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The Rent-Wage Gap: Perspectives on Housing Affordability
In our current economic landscape, a pressing ethical concern emerges from the widening chasm between escalating rental expenses and stagnant wages. This discrepancy, often disregarded, holds ethical implications for individuals, families, and communities. This essay seeks to illuminate this issue from various standpoints, encompassing perspectives from tenants, landlords, economists, and policymakers. Continue reading
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Building Power through Organizing: An Interview with Maria Hernandez and Marsh Santoro
Maria Hernandez lives in San Diego, California, where she has been part of the statewide Residents United Network (RUN) for 10 years. She now serves as the organization’s steering committee member representing San Diego. Marsh Santoro lives in Fairview, Oregon, and leads the Resident Advisory Committee for her building complex. Marsh is also a member… Continue reading
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5 Ways We Involve Tenants in Our Work
How are tenants involved in NLIHC’s fight for housing justice? A better question is: how are tenants not involved? In our last post, tenant advocate Miracle Fletcher wrote about her experience attending NLIHC’s second annual Collective Retreat at the Resora in Albany, Georgia, last October. Made up of tenant leaders from around the country, the… Continue reading
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Reflections on Four Days at the Resora
By Miracle Fletcher NLIHC convened its second annual Collective Retreat on October 6-9 in Albany, Georgia. This year, NLIHC staff and members of the Collective – a group or tenant leaders from across the nation – returned to the sacred grounds of the Resora on Cypress Pond, a property of New Communities, which was founded… Continue reading
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How to Form a Tenant Group
In our last On the Home Front blog post, we interviewed tenant-advocate Sandra Barksdale about her experience advocating for safe and healthy living conditions for tenants at her apartment complex in Virginia. Among other things, Sandra has focused on establishing tenant groups to propel advocacy efforts. “The most important thing was having resident voices heard,”… Continue reading
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A Tenant Advocate’s Journey: An Interview with Sandra Barksdale
Sandra Barksdale is a long-time resident of Reston, Virginia. She has been advocating for safe and healthy living conditions for tenants at the Bowman Towne Court apartment complex in Reston since 2019. She has advocated for repairs and maintenance throughout the complex amidst calls by local politicians, developers, and community groups to tear down Bowman… Continue reading
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Updated Database, New Report Hold Key Information for State and Local Affordable Housing Programs
With support from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), NLIHC has released an update to the Rental Housing Programs Database (RHPD) and an accompanying report to give policymakers, researchers, and housing advocates greater insight into the growing number of state and local programs that promote affordable housing. The new resources are available here.… Continue reading
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“Like Trying to Find a Needle in a Haystack”: Advocating for Fair and Accessible Housing with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
R.S. Hurley is an advocate in California who is disabled with the environmental illness (EI) multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). As a Section 8 voucher holder, she has spent decades working to secure her own reasonable accommodations for accessible/medically safe housing and to support hundreds of other renters living with EI. Ms. Hurley is the author… Continue reading
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Four Easy Ways to Communicate with Your Elected Officials
In a recent blog post, we heard from CJ O’Hara, a Chicago-based advocate with lived experience, about resources and other ideas for those getting started in affordable housing advocacy. In particular, CJ mentions the importance of ensuring your voice is heard by communicating directly with members of Congress. But doing so can seem a little… Continue reading
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Bipartisan Housing Bills in the 118th Congress
The 118th Congress kicked off on January 3, 2023, with Republicans in charge of the U.S. House of Representatives and Democrats in control of the Senate. A divided Congress may pose a challenge for passing effective solutions to homelessness, but advocates should not lose hope. NLIHC will continue to advocate for the bold policy goals… Continue reading
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“Information is key”: Advice for Advocates from CJ O’Hara
CJ O’Hara is a homeless and housing advocate based in Chicago. In 2014, CJ became homeless. While trying to find a place to stay, he learned about the programs designed to help people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, as well as the barriers that exist in some of these programs. In 2015, he began his… Continue reading
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NLIHC’s Tenant Leader Cohort Visits the White House
