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Connecticut's Halfhearted Battle: Response To Lead Poisoning Epidemic Lacks Urgency

Jenifer Frank

November 23, 2020 |

Connecticut Health Investigative Team |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Cities throughout Connecticut have long struggled to enact a successful response to the statewide lead-poisoning problem, but the city of Bridgeport stands out as a model for how to get results by taking proactive action. Unlike other cities where investigations aren't triggered unless a child tests positive for lead poisoning, officials in Bridgeport focus on regularly conducting building inspections and utilizing Connecticut’s Uniform Relocation Assistance Act.

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Shipping containers in Los Angeles becoming homes for the homeless

Paul Vercammen,

October 18, 2020 |

CNN |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Los Angeles, California

Recycled shipping containers ae providing affordable housing options to families and veterans experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Wraparound services on site help tenants with everything they need to stay housed, such as how to pay rent, access healthcare and find transportation. Container housing has been used in several cities across the country due to the convenience and low construction costs.

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Jumpstart trains developers to fight gentrification in Philly neighborhoods

Courtney Duchene

September 29, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jumpstart Germantown and five spinoff programs trained about 1,000 people in the art of locally controlled neighborhood rehabilitation. The Jumpstart programs target particular neighborhoods, mainly mid-range housing stock with vacant and deteriorating conditions, and lend money to newly minted developers to fix and resell the properties. Housing rehabs maintain the character of neighborhoods, rather than gentrifying them or making wholesale redevelopment changes. Beyond the community improvement benefits, the program helps diversify the real estate business and provides employment opportunities.

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How a Charlotte Nonprofit Links Landlords With People Experiencing Homelessness

Jared Brey

September 15, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

A real estate developer has teamed up with homelessness service organizations to house working families. The Lotus Campaign gives landlords $1,000 a year to rent a unit to a family that is at risk of homelessness or is already experiencing it. Rent is paid by the organization and any damages to the unit are covered. Landlords taking part in the program waive security deposits, credit checks, records of employment, and provide a 30-day window before seeking evictions. The pilot program intends to demonstrate that the private housing sector can alleviate homelessness if given the chance and the incentive.

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Homeownership for Black families in Milwaukee is worse now than 50 years ago. Could a regional approach to affordable housing help?

James E. Causey

August 07, 2020 |

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Minnesota

The Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity provides a comprehensive approach to providing affordable housing in seven counties across Minneapolis and St.Paul. The large area it serves allows families to move into either urban or suburban neighborhoods near schools of their choosing and with greater flexibility to take public transportation, jobs, and extracurricular activities into consideration. Milwaukee's uncoordinated efforts to improve housing for low-income families could benefit from a similar approach.

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0%-interest loan program puts economic power in hands of Detroit homeowners

Kate Roff

August 04, 2020 |

Model D |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Homeowners in Detroit can now access home improvement capital to fix up their historic homes, many of which date back to the early 1900s. The aid is in the form of a zero-interest loan which is paid back over 10 years. The program helps homeowners fix their homes, making them safer while removing blight from the community.

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Want More Housing? Ending Single-Family Zoning Won't Do It.

Emily Hamilton

July 29, 2020 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Houston, Texas

Abolishing single-family zoning rules as an affordable-housing solution has failed in places such as Minneapolis and Oregon because their narrowly drawn reforms left other obstacles in place. Houston serves as an example of effective policies that promote "missing middle" housing – denser developments than detached houses – because it combined its lack of single-family zoning with a reduction in minimum lots sizes. The result is far more affordable housing than in other booming job markets. Lot-size restrictions are among several other rules that can frustrate the desire for more housing.

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The Perks of Roommates With a 50-Year Age Difference

Daniel J McGraw

July 10, 2020 |

Reasons to be Cheerful |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Intergenerational home sharing is a mutually beneficial option for seniors and young people. There are about 60 programs, run by cities, nonprofits, and platforms in the style of Airbnb, that connect seniors and young people for cohabitation. Seniors benefit by being able to stay in their homes, collect income, and have someone to help with social isolation and household chores. Young people benefit from access to affordable housing options in high-cost areas and engaging in rich relationship building. Home sharing services are facing legal challenges and the Covid-19 pandemic made cohabiting more risky.

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Renters are rising up to unionise and take on dodgy landlords

Andrew Kersley

July 09, 2020 |

Wired |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United Kingdom

Renters' unions in the United Kingdom have provided more aide recently because the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated problems facing renters. The Association of Community Organisations for Reform Now is one of the largest renters’ unions in the UK and has been helping members fight illegal evictions and stop landlords from breaking lockdown rules. The group fears a “glut of evictions” when the government lifts restrictions. There are many renters’ unions in the UK, which might dilute their effectiveness, and the combined membership in the thousands is just a small fraction of Britain’s 4.5 million renters.

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This New York Program Is Getting Ahead of Homelessness

Agostino Petroni

July 02, 2020 |

Yes! Magazine |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, New York, New York

A program that aims to help New Yorkers who are at risk of losing their homes has proven effective in keeping people housed. Studies have shown that it is difficult to transition out of homelessness so its goal is to prevent it entirely. The group operates in all five boroughs of NYC and has helped almost 30,000 people on its budget of $53 million. The program provides both cash and services: money for rent, utilities, legal aid to fight evictions and settle landlord disputes, in addition to job training.

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