Trinity Church NYC’s Post

This article references a number of important stats that show how City of Yes will encourage job growth, expedite affordable housing, and spur future reform. Let’s get City of Yes across the finish line!

Safe Harbor is proud to partner with Our Homes, Our Votes, a nonpartisan project to raise the nation’s dire need for affordable homes and to register, educate, and mobilize more low-income renters and affordable housing advocates to vote. Across the United States, millions of families are struggling to find safe, decent, accessible and affordable homes. There are far too many who cannot afford to keep roofs over their heads and who are spending most of their incomes on rent, leaving them few resources for other necessities such as food, medications, and childcare—and in the worst cases, leaving them homeless. The nation’s affordable housing crisis is one we as a nation choose to allow or overcome. We have the resources to solve and end homelessness and housing poverty in America. Renters, especially low-income renters, are underrepresented among voters. To ensure low-income housing interests are addressed by elected officials, these renters and other low-income people must become engaged in the electoral process. According to a poll commissioned by NLIHC, 82% of respondents believe that the United States should be doing more to prevent homelessness. 74% of people in the U.S. support housing development programs that will build more homes that are affordable for low-income people. Nearly 9 in 10 people in the U.S. say it is important to them personally that their elected officials work to make sure there is enough affordable housing available. Voters want to see action and they want candidates to share their plans to address the crisis: they are asking about housing affordability on the campaign trail all around the country. Safe Harbor of Chester County and other partners of the Our Homes, Our Votes project call on all candidates to address how they would preserve and build more affordable homes, increase rental assistance, prevent families from experiencing evictions, protect renters from discrimination and abuse, and end homelessness and housing poverty in America once and for all. We urge all voters to ask candidates: What would you do to make homes affordable for our nation’s lowest-income people? And we urge all eligible voters to show up at the polls—because housing is built with ballots! NLIHC Poll: https://lnkd.in/e5hbvCxd

Safe Harbor is proud to partner with Our Homes, Our Votes, a nonpartisan project to raise the nation’s dire need for affordable homes and to register, educate, and mobilize more low-income renters and affordable housing advocates to vote. Across the United States, millions of families are struggling to find safe, decent, accessible and affordable homes. There are far too many who cannot afford to keep roofs over their heads and who are spending most of their incomes on rent, leaving them few resources for other necessities such as food, medications, and childcare—and in the worst cases, leaving them homeless. The nation’s affordable housing crisis is one we as a nation choose to allow or overcome. We have the resources to solve and end homelessness and housing poverty in America. Renters, especially low-income renters, are underrepresented among voters. To ensure low-income housing interests are addressed by elected officials, these renters and other low-income people must become engaged in the electoral process. According to a poll commissioned by NLIHC, 82% of respondents believe that the United States should be doing more to prevent homelessness. 74% of people in the U.S. support housing development programs that will build more homes that are affordable for low-income people. Nearly 9 in 10 people in the U.S. say it is important to them personally that their elected officials work to make sure there is enough affordable housing available. Voters want to see action and they want candidates to share their plans to address the crisis: they are asking about housing affordability on the campaign trail all around the country. Safe Harbor of Chester County and other partners of the Our Homes, Our Votes project call on all candidates to address how they would preserve and build more affordable homes, increase rental assistance, prevent families from experiencing evictions, protect renters from discrimination and abuse, and end homelessness and housing poverty in America once and for all. We urge all voters to ask candidates: What would you do to make homes affordable for our nation’s lowest-income people? And we urge all eligible voters to show up at the polls—because housing is built with ballots! NLIHC Poll: https://lnkd.in/e5hbvCxd

Guaranteed-basic-income programs typically support qualifying families or individuals — often those living at or near the poverty line — with regular government payments for a set period. They are a more targeted version of universal-basic-income programs, which give funds to entire populations regardless of their income or other considerations. Dozens of cities and states have toyed with various styles of no-strings-attached cash assistance in recent years. In Baltimore, the Young Families Success Fund gives young mothers $1,000 a month. A program in Oregon gives $1,000 monthly payments to youth living below the poverty line. A senior director at Point Source Youth, a national youth-homelessness nonprofit that helped facilitate the Oregon program, told Business Insider that participants said they used the funds to obtain housing, enroll in school, and purchase cars. Another program in Austin that gave $1,000 monthly payments to low-income families found that participants were "substantially more housing secure" one year into the program than when they enrolled. The report found that participants, on average, said they spent more than half of the payments they received on housing. But despite the apparent success of the programs, some state lawmakers — largely Republicans who say the programs discourage recipients from working — are trying to ban them. One basic-income program in Harris County, Texas — where Houston is located — is under constitutional review by the state's attorney general after a Republican state lawmaker requested a review. The Uplift Harris program is using $20.5 million in COVID-19 relief funds to support $500 monthly payments for low-income families. Republicans in other states have also introduced bans similar to the one proposed in Arizona. In Iowa, GOP state Rep. Steve Holt introduced a bill to ban basic-income programs last month, calling them "socialism on steroids." Another basic-income ban in South Dakota passed through a state Senate committee 8-1 along party lines on February 5 and is now headed to the Arizona Senate. The bill's sponsor, South Dakota GOP Sen. John Wiik, said basic-income programs are a "socialist idea" during a committee meeting on February 5. "Guaranteed-income programs, also known as basic income, undercut the dignity in earning a dollar, and they're a one-way ticket to government dependency," Wiik said in the hearing. #Arizona #Homelessness https://lnkd.in/g3B44A4A

