Budget and Appropriations
Final Debt Ceiling Agreement Could Harm Renters and People Experiencing Homelessness! Your Advocacy Is Needed!
President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released on May 28 the legislative text of an agreement on to lift the debt ceiling in exchange for essentially a two-year freeze on spending for some domestic programs and increased work requirements for certain recipients of food and cash assistance programs, among other things.
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NLIHC and National Women’s Law Center Release Factsheet on Impact of Rental Assistance Cuts on Women, Families, and LGBTQ+ People
NLIHC and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a factsheet on May 25 highlighting the impacts of cuts to federal rental assistance programs on women, families, and LGBTQ+ people.
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HoUSed Campaign for Universal, Stable, Affordable Homes
Recap of May 22 National HoUSed Campaign Call
In the most recent (May 22) call for the national HoUSed campaign, we shared an upcoming public comment opportunity involving the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA); heard about urgent threats to HUD’s affordable housing and homelessness programs in the FY24 budget; discussed how public defenders in New York City are responding to the mayor’s call for the increased criminalization of homelessness; received updates from the field; and more.
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Disaster Housing Recovery
Typhoon Mawar Impacts Island of Guam, Strongest Storm to Hit U.S. Territory Since 2002
Typhoon Mawar impacted the Territory of Guam on May 24 local time. The Category 4 storm brought severe wind, torrential rain, and storm surge across the island. While there were no fatalities, the island was left with extensive damage. Authorities are currently working to restore essential utilities for Guam’s roughly 170,000 residents.
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From the Field
Minnesota Enacts $1 Billion Housing Omnibus Bill, Historic Tenants’ Rights Package, and Additional Housing and Homelessness Resources
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a housing omnibus bill on May 15 that marks the state’s largest-ever investment in affordable housing. Four days later, Governor Walz signed SF 2909, which contains the most comprehensive update to Minnesota landlord and tenant law in the state’s history. In total, the state’s 2023 legislative session resulted in $2 billion dedicated to housing and homelessness resources.
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Deadline Extended for Tenant Talk Cover Art Competition!
The deadline for submitting original artwork for our Tenant Talk cover art contest has been extended to June 2! The contest gives artistically inclined advocates a chance to feature their work on the cover of this summer’s edition of Tenant Talk, NLIHC’s biannual newsletter for residents and tenants. Entries should address the theme of the upcoming edition: the role of LGBTQ+ issues in housing and homelessness. The contest’s winner will be awarded $250, and participants must be 18 or older. Submissions can be made here. Please contact outreach@nlihc.org with any questions.
Events
NHLP to Host All-Day Training on Protecting HUD-Assisted Housing and Tenants’ Right to Organize
The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) is partnering with the Practicing Law Institute (PLI) to host an all-day training on the preservation of existing federally assisted housing and the protection of the rights of federally assisted housing tenants to organize. The training will be oriented to practitioners who want to gain a deeper understanding of subsidized housing preservation and learn about tools that support tenant organizing focused on this aim. According to PLI, the training is designed for advocates with limited experience in housing advocacy, but practitioners at all levels will benefit from attending.
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HUD
HUD Announces Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Awards
HUD announced Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) awards for 55 Native American communities. The awards total $95 million and may be used for infrastructure, community facilities, housing rehabilitation, economic development, and other activities that support Native American and Alaska Native families on Indian reservations and in other Indian areas.
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FHEO Establishes Fair Housing Webpage on HUD Exchange
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) has established a Fair Housing and Civil Rights webpage on HUD Exchange. The webpage contains resources and trainings intended to help HUD “program participants” and members of the public understand fair housing and civil rights laws and regulations. “Program participants” are cities, counties, states, and public housing agencies (PHAs) that must follow the affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) rule as proposed (see Memo, 5/1).
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Richard J. Monocchio Sworn In as PIH Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
HUD announced on May 22 the swearing in of Richard J. Monocchio as the principal deputy assistant secretary of the agency’s Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH). In a separate announcement, PIH General Deputy Assistant Secretary Dominque Blom welcomed Mr. Monocchio, remarking that he “brings deep expertise and knowledge of the work of PIH and most importantly, he cares deeply about connecting people to their communities and connecting communities to opportunities. With decades of public service, PDAS Monocchio is passionate about building community around the strengths and needs of residents. Through his leadership, dozens of recreational, educational, and vocational programs have been implemented to serve families and children in assisted housing.”
