For the first time in years, Anakalia isn’t worrying about the rent. As a resident of the newly opened The Iris at San Ysidro, she is enjoying a peace of mind that has long eluded her.

“People don’t understand how important affordable housing is,” Anakalia, 33, said. “Until you have it, you spend all your money on rent and you have nothing left for life’s emergencies.”

Rent has always been a challenge for Anakalia – she’s a health and wellness coach for the San Diego Unified School District and head of a household that includes her 10-year-old son and two ailing grandparents, who grapple with diabetes and heart failure.

Like so many others, she has been buffeted by the rising cost of housing and other living costs.

Learn all about Anakalia’s road to stability here.