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Organizing
Community development relies on policies, resources, and recognition that were won by decades of organizing—and organizing remains essential to face new threats, preserve existing wins, and continue to fight back against the big lie that the way things are is inevitable.
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Supreme Court Considers Landlord Appeal That Could Overturn Tenant Protections
A legal case claiming that COVID-era eviction moratoriums were unconstitutional could spell trouble for tenant protections
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Better Loans, Better Laws: Showing Communities What “Home” Looks Like
For generations, Americans from across the nation, the demographic spectrum and the income strata have strived for homeownership, working from the premise that it is the key to long-term financial […]
Cross-Community Collaboration on NYC’s Municipal ID Program
Lack of identification hurts many different groups in different ways—from the homeless to immigrants, and they all need to be considered in the fight for an alternative.
Are You Hindering Your Organization’s Potential?
Last month I had the pleasure of hearing activist, teacher, and author Angela Davis as she addressed an audience of community organizers and activists in St. Louis. Much of what […]
REO to Rental: Wall Street’s Latest Idea Hurts California Communities
Over the last few years, communities have witnessed the latest iteration of Wall Street predation—the purchase in bulk of distressed single-family mortgages and foreclosed homes (REOs) with the intent to rent them—so called REO to Rental.
Industry and Advocates: To Truly Help Homeowners, Work Together
In recent months, the once very under-the-radar debate about manufactured home financing has gotten much more attention than is typical for the industry. At issue are lending regulations promulgated by […]
We Know Whose Fault Poverty Is–So Why Do Our Terms Blame the Poor?
Shelterforce began, 40 years ago, as a newspaper for tenant organizers. They were legal aid lawyers and similar rabble rousers in small cities in Northern New Jersey, wanting to connect […]
The Puzzle of Turning Vision into Action
Articulating a vision from the hopes and dreams of diverse community members is like piecing together a 250 piece jigsaw puzzle. Translating that vision into action steps in the course […]
Breaking Up the Pipeline to Prison
[Editor's Note: This is our friend and regular Rooflines blogger Laura Barrett's last post as campaign director of Gamaliel. Laura will continue posting to the blog as the new director […]
Reframing Government’s–And Our Own–Role in Affordable Housing
Last Tuesday Scott Brown and Henry Cisneros, who serve on the executive committee of the J. Ronald Terwilliger Foundation for Housing America’s Families, wrote an opinion column for Fox News […]
Black and Brown Tenant Solidarity in Oakland
Last October, Oakland, Calif., passed a Tenant Protection Ordinance. This strong measure defending tenants against the kinds of landlord harassment that often take place in a rapidly appreciating market includes […]
Seizing the Moment to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing
Housing and community development issues do not get the attention they deserve in the national media, but our field is having a moment. Last month, two new studies from Harvard […]
Affordable, But for Whom?
How a box of felt pieces helps organizers help New York communities advocate for their real affordable housing needs