Category: Editorial
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Affordable Housing Roundtable: Homelessness in America
In the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) 2018 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress1, researchers estimate more than 553,000 people were experiencing homelessness on any given night. Thirty-five percent of which were living unsheltered or in places unfit for safe human habitation. The report cites a decline in homelessness from 2007 to…
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HUD Officials Admit Holding Back Disaster Aid for Puerto Rico
Two HUD officials recently admitted to a House subcommittee that the agency knowingly withheld a funding notice for Puerto Rico disaster aid. HUD was scheduled to publish funding notices for 18 areas affected by natural disasters in recent years, but Puerto Rico’s was the only funding notice that did not get published. The HUD officials…
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Opinion: How will impeachment proceedings affect affordable housing?
The United States government is entering turbulent political times. The House of Representatives has begun a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump. This is only the fourth time it has happened in our history. No matter how it turns out, the impeachment process is disruptive to the normal business of Washington. But certain aspects of…
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Is the Trump Administration preparing homeless sweeps?
On a recent fundraising trip to California, President Trump raised the specter of federal intervention to move homeless people off the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco and other large cities in the state. His comments follow visits by HUD and the Department of Justice (DOJ) officials to assess the homeless situation in California, especially…
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Disparities in disaster aid: an uphill battle for poor and minority renters
Low-income renters suffer the most when disasters strike, and they continue to suffer in the rebuilding process. From the cost of evacuating ahead of disasters, to the frustration of having aid applications denied, low-income renters face many more challenges than households in affluent neighborhoods. Recent moves by the Trump administration have made it even harder…
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Are mobile homes a good affordable housing option?
Mobile homes, or manufactured housing, have long provided shelter to low-income families in the U.S. The quality of these housing units has substantially improved since 1976 when HUD implemented industry manufacturing standards. In the midst of a rental housing crisis, mobile homes may look like a good alternative for low-income renters. But mobile homes can…
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Why do landlords reject vouchers, and what can be done?
For low-income households struggling to pay the rent, receiving a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher can be like winning the lottery. There are not enough vouchers available for all the families that need them, and many families spend years on a waiting list before they receive assistance. Finding an apartment where that voucher can be…
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HUD proposes rolling back protections for homeless LGBTQ persons
HUD recently announced it will propose a new rule to limit Equal Access protections for LGBTQ persons who are homeless. If the rule is implemented, homeless LGBTQ persons could be turned away from shelters because of their gender identity. This action follows on the heels of the administration’s proposal to evict thousands of mixed-immigration status…
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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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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…