Prevention, Preservation, Production

 

As the cost of renting and the price of home ownership continues to rise all across the country, the issue of affordable housing is gaining attention and has become a top priority for many. The Sanders Institute continues to look at innovative approaches to expand affordable housing, slow gentrification and house the homeless.

I hope you have had the chance to explore some of those ideas in our research and recent videos on Community Land Trusts and Public Housing. Today, we would like you to take the time to look at preservation and specifically, adaptive re-use of existing buildings.

Dr. Jane Sanders recently visited California to see the homelessness problem in Los Angeles firsthand. Jane walked Skid Row and the surrounding neighborhood and witnessed the excellent work that The Healthy Housing Foundation is doing in LA to convert old hotels to affordable single room occupancy units. She met with tenants who until recently were living on the street and heard repeatedly how much of a difference having a place to call home has made in their lives. HHF has demonstrated that the model not only works, but that adaptive re-use can be one of the fastest and most cost effective ways to provide housing to those in need.

Preservation of existing buildings, through adaptive reuse is happening all across the country. We see it in Fresno California where the city chose to spend Covid relief funds to purchase old motels to house those in need. We see it in the work that The Champlain Housing Trust is doing in Vermont, buying land and buildings and converting them to permanent affordable housing. California's Project Homekey is another example of how the work can be done at the state level.

We must continue to push the Federal Government to reinvest in current public housing stock and address the issue of affordable housing nationally. But we should not - we cannot - wait for them to act. The work can be done by your state legislatures and in your cities and towns. If you get involved through your local and state government and by supporting the organizations that are focused on addressing this issue, you can have a significant impact on addressing this basic human need.

Please take a few minutes out of your day to watch our video and read our report on this issue and to learn about the organizations that are providing the solutions.

Sincerely,

David Driscoll
Executive Director
The Sanders Institute

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