Issue #148

While a Section 8 voucher is a wonderful thing to have, it doesn’t always lead to decent housing. In Birmingham, AL, HUD auditors found that about 88 percent of units […]

Under pressure from local activists, members of the Champaign, IL, city council decided not to repeal protections for tenants with Section 8 vouchers. The council had voted in March to […]

People in Baltimore worried about losing their homes to foreclosure can now call a city hotline to get help. When they dial 311, the city’s one call center, operators will […]

In September Congress passed several reforms to the notorious agency known as FEMA, though it comes far too late for the victims of its pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina bungling. The […]

The median age of San Francisco’s homeless population rose from 37 to 46 from 1990 to 2003, according to a recent study by University of California researchers. The study’s authors […]

Officials in Sacramento, CA, are scrambling to protect the residential hotel units that remain in the city’s downtown for people with very low incomes. In 1960 there were 3,558 of […]

Price Hill Will, a CDC in Cincinnati, agreed to an out-of-court settlement with a group of mortgage appraisers, investors and brokers that allegedly took part in a property flipping scam. […]

A new effort by New York City to fight poverty couples local policy changes with a national legislative agenda. The city will offer cash rewards for families who make strides […]

Promise and Betrayal: Universities and the Battle for Sustainable Urban Neighborhoods, by John I. Gilderbloom and R.L. Mullins Jr. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2005, 228 pp. $24.95 […]

On August 1, 2005, 193 residents at the Barbara Jordan I properties in Providence, Rhode Island, received a letter informing them that the owner did not intend to renew the […]

On Nov. 7, voters around the nation expressed their disdain for the current Congressional leadership. In January, both Houses will change hands. As the exit polls showed, there were many […]

In 2006, housing advocates across the country scored numerous legislative victories in their states. From new funding sources for housing trust funds to improving local tax credit regulations, policies are now in place to promote the production of affordable housing, protect residents from displacement and help low-income workers afford their housing. Here are some of the highlights.

The 110th Congress: What’s in store for housing and community advocates?

Throughout the country, low-income people with mobility disabilities face an unprecedented and growing housing crisis. Accessibility and housing costs rank high among the problems they face. Some live in places […]

With simple design changes and a few added features, an attractive and functional home can be built for people both with or without disabilities.

How can long-standing providers of services for the poor resist gentrifying forces to stay in place?

While the Constitution of the United States ensures citizens many rights, housing is not one of them – although such a right has been advocated for many years. _Shelterforce_ asked Chester Hartman and Rachel G. Bratt (co-editors of A Right To Housing, with Michael E. Stone) to discuss this notion of a “right to housing.” Bratt explains how a right to housing can advance the work of CDCs. Hartman, answering a series of questions, puts it into the context of other rights Americans expect.

The $5.4 billion sale of Manhattan’s last middle-class enclave might have been prevented if there had been progressive policies in place.

Police in Los Angeles are investigating whether a major hospital is dumping homeless patients on the city’s Skid Row. They report having videotaped five recent cases of ambulances dropping off […]

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, many Gulf Coast residents were denied insurance payments because the insurers said that storm damage fell outside policy guidelines. Recently United States Representative Charlie […]

The 110th Congress: What’s in store for housing and community advocates?

The merger of Over-the-Rhine Housing Network and ReSTOC created a transformative opportunity for these two Cincinnati institutions and their neighborhood.

While the Constitution of the United States ensures citizens many rights, housing is not one of them—although such a right has been advocated for many years. Shelterforce asked Chester Hartman and Rachel G. Bratt (co-editors of A Right To Housing, with Michael E. Stone) to discuss this notion of a “right to housing.” Hartman, answering a series of questions, puts it into the context of other rights Americans expect. Bratt explains how a right to housing can advance the work of CDCs.

Housing Trust Funds The Affordable Housing Coalition of South Carolina was instrumental in getting South Carolina legislators to pass budget bills that reinstate $6.5 million to the state’s Housing Trust […]

No Smoking Gun It seems that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson has been heard urging his staff to steer contracts toward people who like President Bush. But since an investigation by […]

Relationships with your constituents are built on respect, trust and communication – qualities realized when you demonstrate that your organization is worthy of supporters’ time, energy and money. As nonprofits […]

For as long as the National Housing Institute has been in existence, the nation’s housing ladder has been in disrepair. In too many communities, there are broken rungs at the […]

It seems that HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson has been heard urging his staff to steer contracts toward people who like President Bush. But since an investigation by HUD’s inspector general […]

Thanks in good part to a change in leadership, the federal Office of Thrift Supervision announced in September that it is reversing its regressive 2005 decision to cut CRA enforcement. […]