Miriam Axel-Lute

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Miriam Axel-Lute is CEO/editor-in-chief of Shelterforce. She lives in Albany, New York, and is a proud small-city aficionado.
exterior of HUD building in Washington, D.C.

Who Should Lead Biden’s HUD?

People in the housing field have strong feelings about many of the candidates under discussion.

Will the Joe Biden Administration Bring Rent Relief?

President-Elect Joe Biden has a substantial housing plan, which clearly draws heavily from the affordable housing and community development fields. The plan is thoughtful...

“Why Would a Hospital Do This?” Shifting Institutional Culture for Health Equity

Hanaa Hamdi is the director of health impact investment strategies and partnerships at New Jersey Community Capital, the state’s largest CDFI. Michellene Davis is...

Policing, Segregation, and Causation vs. Correlation

Racial disparities in police killings increase with segregation. Does this mean segregation causes racialized police violence?

Fair Housing Is Still the Law, Even if Trump Refuses to Enforce It

Repudiating the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing is another example of this administration’s race baiting and disregard for both the spirit and the letter of the law.
A semi-circular dial has a gradation from left to right of red to green, accompanying by 7 faces progressing from angry to smiling

How Do We Change the Narrative Around Housing?

In-depth public opinion research points to ways to intensify support for housing justice policies—and to a few danger spots to avoid.

Racial Equity, Housing, and COVID: A Roundtable

Six regional and state housing advocates discuss the connections between uprisings over racial injustice, the pandemic, and the need for housing security.
Construction of the 1296 Shotwell development looms over the Mission District

The Case for Letting Developers Pay Not Build

The question of integrating affordable housing units required by inclusionary zoning on-site versus allowing developers to pay a fee to locate them off-site has long been a contentious one.
Dozens of young people, mostly Black, gather with Capitol Hill in the background, holding signs that read "Black Lives Matter." Two stand in the middle with arms upraised as if speaking to the crowd.

Community Organizations Have to Talk About Police Violence Directly

It’s easy to quickly refocus the conversation around police violence on the problems our organizations are already set up to fix—here’s why we shouldn’t.
a person hold a #cancelrent sign in spanish.

What Would It Mean to Cancel Rent?

The growing organizing demand raises a host of questions for the affordable housing movement.

Nonprofit Housing Providers Face Down COVID-19

As organizers struggle to get strong eviction moratoriums passed and enforced around the country, there’s one sector where evictions during the pandemic were not...
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who stands at a podium in front of an American flag, has proposed legislation that would cancel rents and individual mortgage payments nationwide to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Ilhan Omar Proposes Bill to Cancel Rent, Mortgage Payments During Pandemic

A bill announced today by Rep. Ilhan Omar would release tenants and homeowners from housing payments until the national emergency is lifted, and would make up the losses to landlords and lenders through a federal fund.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson smiles as his folds his hands in front of his chest.

HUD Urged to Make Tenant Income Adjustments Automatic by April 1

Preventing catastrophe when eviction moratoriums lift requires reducing tenants' rent quickly—which advocates say is fully within HUD's power.
A multicolored tent in house's front yard. A sign on the fence says "Moratorium on foreclosures and evictions" and a sign on the house reads "Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign"

The Many Fronts of COVID-19 Related Housing Needs and Measures

Stable housing is crucial during a pandemic. Front-line providers and local governments are moving to address the impacts, but they need more federal funds
Close up of a typewriter with the word "Regulations" typed out

Business as Usual: Trump Agencies Resist Calls to Suspend Non-Essential Rulemaking

Congressional leaders and community advocates are calling on HUD and financial regulators to suspend non-essential rulemaking. HUD appears to refuse.
The top portion of a police car with sirens. Is harm reduction policing possible?

Harm Reduction Policing?

Shelterforce spoke with 2019 MacArthur fellow Lisa Daugaard about how her work in homelessness set her on her path, and how diversion programs can build political will to increase support for affordable housing and public health.
Westerly Creek development

Pulling the Rug From Under Community Development?

Investments and funding motivated by the Community Reinvestment Act are more foundational to the work of community developers than is often discussed. But if regulations change the incentives for banks, the effects on communities will be dramatic.

Bringing Justice Home

Chances are high that community developers are working in areas and with populations that are being strongly affected by overpolicing and hyper-incarceration. In this issue we take a look at that intersection.
Close-up of the back of a t-shirt that says "Because the rent won't wait."

Not All Rent Regulations Are Created Equal

As we work toward passing rent regulations in cities and states across the country, there’s an important distinction we should be making between two different sets of goals and approaches, and they could line up with some terms that are currently used interchangeably.

Beyond a New Rail Stop

Expanding rail lines shouldn't dominate transportation talk. Making improvements to existing transit can make a big difference for low-income households.