We *Can* Build Our Way Out of This Problem

In This Issue: Shared-Equity Homeownership With No Public Subsidy ● A Bad Mix—Utility Shut-Offs and Chronic Illnesses ● We *Can* Build Our Way Out of This Problem ● Despite Win Against Landlord, Tenants Still Face Eviction ● Also: Jobs ● Shelter Shorts ● Industry News +

Tuesday, July 17, 2018 In This Issue: Shared-Equity Homeownership With No Public Subsidy ● A Bad Mix: Utility Shut-Offs and Chronic Illnesses ● We *Can* Build Our Way Out of This Problem ● Despite Win Against Landlord, Tenants Still Face Eviction ● Also: Jobs ● Shelter Shorts ● Industry News + We Can Totally Build Our Way Out of This Problem Michael Buonocore, Home Forward For well over a decade, I’ve heard people I admire and respect say, “We can’t build our way out of this problem,” referring to the national affordable housing shortage or the homelessness crisis. At some point, I realized I didn’t know why people were using this phrase, so I decided to make a list of possible translations and my own handy response to each. Read Full Article Shared-Equity Homeownership With No Public Subsidy Marie-Sophie Banville, Vivacité - Société immobilière solidaire In Quebec, a nonprofit organization has worked with impact investors to design a shared-equity program that requires little to no public subsidy, by cross-subsidizing developments in different kinds of markets. Read Full Article Shelter Shorts—the Week in Community Development Shelterforce Staff DOJ Rescinds Guidance on Discrimination | Community-based Payday Lending | How Much Density Will Support Good Transit? | Are Cashless Businesses Discriminatory? | More . . . Quick Takes From Our Editors Looking for a Job? Scroll Down... A Bad Mix: Utility Shut-Offs and Chronic Illnesses Rachel Blake, Regional Housing Legal Services In most states, a household can avoid or delay termination of its utility service due to overdue balances if the shut-off would significantly impact their health. But the process isn’t as simple as it may seem. Read Full Article Despite Win Against Landlord, Tenants Still Face Eviction Timothy Brown, Inquilinxs Unidxs of the North Side North Minneapolis residents fight to take control of their buildings after a city administrator finds their homes to be uninhabitable. Read Full Article Sign up for Shelterforce Weekly! Industry News NeighborWorks America Names Marietta Rodriguez as President and CEO | Rodriguez has been with the organization for 20 years and previously served as interim senior vice president of national initiatives. She will replace Jeffrey Bryson, who has been with the organization for 31 years. The US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty has wound down after two years, as intended. The materials it generated will remain available at mobilitypartnership.org. Events Thursday, July 26, 3 p.m. EDT | Connecting Communities, Opportunity Zones: Understanding the Potential | Connecting Communities, sponsored by the Federal Reserve System, offers this free webinar about the new Opportunity Zones tax incentive, which aims to drive long-term equity capital to distressed communities by providing tax benefits. Speakers will highlight emerging national and local strategies to engage residents around how these funds are deployed in their communities. Wednesday, Aug. 1 | Healthy Homes and Communities Summit in NJ | Registration is open for the Aug. 1 Healthy Homes & Communities Summit, the third in a series of discussions led by the Housing & Community Development Network of NJ with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. This year’s summit will focus on the relationship between health institutions and the community development sector. Harold Simon, Shelterforce publisher, will moderate the opening panel. Help support Shelterforce, the original voice of community development! Subscribe to Shelterforce in print! You Said It! On The Real Limits of Imaginary Lines (The Problem With Census Tracts) This is very smart and creative work. From my 20-plus years working in “distressed” communities, I also think that zooming in even closer to home—well actually, home—is one of the most useful determinants of health and well-being . . . —Peter Rose, more Claiming that census tracts in and of themselves “wipe” residents of distressed communities “off the map” is highly unwarranted. Any tool can be misused. Top-level data are a starting point, not an ending one, and those who say otherwise should be viewed with skepticism . . . —Bryan P. Grady, via Twitter Author reply This piece . . . does not claim that the use of census tracts “wipes” residents off the map—do not misquote my piece by