Stop criminalizing homelessness. Stop criminalizing poverty. Support children and families.   Commonsense measures that put money directly in the pockets of families have proven, time and again, to alleviate poverty.   A year-long study conducted by the Denver Basic Income Project provided over 800 unhoused people living with no-strings-attached payments.   The project recently released its year-one findings: 1️⃣ 45% of participants found stable housing. 2️⃣ Shelter stays reduced by half. 3️⃣ Mental health improved for parents with children under 18.   Today, over 100 Universal Basic Income programs like this exist in all 50 states. Unconditional cash assistance programs restore agency to families and help them with basic needs such as rent, food, and clothing. But the benefits of these programs don’t end there. From children’s health to their schooling, they impact children’s well-being, lowering stress for parents and caregivers, and leading to a better quality of life for families. These solutions can help families in crisis or before they hit a crisis point—preventing families from facing homelessness or involvement with the government systems such as the child welfare and legal system.   Click the link to read more about the Denver Basic Income Project’s findings: https://lnkd.in/e8UXJWdg

Takeouts from #Budget2024 Good news - the 10% increase in CRA will catch the max rate up to expected rental increases in 2024 - making temporary homelessness funding permanent in the new federal state housing and homelessness agreement delivers on our hard fought campaign and means no cuts to homelessness funding - giving victim survivors $5K via the extension of the leaving violence payment will deliver much needed flexibility at a critical time, though not be enough for many to secure a tenancy - the use of the existing $1b NHIF fund for youth housing and women and children fleeing violence; and increased amount delivered as grants rather than loans, will mean new homes can be developed for people on the lowest incomes with enormous vulnerability - increasing the focus on homelessness in the housing and homelessness agreement is welcome, but sits within the same total funding envelope. Outcomes on the ground will depend on state funding decisions. Bad news - not increasing JobSeeker and Youth Allowance means private rental continues to be unaffordable to people on income support. More people will lose their homes, and we will struggle to rehouse people once they are homeless. - outside of the NT, there is no new money for First Nations housing - there is no new money for social housing HA release here https://lnkd.in/dAMg3kJP

Oregon is leading the way in addressing youth homelessness with a pioneering program providing $1,000 monthly to young people in need. The initiative has shown promising results, with recipients using the funds for housing, education, and other essential needs. This innovative approach is part of a growing trend in the U.S. to explore guaranteed basic income programs as a means to alleviate poverty and homelessness. #YouthHomelessness #BasicIncome #SocialImpact

🔍 Insights from Homelessness Australia on the Federal Budget Homelessness Australia’s recent review of the Federal Budget highlights critical gaps and the need for more comprehensive solutions to address homelessness and support victim survivors of domestic and family violence. At Biyani House Revesby Women’s Shelter, we see the direct impact of these policy decisions on women and children fleeing violence. Secure and affordable housing is fundamental to providing a safe haven for those escaping dangerous situations. We support Homelessness Australia's call for a bolder vision in housing investment. It’s crucial to close the gap in low-cost rental availability and ensure that every individual and family has a safe place to call home. 🤝 As we work towards creating a safer, supportive environment for those affected by domestic and family violence, we look forward to working with all levels of government to ensure our projects are adequately funded and can truly make a difference in the lives of those seeking refuge and a new start. To support Biyani House as we help women and children escaping family and domestic violence, https://lnkd.in/ge9_Rqfd #DomesticViolenceAwareness #SocialHousing #CommunitySupport #BiyaniHouse #BuildingCommunityTogether

“This session’s housing proposals sought necessary and pragmatic tools including just cause tenant protections, a housing growth fund to support local efforts to create affordable housing, and incentives for towns to rezone areas near transit for more housing, among other strategies. We know the tools we need to create more affordable homes. Now it is essential to take action to use them.” My current piece for CT Insider highlights the urgent shortage of affordable housing in Connecticut: over 90,000 residential units needed for low-income households. This legislative session introduced promising proposals, yet essential funding for homelessness response and rental assistance was not appropriated. As thousands of families continue to struggle with escalating food, child care, and rent costs, it is imperative that we continue advocating for and investing in affordable housing solutions. Read more in my full article here: https://lnkd.in/eVEjdQ6p.

Our call to action this election: Housing needs to be at the centre of the next government's policy offer. Poor housing quality causes homelessness, damages health and reduces opportunities in life. It contributes to carbon emissions and fuel poverty. The Chair of The Housing Forum's Board, Stephen Teagle: "With growing numbers of people homeless and priced out of a home of their own it is not surprising that housing has risen up the political agenda in recent years, and we are encouraged to hear the ambitions of all main parties to increase housebuilding and ensure more affordable homes are built. We urge all the political parties to put together ambitious policy proposals to unblock the planning system and to build capacity amongst housing providers and the wider sector. "We are calling for a Housing Accelerator Fund – this year – to tackle the affordable housing backlog. This would be a £4bn fund to provide 60,000 new affordable rented homes to reduce homelessness by more than half over three years and slash expenditure on temporary accommodation." https://lnkd.in/eyrPBpBw