In this episode of ChangeMakers with Katie Goar, Katie sits down with Sarah Buchanan, Executive Vice President of the San Diego Housing Federation, to talk about the real challenges facing affordable housing in one of the country’s most expensive regions.

Sarah shares how she entered the housing field, what makes San Diego’s housing market so difficult, and why residents now need to earn around $50 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment. She also explains the difference between naturally occurring affordable housing and tax-credit affordable housing, the need for roughly 100,000 more units in San Diego, and the role coalition-building plays in creating real change.

The conversation also explores homelessness, healthcare, hunger, childcare, workforce development, lived experience advocacy, and why self-care matters for people doing mission-driven housing work.

If you care about affordable housing, homelessness prevention, community development, or the future of thriving cities, this conversation offers a grounded look at what it takes to move from crisis to solutions.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to ChangeMakers
00:13 Meet Sarah Buchanan
00:50 Connecting Through the Women’s Affordable Housing Network
02:32 Compassion Fatigue and Self-Care in Housing Work
03:06 Sarah’s Path Into Affordable Housing
05:04 The Reality of San Diego’s Housing Market
05:56 Why Residents Need $50 an Hour for a Two-Bedroom Apartment
06:22 San Diego’s 100,000-Unit Housing Gap
07:31 What the San Diego Housing Federation Does
08:29 Training the Affordable Housing Workforce
10:35 Building Coalitions Around Basic Needs
11:06 Housing, Homelessness, Hunger, Healthcare, and Childcare
12:20 Centering Lived Experience in Advocacy
13:05 Signs of Progress in San Diego
14:40 What People Misunderstand About Affordable Housing
16:44 Why Affordable Housing Projects Are So Complex
18:18 Sarah’s Leadership Approach
19:58 The Big Idea: A One-Stop Housing Database
21:43 How Technology Could Improve Housing Access
22:51 What Drives People in Affordable Housing
24:26 Self-Care, Boundaries, and Compassion Fatigue
26:19 Closing Thoughts