Author: Chris Holden
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Rural renters face growing rent burden
When we think of people paying too much for their rent, we think of big, booming cities like San Francisco or Washington, DC. But a new analysis by Stateline shows that a large portion of rural renters are facing severe housing cost burdens. Although rents are generally lower in rural areas around the country, stagnant…
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Significant difference in HUD funding between House and Trump FY 2020 budgets
In contrast to the severe cuts proposed by the Trump administration, affordable housing programs would get a tremendous boost of funding in Fiscal Year 2020 under the spending bill just released by the House Appropriations Committee. The subcommittee that sets funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) proposes $13.4 billion more for…
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HUD immigrant ban would raise program costs and put 55,000 children at risk of homelessness
Raised program costs and 55,000 children facing homelessness are some of HUD’s expected results of a proposed rule that would deny all housing assistance to “mixed families” with at least one undocumented household member. HUD’s proposal, which was published last week in the Federal Register for public comment, applies to the Public Housing and Section…
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Nation’s largest affordable LGBT senior community opening in NYC
A new community being built in New York City named Ingersoll Senior Residences (ISR) will be the largest affordable LGBT senior housing development in the country when it opens this summer. LGBT seniors face the same issues as many other seniors, such as limited mobility, growing health needs and fixed incomes. In addition, LGBT seniors…
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Circuit Court ruling protects homeless sleeping in public
A federal court has ruled that local governments in nine western U.S. states cannot arrest people for sleeping on sidewalks or camping in public places. Last month, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower federal court ruling that says penalizing someone for sleeping in public violates the 8th Amendment’s ban on cruel…
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Federal court overturns gun bans in Public Housing
A federal District Court judge recently ruled that banning the lawful possession of firearms by Public Housing residents is unconstitutional. In a case brought against the East St. Louis Housing Authority (ESLHA), a Public Housing resident claimed that ESLHA’s restriction against tenants having firearms in their units violated her Second Amendment rights. The case was…
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HUD proposal would ban undocumented immigrants from housing
The Trump administration proposed a rule this week that would prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving HUD housing assistance. Reportedly affecting about 25,000 households, this is the administration’s latest attempt to close off safety net benefits from immigrants; both documented and undocumented. As reported in The New York Times, the proposal would overturn what the Trump…
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Spotlight on current homelessness issues in America
Two recent efforts highlight the growth of homelessness in America, and the important efforts being made to combat this problem. A February report found that the growth rate of student homelessness in rural areas is almost four times greater than the national increase of all homeless students in the U.S. And in light of the…
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Princeton publishes first eviction database in the US
America is experiencing an affordable housing crisis as more families have trouble paying rising rents. The dark side of this crisis is an epidemic of evictions. Last year, Princeton University published the first database of evictions in the U.S. This data is intended to be used to discover new information, raise awareness, and help find…
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California Lawmakers Move to Strike Down Constitutional NIMBY Provision
California has a reputation as a progressive state, but its constitution makes it harder to build new affordable housing than in any other state in the country. In December of last year, California lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal that legislation; which if passed, would go to a public vote in 2020. The California Constitution’s…