OAKLEY — With the help of an area nonprofit, several families and individuals will get a new lease on life by moving into income-based affordable rental homes meant to help them as they find their footing and become self-sufficient.

Through efforts by the Yellow Roof Foundation, families are expected to move into these homes at the Gonsalves Landing community – named after major contributor Steve Gonsalves – on Teakwood Drive by the end of the year. The nonprofit was founded by Dave and Lori Sanson, owners of Concord-based DeNova Homes. Each of the four rental single-family homes are about 740 to 1,475 square feet, with oneand three-bedroom plans. Each unit also has an accessory dwelling unit to house families.

Yellow Roof worked closely with the city of Oakley to make the homes a reality, purchasing surplus land from the city and partnering with building industry professionals to build them.

Lori Sanson said the average cost to build an affordable housing unit in the Bay Area is almost $700,000, but because of the generosity of the various industry professionals, the homes provided by Yellow Roof were built at under $260,000 per unit. “If you’re in a shelter, what’s your next move?” asked Sanson. “Even affordable housing here in the Bay Area is not truly affordable to some families, so we wanted to serve that missing middle.”

Yellow Roof Foundation program coordinator Jodi Valentine said eight families were identified for the homes through school district liaisons in Oakley, Concord, Pittsburg, and Antioch who know of individuals struggling to provide for their families.

“Most often, our residents are single parents with children, doing their very best they can for love and care for their families,” said Valentine during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

Among the families, Valentine said one consisted of a single mother and her son in elementary school. The pair lived in a local shelter while the mother looked for a job. She is now working as a district support professional, caring for residents at a home in Walnut Creek.

Another family living in Oakley fell into hard times after the husband died a year ago, forcing his wife and three daughters to move into a one-bedroom and one-bathroom residence.

“She has been consistently looking for a place where they have room for all four of them and more space,” said Valentine.

The woman, who works at a storage facility, noticed the affordable houses constructed on Teakwood Drive and contacted Yellow Roof to apply for rental housing.

“Both of these women and others who have applied are hard-working and dedicated parents wanting to find a safe place for their families with good schools for their kids, a place of their own to thrive, a place to call home,” said Valentine.

Sanson said Yellow Roof will work with Habitat for Humanity to provide financial education programs for the families over the next three years to help them get on their feet.

She added that the eight homes, Gonsalves House, Marques House, Benson-Snow House, Marilyn House, Covenant House, Mike & Laurie Rose House, Gutridge House, and Montero House, were named after some of the project’s major contributors.

Sanson said she and her husband were previously members of the HomeAid Northern California board, a nonprofit that helps build and renovate shelter units for homeless families and individuals.

“Philanthropy has always been huge for our family and company,” said Sanson.

Established in 2018, Yellow Roof has helped 19 families through different projects in Clayton and Pittsburg, said Sanson. Moving forward, Yellow Roof is set to start a project on surplus land purchased from the Yolo County Housing Authority in Davis.

“We are also in negotiations with the city of Brentwood,” said Sanson.