California had an affordable housing crisis well before COVID-19. Now the pandemic is having a devastating impact on housing and homelessness. State leaders are continuing work to make a difference. For example, California Gov. Gavin Newsom's 2021-22 State Budget proposal has many short-term investments specifically targeted at housing and homelessness. "The state continues to make progress in addressing the housing availability and affordability crisis that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic," the Governer's Office stated. "In addition to the $500 million for infill infrastructure, the Budget also proposes an additional $500 million in low-income housing tax credits to support low-income housing development. "The Administration is streamlining and reorganizing ...
The prospect of homeownership remains out of reach for many Latinos as incomes fail to keep up with rising property values. The community land trust model is a shared ownership model designed to protect people, neighborhoods, and businesses at risk of gentrification and displacement due to development and the upward pressure of urban land markets. This model can be used for housing, small businesses, agriculture, and community resources. There are roughly 277 community land trusts across the US, many addressing housing instability. Community land trusts could play an important role in supporting economic recovery during and after COVID-19.
Unfair Urban Land Markets Leave Many Families Behind
Property rights in America were not created equal. They have excluded Latinos, ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on housing Millions of Americans face are experiencing new levels of cost burdens. Worse, over half a million people will sleep on the streets any given night, according to a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Still, this is not a new issue. Many U.S. cities were dealing with a homelessness crisis long before this outbreak. In 2018, 33 out of every 10,000 Californian residents were homeless. Now, the escalating pandemic has created a catastrophe threatening thousands of lives. During this pandemic, millions are homeless, and their lives are falling apart. They struggle to stay healthy, to hold jobs, to preserve personal relationships, to maintain a sense of hope.
California in ...
The coronavirus outbreak (COVID19) has sickened many and continues to spread around the world. The pandemic is affecting health equity in many ways, including homelessness, evictions, and affordable housing options. Let’s use #SaludTues on April 14, 2020, to tweetchat about the Coronavirus is affecting housing crisis! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How Coronavirus Is Affecting the Housing Crisis!”
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. EST Tuesday, April, 14, 2020
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: Public Health Maps (@PublicHealthMap), Communicate for Health Justice (@_CFHJ), and the Center for Care Innovations (@CCIVoice)
OPTIONAL HASHTAGS: #COVID19 We’ll open the floor to research, your experiences, stories, and best practices ...
As the fate of the Affordable Care Act currently hangs in the balance and won't be decided until at least 2021, the amount of people with no health insurance coverage continues to rise. Latinos especially lack health coverage, which jeopardizes their health. "Going without coverage can have serious health consequences for the uninsured because they receive less preventive care; and delayed care often results in serious illness or other health problems," according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. "The financial consequences of not having insurance [can also lead] to difficulties paying medical bills and higher rates of medical debt among the uninsured."
What's the Fate of the Affordable Care Act?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, took effect in 2010. The U.S. Supreme ...
Check out these new Spanish-language research materials on the alarming state of Latino housing, transportation, and green space from our team at Salud America! UT Health San Antonio. The new Spanish materials are based on an English research review earlier in 2019. The research found that, sadly, U.S. Latino communities face unaffordable housing, unreliable public transportation, and a lack of green space and parks. This limits Latinos’ access to health-promoting assets─medical care, good schools, healthy food, and physical activity. This also contributes to health inequities. Fortunately, community leaders can adopt dynamic land-use methods, public-private partnerships, and community involvement to build and revitalize Latino neighborhoods. This can create affordable ...
Facebook has announced a $1 billion pledge for grants, loans, and land to address the California housing crisis that it and other tech giants helped create. The $1 billion commitment will be distributed for five projects: $250 million for mixed-income housing on excess state-owned land where housing is scarce.
$225 million in land that Facebook recently purchased in Menlo Park, home of Facebook’s headquarters, where real estate prices have skyrocketed. The plan is for over 1,500 units of mixed-income housing. $150 million to build affordable housing in the San Francisco Bay Area, including housing for the homeless. $25 million to build housing for teachers and essential workers in San Mateo and Santa Clara, enabling them to live near the schools where they work. ...
Access to affordable housing, coupled with residential segregation continues to be problematic for communities across the U.S. While this impacts many communities across the U.S., Latino, and African American communities are especially struck. Recent data goes to show that Latino neighborhoods face more significant risks of experiencing gentrification than other minority groups, according to the Harvard Gazette. The good news is, new solutions are emerging through policy and plans aimed at promoting equity in housing for all. One way current political leaders are trying to do this is through "Opportunity Zone" incentives. The problem? This kind of program can lead to the gentrification of racially segregated communities who face displacement when their home is ...
When it comes to paying the bills, housing costs usually make up the largest portion of an individual or family's budget. Worse, too many Americans spend more than financial experts recommend—over 30% of their monthly budget—on housing. In 2017, 36.9 million experienced this problem. This issue places "cost burdens" on those individuals, make it hard for them to afford other necessities, such as transportation, buy healthy food, and build wealth. This is a problem for minority groups especially, especially Latinos who lack access to cost-effective options throughout the country. Affordable housing access should be considered a human right, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said in a statement in the National Low Income Housing Coalition's (NLIHC) recent report, "Out of ...
