FONTANA, Calif. – Judy Brady can’t stop pinching herself.

At 73 with a litany of health issues, Judy never figured she would have the opportunity to live in a community as “high class” as the Fountains at Sierra in Fontana.

“I was living a very unstable life, and never thought in my wildest dreams I would end up here,” Judy said. “This is my castle. I go out to the patio. I see my pool and the trees, and it is more peaceful here than you can imagine.”

The Fountains at Sierra is a 93-unit Spanish-style community available to seniors 55 and older, and is emblematic of the kind of affordable and senior housing National CORE has developed, built and managed for the past 22 years. One of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable and senior housing, National CORE, as it is known, manages nearly 9,000 units across four states.

“Stories such as Judy’s are why we do what we do,” said Steve PonTell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based National CORE. “We believe, and have shown, that transforming lives transforms communities, and we’re appreciative for the opportunity to serve Judy and others who just want the opportunity to live in a home they’re proud of.”

For every success story, however, there are hundreds – even thousands – of others that end up not so well. Southern California alone is 600,000 housing units short of meeting demand – a situation PonTell describes as a ticking time bomb.

“We’ve ignored the housing shortage for way too long, and for seniors and those living in poverty, the problem has never required greater attention,” PonTell said.
Judy Brady is just happy to be among the fortunate ones. Within a few months of applying for a unit at the Fountains, she was approved and moved in last summer.

“I was flabbergasted,” she said. “If you would have told me I’d be here so quickly, I’d have said you were crazy.”

A 60-year-resident of Fontana, she sees the Fountains as part of a bigger community transformation.

“I’ve seen what’s around here, and this is the class of Fontana,” Judy said. “I can’t even begin to describe how happy I am.”

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About National CORE

National CORE, based in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit developers of affordable housing. CORE manages nearly 9,000 affordable, senior and market-rate units in California, Arkansas, Texas and Florida. Over the past two decades, its Hope through Housing subsidiary has provided more than 2 million hours in supportive services to enhance quality of life, including preschool, afterschool, senior wellness and upward mobility programs. For more information on both organizations, please visit www.nationalcore.org or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nationalcore.

Contact: Steve Lambert, The 20/20 Network
(909) 841-7527/ [email protected]