By David Foster, NLIHC, based on interviews with tenants and tenant leaders Members of NLIHC’s Tenant Leader Cohort – alongside other people with lived expertise, legal aid providers, advocates, and researchers – attended a meeting focused on tenant protections at the White House on November 14, 2022. The Cohort and NLIHC President and CEO Diane… Continue reading
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Tenant Organizing and Advocacy Efforts
In our last blog post, tenant organizer Linda Soderstrom explained how she and 36 other tenants at her Minnesota housing complex fought back against an attempt by a new owner to evict tenants who were recipients of Section 8 vouchers. Soderstrom writes that her tenant group “stood up for the 2,500 of us and alleged… Continue reading
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Crossroads at Penn: We Can Do Better Than This
By Linda Soderstrom, NLIHC Tenant Leaders Cohort Memberllsod.lindalee@gmail.com507.932.9908 In 2015, on a beautiful fall day, written notices were given under the kitchen doors of 698 units in a single afternoon. The notices said that no more county rehab programming or Section 8 housing choice vouchers would be accepted at Crossroads at Penn, located in a… Continue reading
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Expanding Access to Housing for People with Disabilities through Universal Design
In our last post, we heard from Claudia Swaney, a disability and housing rights activist from Michigan. As Claudia explains, almost half of all extremely low-income renter households in Michigan are headed by seniors or people with disabilities, but the state lacks the units necessary to provide affordable housing for them. What’s more, the units… Continue reading
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“They are building luxury apartments and condos, not low-income housing.”
Claudia Swaney is a disability rights and housing justice advocate in Michigan. She has personally faced the impact of rising rents. As Claudia explains, “I have moved a lot due to high rents, and renovations have increased my rent from $185 to $205 this year alone. My voucher amount is still the same.” Claudia has… Continue reading
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Section 8 Housing
In our last blog post, Yvonne Farrell, a very low-income tenant and senior living in Washington D.C., wrote about her experiences facing housing instability. Yvonne explained that she gets “more run-around and rejection than rent assistance” but she believes that “HUD, with the current focus on eviction prevention, is going to come up with a… Continue reading
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May is Affordable Housing Month!
The month of May is National Affordable Housing Month! This year, NLIHC is celebrating the occasion by highlighting the history of affordable housing in the United States. The shelter provided by housing is one of humanity’s most basic needs for survival, yet due to social, economic, and political challenges, many people struggle to obtain and… Continue reading
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Fair Housing and Its History
The “Fair Housing Act of 1968” (FHA) was signed into law on April 11, 1968, by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Meant to complement the “Civil Rights Act of 1964,” the FHA prohibits discrimination in the sale, renting, or financing of property and mortgages based on race, religion, national origin, or sex. The FHA was the… Continue reading
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$25 Billion in Rental Assistance and Eviction Moratorium Extension Can Provide Immediate Assistance to Renters
by NLIHC Research Team Congress is currently negotiating a bipartisan COVID-19 relief package that includes $25 billion in rent relief through the U.S. Treasury Department, funding critical to state and local emergency rental assistance programs, and a one-month extension of the federal eviction moratorium. Federal resources have played a significant role in state and local… Continue reading
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Estimating Hurricane Laura’s Possible Impact on the Lowest-Income Renters
On August 27, Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 storm in southern Louisiana, near the Texas border, as one of the most powerful to hit that area of the Gulf Coast in years. While we still wait for a final assessment of the full damage, we know that low-income households will likely shoulder… Continue reading
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Household Pulse Survey Shows Continuing Struggle Among Lowest-Income Renters
The Census Bureau released the first wave of results from Phase 2 of their Household Pulse Survey on September 9, and the responses reveal that many renters continue to struggle to afford their housing. Continue reading
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Fixing America’s Broken Disaster Recovery System
America’s disaster recovery system is broken for the lowest income households. Members of the Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) & partnering organizations across the country who have endured numerous disasters, re-imagined what recommendations are needed to secure a just recovery system. Continue reading
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Let’s Talk Housing Wage: Understanding ‘Out of Reach’ 2020
NLIHC published this year’s Out of Reach: The High Cost of Housing report in mid-July. Out of Reach estimates a Housing Wage, the hourly wage a full-time worker must earn to afford modest rental home. Here we provide detailed responses to some FAQs to help readers better understand the report and the need for long-term… Continue reading
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COVID-19 Housing and Homelessness Updates
The Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition is leading on daily updates and resources for people experiencing homelessness, low-income renters and homeless shelter providers. Continue reading
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Looming Rise in Family Homelessness will Harm Child Health
A new commentary from pediatricians provide further evidence that housing is healthcare. Without significant federal intervention, the COVID-19 housing crisis will leave children without a home. Continue reading
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The Next COVID-19 Relief Package Must Meet this Perilous Moment, Not Pinch Pennies
By: Mike Koprowski, Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) Campaign Director| July 16, 2020 Which of the following statements do you agree with more, even if it is not exactly how you feel? Statement A: “Because we are in a time of national crisis, our most important priority right now needs to be the health and… Continue reading
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Rental Assistance is Needed to Keep Families Stably Housed
Even before the pandemic, the United States faced an affordable housing crisis. More than seven million extremely low-income renter households were severely housing cost-burdened, spending more than half of their income on rent. The economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic will exacerbate housing instability, particularly for people of color who are disproportionately represented among people… Continue reading
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#HousingIsInfrastructure
Policymakers from both sides of the aisle understand that a significant investment in infrastructure should be a top priority. An infrastructure package provides a unique opportunity to address one of the most critical issues facing extremely low-income families today – the lack of decent, accessible, and affordable housing. Continue reading
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Frequently Asked Questions: COVID-19 and Racial Equity
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionally afflicts people of color and illustrates in stark relief the historical and systemic racism and discrimination that puts them at risk. Our national response to COVID-19 must, as a moral imperative and a healthcare necessity, address systemic inequities, discrimination, and racism. Never has it been more important to identify policies and… Continue reading
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Frequently Asked Questions: Eligibility for Assistance Based on Immigration Status
Congress has passed the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act” as a response to providing financial support for individuals with the greatest need among the coronavirus outbreak. Through a series of programs, the CARES Act has assisted hundreds of extremely low-income renters. These programs that are intended to assist some of the communities… Continue reading
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Frequently Asked Questions: Renters’ Rights
Rent is still due and renters are desperate for resources, guidance, and support to help them make it through the next several months. As a renter, here’s what you need to know about your rights. Continue reading
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Frequently Asked Questions: Economic Impact Payments
The Economic Impact Payments was authorized through the CARES Act as a one-time direct payment from the federal government. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading
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Frequently Asked Questions: Unemployment Insurance
The temporary increase in unemployment insurance benefits is ultimately not sufficient on its own to ensure stable housing for the lowest-income renters. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading
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52 Organizations in 27 States will Receive Over $3 Million to Help Support Homeless Communities
NLIHC will regrant $3,500,000 to 52 organizations in 27 states. The funds are supporting efforts to keep highly vulnerable homeless communities safer by decompressing shelters to implement social distancing and reduce outbreaks and moving people experiencing homelessness into hotels or apartments. Continue reading
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Shelter Closings Due to Lack of Resources to Keep the Doors Open or to Safely Operate
The Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition is leading on daily updates and resources for people experiencing homelessness, low-income renters and homeless shelter providers. Continue reading
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The Dire State of Latino Housing (and How to Deal with It)
Latinos lack access to affordable housing. But policies and practices are emerging to create affordable housing and keep renters in their homes, which can boost Latino health equity. Read about new research on Latino housing from Salud America! Continue reading
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From Activism to Elected Office: Supervisor Dean Preston and the Movement for Tenants’ Rights
This article is adapted from an interview with Dean Preston, founder of Tenants Together and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Dean Preston began his career in the early 2000s as a tenant attorney in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Preston frequently defended tenants who were at risk of eviction because of state… Continue reading