(left to right) Gustavo Velasquez of Urban Institute, Ernst Valery of SAA | EVI and Nicky Goren of Meyer Foundation discuss the causes and consequences of redlining at HAND’s Annual Meeting & Housing Expo.
On the heels of HAND’s Annual Meeting & Housing Expo, the team under the How Housing Matters Initiative at Urban Institute was inspired to author a piece reflecting on some of the policy changes that would be needed to address issues of housing discrimination and equity. An excerpt from the piece titled, “Rethink Housing and Community Development to Advance Racial Equity and Inclusion” is as follows:
In the US, descriptions of housing affordability challenges and differences in wealth, health, and education need to include a racial equity lens, or the picture is incomplete. Legally authorized and mandated housing discrimination through federal lending and investment policies laid the cornerstone of complex socio-spatial issues that historically segregated communities continue to face. Many of the inequities within and between neighborhoods, particularly in large metropolitan areas, trace their roots to redlining.
Such discriminatory lending practices have left a legacy of disinvestment predominately in black and brown communities. Although the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 sought to undo forced inequalities within neighborhoods by creating strong incentives for positive investment activity, the ramifications of housing segregation and economic exclusion will take additional policy attention to address…
…Meaningful and inclusive community revitalization can break down some of the barriers instituted through disinvestment and discrimination. This can be done through equitable development, but it requires intentional engagement and community input. Community development corporations (CDCs) and community land trusts (CLTs) have facilitated this engagement. While CDCs and CLTs usually have residents on their boards, CDC leadership often does not represent those they serve, which can leave residents feeling disengaged.
At the annual meeting of HAND, a membership organization for housing providers in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC, Ernst Valery, founder and president of EVI Equity, addressed this challenge. He said, “We think so much about renovating the building, we need to also renovate the people.” EVI purchased Essex Village, an apartment complex in Henrico County, Virginia, that was far from providing its residents with a platform for success in life; according to Valery, it has been deemed the county’s worst apartment complex. EVI and the property manager CAPREIT quickly formed a tenants’ association to ensure that Essex Village residents were involved early in the planning process. Residents expressed excitement that the new owners wanted to hear their voices and to collaborate on creating lasting change in the housing development. When tenants are offered a seat at the table, they are eager to get involved, but developers need to provide the space to be heard.
You can read the article in full here.
In January of this year, HAND’s Braintrust Committee volunteered for DC’s 2018 Point in Time (PIT) count. The count is conducted annually by the Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness (TCP), on behalf of the District, in accordance with U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s (HUD) reporting standards to get a sense of the number and demographic characteristics of adults and children experiencing homelessness at a given time.
This year, a total of 6,904 persons experiencing homelessness were counted. This a 7.6 percent decrease from the 2017 count, which was driven by a nearly 21 percent decrease in families experiencing homelessness from year to year.
For more detailed information on the count in the District, please visit http://www.community-partnership.org/facts-and-figures.
TCP conducts its PIT count in conjunction with the neighboring jurisdictions in partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG). MWCOG has also released its report on homelessness in the region, which can be found here. HAND thanks the its Braintrust members for their participation!
Since the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, voter engagement efforts have played a vital role in our democratic process. Unfortunately, both low-income and minority citizens have historically been and remain underrepresented in the electoral process. In fact, only 33% of the low-income population in the U.S. is registered to vote, and of those who are registered to vote, only 40% exercise this right. By encouraging more low-income citizens to register to vote and exercise their right, we can ensure that the voices of all, including our most vulnerable citizens, are reflected in major public policy decisions.
Virginia Housing Alliance (VHA) in partnership with Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), will host a two-part training series on organizing and/or participating in Get Out To Vote (GOTV) drives within low-income housing communities throughout the Commonwealth. The first half of the training will be a one hour webinar on May 8th where participants will be able to learn how to connect with non-partisan organizations to engage in GOTV efforts without endangering 501(c)3 non-profit status. This webinar will serve as a GOTV 101 for all housing and homeless service providers who would like to get their residents and clients registered and actively voting.
The webinar will be followed up with a more in-depth panel discussion on June 14th, 2018 from 9:30am – 11:30am at the Westin Richmond as the Pre-Luncheon Forum at Virginia Housing Alliance’s Annual Awards Luncheon.
The webinar and pre-luncheon panel will include:
Webinar access information will be sent via email upon registration. For more information on this webinar or to register, visit the event webpage here.
The NHP Foundation (NHPF) is pleased to announce that it has appointed Glynna Christian to the NHPF Board of Trustees. As Co-Head of the Global Technology Transactions practice at Orrick, Glynna brings to the Board of Trustees a wealth of commercial and legal knowledge in Mergers & Acquisitions, financings, public offerings, joint ventures and other strategic transactions.
“In addition to experience advising clients in corporate and commercial deals across virtually all operational and strategic areas of their business, Glynna’s expertise in launching new technology and digital products, including blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) bring an exciting new dimension to the affordable housing space,” said NHPF President & CEO Richard F. Burns. “We know Glynna will be a great addition to NHPF’s future endeavors.”
In her role at Orrick, Glynna advises both emerging and established companies, in deal-making across virtually all operational and strategic areas of their businesses. She has more than 20 years’ experience counseling clients on emerging and transformative technology, communications, media and data transactions that are strategic to her clients’ businesses. Glynna earned her J.D. from the University Of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School Of Law, 1994, cum laude, and her B.A.from the University of North Texas, 1990, cum laude. Congratulations, Glynna!
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As mentioned above, providing affordable housing has benefits...January 31, 2017 - 2:43 am by Rick Rybeck
Well, it's there... quality research, good prose and passion......November 23, 2016 - 11:06 am by Van Driessen
Todd brings the right kind of business and finance experience...May 18, 2016 - 10:05 am by Mike
Good ideas, diplomatically stated. Short term ROI infects...February 23, 2016 - 11:21 am by Ralph Bennett
In a few easy steps, you can include the HAND ambassador logo on your website or blog. Start by simply clicking on our logo below, then copy & paste our HTML code into the code of your own site.
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