Norwalk to improve living conditions of One-Ways neighborhoods
Amanda Moreno wanted to give back to the One-ways community and help others maintain safe living conditions. (Photo by Vincent Medina)
NORWALK - Amanda Moreno recalls growing up in the Norwalk one-ways with a working-class family that provided for everyone, and like their neighbors, they struggled to maintain their home adequately.
“There wasn’t time for a lot of these families to focus on maintaining their home or ensuring it was safe and even healthy for the family to be living in,” Moreno said. “A leaky roof is very common during the rain and it risks mold.”
She began working for the city and expressed her desire to give back to the one-ways community to the deputy city manager. After becoming the Norwalk senior analyst, the deputy city manager asked Moreno to spearhead the Norwalk One-Ways Neighborhood Rehabilitation Program.
Through a collaboration between Norwalk and the University of California Irvine Graduate Program in Urban Planning, the program aims to provide essential home improvements to community members and create healthier living conditions.
The city council approved the program in July 2022, after $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act was set aside for the project. However, the limited budget means the program may only service the first 60 applicants of the 85 eligible participants.
Once the first 60 applicants are serviced, the program will go through the applicant list on a first-come-first-serve basis, according to Moreno.
Genet Abera moved into the one-ways two years ago, where she takes care of her 73-year-old mother. She is one of the program recipients and expressed the repairs to her home were unattainable without the rehabilitation program.
“When it was raining this year I noticed water was coming through the walls, and I was informed the roof was leaking,” Abera said. “It was very expensive, and I would have struggled a lot to pay for it.”
During the program workshops, applicants listed the repairs needed to their home in order of priority, and the contractors would make the repairs according to the list.
Melissa Hernandez listed her roof as the main priority to repair as well. She moved into the one-ways approximately two years ago with her fiancé and 57-year-old mother.
Her family had just spent $15 thousand repairing their floors from termite damage when they were informed their roof would be sustainable for approximately two more years.
“The program came right on time because we were going to get the roof inspected and figure out how we would raise funds to get it replaced,” Hernandez said. “I did look up an estimate on Angi.com, and it’s anywhere between $10 and $15 thousand.”
As she is still working to pay off her $64 thousand in student loan debt and earn her master’s degree in public health from the University of Southern California, Hernandez said she could not afford to replace her roof.
While Abera and Hernandez were thankful for the program, they expressed their gratitude to Moreno for her leadership and empathy toward the community.
“Amanda has been instrumental in ensuring that everything is flowing, but also being a person that provides validation and reassurance to others,” Hernandez said. “Somehow she perseveres and manages all this with a smile on her face and a positive attitude.”
The projects are expected to start in August as the city has finished pre-qualifying multiple contractors, according to Norwalk communications and public affairs director Levy Sun.