Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Grey Panthers on Affordable Housing

Admiring their strong advocacy efforts in Sacramento on behalf of not just seniors but everyone getting screwed by the system these days, I recently joined the Grey Panthers (ok, I lied and told 'em I was over 50).  Here's an article from their upcoming newsletter that's of interest to Hagsters... - DG
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The Elephant in the Corner....

The press, the airwaves and the internet are full of the very serious mortgage crisis and the rising tide of foreclosures. When it comes to getting keeping a home, the credit crunch is hitting Middle America hard.

But after proper attention goes to predatory lending practices, spiking monthly payments, foreclosures and loss of property, is anyone paying attention to our fellow Americans who don't earn enough to have a mortgage to foreclose?  That's the `elephant' in the room that no one wants to talk about!

The housing crisis goes beyond the battering of Middle America; blue collar America is getting stomped by sky-high rent increases and growing shortages of even remotely affordable apartments. The Center for Housing Policy (go to http://www.nhc.org) lays out the facts:

* The number of working family renters paying more than half of their income for housing has doubled (103%) since 1997.

* This is an even sharper increase than among working family homeowners, who showed a 75% increase.

* The Center for Housing Policy working family households as those with at least one full time job paying at the least minimum wage but no more than 120% of the local average (median) income.

* In all, the number of working families who paid more than half their income for housing and/or lived in severely dilapidated conditions rose from 3,000,000 in 1997 to 5,200,000 in 2005.

* The affordable housing crunch is a national problem, not limited-for instance-to well-known high cost areas such as New York, Boston and San Francisco. Large numbers of working people in places like Denver, Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Indianapolis are also paying more than half of their incomes for housing, and often that housing that is in bad repair and otherwise neglected.

Gray Panthers have always called for policies and programs to address these needs. Our voices have not been heard, particularly at the national level.

It is time try again-this time, it's not only seniors and the very poor who are hurting: more and more, the problem is engulfing the middle class, who are not used to being ignored. We can:

* Start the conversation about affordable housing in our home towns.  Local policies-zoning, redevelopment of rental units into condominiums, etc-affect the ability of teachers, nurses, firefighters, police, technicians, service employees and many other voters to find and keep homes for their families.  They have a reason to work for policies which protect their homes.  We can work together.

* Make sure that local government addresses the whole problem-it's not just the credit crunch.  Helping stressed home OWNERS is not enough; RENTERS must be at the table, too.

* Don't accept the untruth that "nothing can be done."  Point to communities which are grappling with this problem and succeeding.  If our current crop of officeholders can't do anything, find some who can and will.

* Get commitments from local officials to maintain the rental housing stock.  Don't allow condominium conversions unless the renters have somewhere to go in the same area.

* Don't stop with local government. Continue to besiege Congress and the White House and all State officials about affordable housing.  Displaced renters and housing-stressed families should not be the only ones who are unhappy about this situation.

* Enlist allies.  In some areas, communities of faith have taken on the affordable housing issue and have forced politicians to pay attention.  Unions, neighborhood associations and others also have a stake-moral and/or financial-in this fight.

* Be an ally.  Support those who are working for affordable housing by joining in their campaigns.

Peace,

Susan Murany
Executive Director
Gray Panthers