The financial benefits have been substantial. Home values in resident-owned parks are roughly 25% higher than investor-owned properties because of the stability in rents and the self-determined control of their housing. Lowering costs is a better investment option for the subsidies, giving residents the ability to build equity and create generational wealth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The community building aspect is equally transformative. Residents who once avoided each other now serve on boards together, making decisions and solving problems as neighbors.<\/span><\/p>\n

“One of the unintended benefits is that these folks who lived in these parks before didn’t talk to each other and are now building relationships,” said Rogers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rogers has been at CASA of Oregon for 27 years, driven by one conviction: housing with dignity shouldn’t be revolutionary, but should be viewed as necessary towards creating economically prosperous communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s not a success for us,” she says. “It’s a success for them.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Aba Hammond is a Contributing Writer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Photo courtesy of CASA of Oregon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The organization now operates four interconnected programs, including affordable 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Hammond","author_link":"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/abahamm\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"For 37 years, CASA of Oregon has been helping turn marginalized farmworker families into financially empowered landowners. Founded in 1988, CASA of Oregon began as a development consultant agency working with other nonprofits and housing authorities creating affordable housing for farmworkers and their families across Oregon. The organization now operates four interconnected programs, including affordable…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}