paraphrasing . . . —Ryan Petteway, via Twitter On Controlling Land Collectively: The CLT Ground Lease Reimagined I have seen examples of CLT that do have a mix of community gardens/other uses and housing as part of the development. Madison Community Land Trust and Dudley Neighbors comes to mind. I would be curious to know what they do differently that enables them to incorporate these uses into their development . . . —Clara Cheeves, more On How Should We Measure Housing Affordability? I generally support the 30 percent rule. While it isn’t perfect, it is “relatively” equitable and easy to administer. Some people have higher living costs (medical, child care, student debt, etc.) which make 30 percent more of a burden. Others receive support that is not counted as income–SNAP, Medicaid, tax credits, etc. For them, 30 percent is easier to manage . . . —Jerry Rioux, more On Getting Ahead of Gentrification in the South Side of Columbus (15 Percent for the People) In many cities, tenants are overwhelmingly made to move out despite the fact that they have religiously paid their rent, and more significantly, really have no place better to go. The genius of having donors purchase the foreclosed upon homes in Columbus, and then renting them out at affordable rents has the effect of preserving both housing stock and the neighborhood. Bravo! . . . —Abbott Gorin, more In Case You Missed It Section 8 Allowed The Real Limits of Imaginary Lines (The Problem With Census Tracts) CDCs and Nonprofits Are Indeed Leading Affordable Housing Innovation  Controlling Land Collectively: The CLT Ground Lease Reimagined Getting Ahead of Gentrification in the South Side of Columbus Click here to post a job! Jobs Director of Communications ● Grounded Solutions Network seeks a dynamic individual to join our senior leadership team. Your communication strategies will drive support for our financial sustainability strategy, deepen programmatic impact, and elevate our position as a national leader in long-term affordable housing… Read Full Listing Chief Property Management Officer ● Community Development Partnership seeks a chief property management officer to lead the expansion of our affordable rental homes on the Lower Cape. The CDP nurtures a vibrant Lower Cape Cod region by promoting environmental and economic sustainability, expanding opportunities for… Read Full Listing Senior Program Officer—Economic Development & Lending ● Rural LISC seeks an individual to lead our lending team and oversee the implementation of national and rural economic development strategies, with and through our network of rural CDCs and CDFIs, and key economic development focused team members. Rural LISC is in the top five in lending within... Read Full Listing Program Officer—Lending ● Rural LISC seeks an individual to manage our rural lending opportunities via our network of rural CDCs and CDFIs, and Rural LISC’s Field Program team members. We maintain a diverse portfolio of loans in affordable housing, community facilities, and small business development... Read Full Listing Executive Director ● Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk seeks a dynamic, passionate executive director for this 30-year-old affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. Habitat Suffolk partners with families in our community to help them build strength, stability, and self-reliance through shelter. Our new ED should be committed to... Read Full Listing Executive Director, NCRC Community Development Fund ● NCRC Community Development Fund seeks a new executive director. In addition to managing the CDFI, the ED will guide the Fund’s expanding financing strategy, act as entrepreneurial leader and primary fundraiser, and be our public face at trainings, media events, and conferences of peer organizations... Read Full Listing More Jobs Community Organizer ● NewVue Communities, Fitchburg, Massachusetts Director of Policy and Research ● Center for Community Progress, Washington, D.C. ARCH Executive Manager ● ARCH Housing, City of Bellevue, Washington Editor, Miriam Axel-Lute Managing Editor, Lillian M. Ortiz Associate Editor, Keli A. Tianga Publisher, Harold Simon Assistant Publisher, Terri L. Clegg Made possible by the generous support of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ● Kresge Foundation ● NeighborWorks America ● Kaiser Permanente ● Bank of America Foundation ● JPMorgan Chase Foundation ● John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ● Citi Community Development ● PNC Bank Foundation ● Hyde and Watson Foundation ● Ocwen Financial Corporation ● Valley National Bank ...and with the support of readers like you.