Shelterforce

Housing as a Public Good: The State of Social Housing Today, a Shelterforce/NPQ webinar
2025-05-14 14:00 - 15:30 (America/New_York)
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch the video and read the transcript here.

What do we mean by social housing in the United States? How has it worked in the past, and how can and should it be expanded? Join organizers, practitioners, and authors to discuss both how to develop a vision and practical steps to build caring communities that meet everyone’s housing needs.

Panelist bios:

Rev. Rae Chen Huang is a Presbyterian pastor (PCUSA) and Senior Organizer at Housing Now!, a California statewide housing justice coalition. She has over 20 years of experience in community organizing, advocacy, social justice education and interfaith organizing and ministry. She also serves on the board of Creating Justice LA, a non-profit supporting economic justice development with residents in Skid Row. She lives in Los Angeles with her two children.

Jonathan Tarleton is a writer, urban planner, and oral historian. He is the author of Homes for Living: The Fight for Social Housing and a New American Commons. He previously served as the chief researcher on Nonstop Metropolis: A New York City Atlas and as the editor in chief of the online magazine Urban Omnibus. His essays have appeared in Orion, Jacobin, Hell Gate, Dirt, and beyond.

Fernando Martí (he/him) is an Ecuadorian-born community architect, housing activist, writer and artist, based in San Francisco (unceded Ohlone territory). From 2011 to 2022, Fernando was co-director of the Council of Community Housing Organizations, a coalition of community- and faith-based affordable housing developers and housing justice advocates andd was a founding member of the San Francisco Community Land Trust. He is a member of the City of San Francisco Housing Stability Fund Oversight Board and Public Bank Reinvestment Working Group.

Kristen Hackett is a community-based researcher and a community organizer with My Eden Voice, working with community leaders in unincorporated Alameda County, California. In 2024, Kristen completed her dissertation on the contested state of public housing in New York City. Since 2017, she has supported multiple grassroots groups led by neighbors living in public housing. This includes serving as a steering and executive committee member of the Justice For All Coalition (JFAC), and a member of the Save Section 9 Coalition.

Moderated by Steve Dubb from NPQ and Miriam Axel-Lute from Shelterforce.

Shelterforce's Conference
2025-04-28 18:00 - 2025-04-29 17:00
A Legacy of Impact, A Future of Possibilities

About the conference

For 50 years, Shelterforce has been at the forefront of affordable housing and community development, championing stories of resilience, innovation, and advocacy that have helped shape communities across the nation. In honor of our five decades of work, we hosted our first-ever housing conference in Newark, NJ.

The two-day conference brought together people who are working in the community development and affordable housing fields, and also commemorate Shelterforce’s 50th anniversary. Watch some snippets from the conference below:

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Akilah Watkins was our morning keynote speaker. Watkins is the president and CEO of Independent Sector, a national organization uniting nonprofits, foundations, and corporate giving programs to strengthen civil society. A veteran community development leader, Watkins previously led the Center for Community Progress, and she’s held executive positions with NeighborWorks America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Diane Yentel was our afternoon keynote speaker. Yentel is the president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN). She is a nationally renowned nonprofit leader, with nearly 30 years’ experience working for, with, and in support of the sector. Prior to joining NCN, Yentel led the National Low Income Housing Coalition, serving as president and CEO for 9 years.

See the full agenda.

Editorial services

At the conference, we officially launched our editorial services offerings, bringing our combined expertise in the field and our editing skill set to organizations and researchers producing reports and other written content. Learn more here.

partner with us

As we look to the future, one of Shelterforce’s key pillars is partnership. Whether you’re a community based organization, tenant organizer, or a media outlet, we’re eager to explore how we can collaborate.

Are you looking to amplify important issues through trusted journalism? Let’s talk about ways Shelterforce’s reporting can support your mission—through newsletter inserts, reprints, co-publishing, or co-exploring topics that matter to your audience.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to expand the reach and impact of housing justice reporting, we’d love to connect.

Let’s build something powerful—together.

Endowment Fund

As part of honoring our 50th anniversary, we are proud to announce the launch of the Shelterforce Endowment Fund. This initiative is designed to ensure the sustainability of our mission and the ability to continue our vital work for years to come. By contributing to our endowment fund, you are investing in a legacy of powerful journalism and advocacy for housing equity and community development.

To contribute to the Shelterforce Endowment Fund, please contact Shelterforce’s CEO and publisher, Schlonn Hawkins at schlonn@shelterforce.org.

Together, we can shape a stronger, more equitable future!

Thanks to our sponsors

Fixing the Housing Crisis, Beyond Supply
2024-11-20 14:00 - 15:00 | Zoom
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch Fixing the Housing Crisis Beyond Supply, a Webinar

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Shelterforce’s Miriam Axel-Lute will moderate a discussion that will delve into the root causes of the housing crisis and examine a range of potential solutions that go beyond merely adding supply. From policy reforms and zoning changes to establishing community land trusts, affordable housing development, and tenant protections, the conversation will explore various approaches that can help address this urgent problem.

