Sonoma Valley Housing Stories
These are the stories of people who feel sufficiently secure to speak publicly about their experiences. Many people in Sonoma Valley risk jeopardizing their housing, employment, or personal stability by speaking openly about their circumstances. Even among those featured here, many were only comfortable sharing part of their story or speaking anonymously, illustrating how much of this community depends on housing arrangements that provide stability but little security.
Through portraits of real community members in their homes and workplaces, alongside reflections on housing, belonging, and displacement, this series aims to make visible the deeply personal ways housing shapes daily life in Sonoma Valley, as well as the many resourceful and often invisible ways people create homes and piece together stability in order to be part of this community.
Lauren, Tanner, Isla, and Roman
Local business owners Lauren Feldman and Tanner Walle’s housing story highlights the growing role family support plays in helping younger generations achieve homeownership in Sonoma, and how that support can come full circle over time.
Coral, Rayna, Calla & Shumai
Coral Wang, founder of Maison des Plaisances, and Rayna Basta, founder of Born to Roam Vintage and co-founder of Trove, share how friendship, co-housing, and chosen family have helped them build stability in Sonoma.
Maria and Her Tiny House
Maria Saldaña, Sonoma Valley Commons Housing Programs Manager and long-term housing and farmworker advocate, shares how losing her family's homes during the 2008 housing crisis shaped her understanding of housing and set her on a career path focused on improving housing conditions for families like hers, and embarking on the DIY housing solution she is currently undertaking.
These are the first stories in this series, which will gradually build a holistic picture of how people secure housing and sustain community in Sonoma Valley.