Speakers include:

Julia Duranti-Martínez, senior program officer at LISC

Roshan Abraham, Next City‘s housing correspondent

Candice Turner, director of homeownership at the Maggie Walker Community Land Trust

Liz Ryan Murray, director of strategic campaigns at Metropolitan Equity

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: What It Is, How It Will Work, and How Communities Can Truly Benefit
2024-11-13 13:00 - 14:30 | Zoom
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund: What It Is, How It Will Work, and How Communities Can Truly Benefit.

Americans are struggling more than ever to find and maintain housing they can afford. The climate crisis is only making things worse. Amongst various possible solutions, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund arose as a main contender, with $27 billion for communities to address climate change. It’s an unprecedented amount of money that’s expected to deliver climate assistance across the country to communities that need it most, no matter the predominant politics of a given region.
On Wednesday, Nov. 13, join Shelterforce’s Lara Heard as she hosts a conversation about the fund—what it is, how it can truly benefit low-income communities, and what groups have been doing with some of the funding so far.
Speakers include:
Erica L. King, senior vice president of economic development and lending at the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs. The alliance is part of the Justice Climate Fund, which was awarded one of the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator awards under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Krista Egger, vice president of Building Resilient Futures at Enterprise Community Partners. Enterprise is part of Power Forward Communities, a coalition of organizations that was awarded a National Communities Investment Fund award under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Mary Scott Balys, vice president for public policy at Opportunity Finance Network (OFN). OFN was awarded a Clean Communities Investment Accelerator award as part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.
Don’t miss out—register today!

How Policy Can Help Tenants Purchase Their Homes
2024-06-20 14:00 - 15:30 | Zoom
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch How Policy Can Help Tenants Purchase Their Homes.
In a growing number of cities across the United States, housing advocates are getting laws passed that give tenants the ability to purchase, either directly or through a nonprofit, their own apartments. Increasingly, these policies are emerging as a powerful anti-displacement strategy. But these policies are hard won, and not always easy to implement. Even in cities where tenants have established this ability in law often have to stave off efforts to dial back these legislative gains.
In this 90-minute webinar, cosponsored and co-moderated by NonProfit Quarterly and Shelterforce, a panel of folks who have been reporting on, fighting for, and using these policies will offer their perspectives on this powerful tool.
The moderators for this webinar are NPQ economic justice senior editor Steve Dubb and Shelterforce editor in chief Miriam Axel-Lute. Miriam has been an analyst of housing justice and community development issues for over 25 years. Steve has worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades and has been both a student and practitioner in the field of community economic development.
Speakers include:

Roshan Abraham, a journalist who has written widely on housing issues both for Next City and Shelterforce. He is based in the Queens borough of New York City.
José García, an associate director of preservation at the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) in San Francisco.
Tram Hoang, a senior associate at PolicyLink, where she focuses on housing policy work. She also led a successful rent stabilization campaign in St. Paul, MN in 2021.
Elin Zurbrigg, a co-executive director of Mi Casa, a housing advocacy and community development nonprofit based in Washington, DC.

Community Voices Forum
2024-05-29 15:00 - 16:30
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. We’ll be hosting more events like this in the future. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to be the first to know about our upcoming events and webinars.
In May, we hosted our first Community Voices Forum, a town hall aimed at bringing together housing journalists, community development volunteers, unhoused service providers, public housing agencies, and more.
Joining us was LindoYes, is a Philadelphia-based dyslexic spoken word poet. He has been featured in several publications including Philly Weekly, MetroPhilly Philadelphia Inquirer, Button Poetry, Voices in Power and Def Poetry Jam.

Her Story, Her Power
2024-03-27 15:00 - 16:00 | Zoom
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch “Her Story, Her Power”.

“Her Story, Her Power,” is part of our Women of Color on the Front Lines series. This discussion featured five extraordinary women from diverse backgrounds who shared their unique journeys into community building.
Panelists included:

Chelsie Evans, Executive Director, Hawaiian Community Assets, Honolulu, Hawaii
Deletta Dean, Vice President, Midwest Region at NeighborWorks America, Kansas City, Missouri
Wendy Santamaria, Community Organizer, Santa Barbara, California
Agnetha Jaime Gloshay, Managing Director of Impact Investments, Common Futures, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Maggie J. Parker, Managing Partner and Founder, Innovan Neighborhoods, Dallas, Texas

LIHTC: Are Little Changes Enough?
2024-03-07 15:00 - 16:30 | Zoom
Editor’s Note: This event has concluded. Watch “LIHTC: Are Little Changes Enough?” here.