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Congress
Senator Young (R-IN) and Representative Kilmer (D-WA) Introduce Bipartisan “YIMBY Act”
Senator Todd Young (R-IN) and Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA) introduced the bipartisan “Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act” (S.1688/H.R.3507) in Congress on May 18. The bill would increase transparency and encourage localities to build more affordable housing by requiring Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) recipients to report on and make plans to track discriminatory land-use policies. NLIHC supports the legislation and urges Congress to enact the bill along with investments in affordable housing that would make housing affordable to the lowest-income families.
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Opportunity Starts At Home
Research Reveals Impacts of Housing Mobility Program on Childhood Asthma
New research published by the JAMA Network finds that children with asthma whose families participated in a housing mobility program experienced significant improvements in their symptoms. Housing mobility programs are designed to address structural racism by helping families move to low-poverty neighborhoods. The study followed 123 children enrolled in housing mobility programs, examining their health before and after they moved to a new neighborhood. The study also finds that general measures of stress, as well as measures of social cohesion, neighborhood safety, and urban stress, all improved when families moved. Learn more about the research here.
Research
Report Shows Financial Well-Being Declined in 2022
The Federal Reserve Board released on May 22 a new report, “Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2022,” summarizing findings from the annual Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED). Thirty-five percent of adult respondents reported being worse off financially in 2022 than they were 12 months earlier, an increase from the 20% who in 2021 reported being financially worse off and the highest level in the survey’s 10-year history. The share of respondents who said they would pay cash or a cash equivalent to cover a $400 emergency expense declined from 68% in 2021 to 63% in 2022, with significant differences by race and ethnicity. Eighty-two percent of Asian adults, 71% of white adults, 47% of Hispanic adults, and 43% of Black adults would use cash to pay for an unexpected $400 emergency expense. Adults with children experienced a larger decline than those without children in the share of those using cash to cover such an expense, presumably due to the expiration of the Child Tax Credit at the end of 2021.
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Fact of the Week
Decline in Adults Who Would Cover Emergency Expense with Cash Greater among Parents after Child Tax Credit Expired at End of 2021
Source: Federal Reserve Board (2023). Economic well-being of households in 2022. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved from https://www.federalreserve.gov/consumerscommunities/shed.htm
NLIHC Careers
NLIHC Seeks Director of Operations
NLIHC seeks a director of operations to work closely with the NLIHC vice president of finance and operations and the operations associate to ensure effective and efficient NLIHC operations in support of the Coalition’s mission to achieve racially and socially equitable public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice. The director of operations is responsible for implementing and enhancing the financial, human resources, and administrative processes that will enable the Coalition to effectively fulfill its mission. The director of operations will report to the vice president of finance and operations.
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NLIHC Seeks Operations Associate
NLIHC seeks an operations associate to work closely with the NLIHC director of operations and the vice president of operations and finance to ensure effective and efficient NLIHC operations in support of the Coalition’s mission to achieve racially and socially equitable public policy that ensures people with the lowest incomes have quality homes that are accessible and affordable in communities of their choice. The operations assistant will support the operations team with key functions related to financial management, organizational recordkeeping, mailing, meetings and events, intern hiring, IT support, and other duties as assigned. The operations assistant will report to the director of operations.
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NLIHC in the News
NLIHC in the News for the Week of May 21
The following are some of the news stories to which NLIHC contributed during the week of May 21:
- “Homeless Sweeps on the Rise: More Politicians Opt to Criminalize Homelessness” Invisible People, May 22 at: https://bit.ly/3MHzb18
- “Debt Limit Talks Dim Prospects for Addressing Nation’s Housing Crisis” Route Fifty, May 24 at: https://bit.ly/3WzlDJq
- “State programs trying to build affordable housing face lack of funding” CNHI News Service, May 25 at: https://bit.ly/437dWfQ
NLIHC News
Meredith Abel Joins NLIHC as Research Intern
NLIHC welcomes Meredith Abel as a summer research intern. A city council member in Temple Terrace, Florida, and a graduate student in the master’s program in public administration at the University of South Florida, she is eager to learn about practical ways local governments can apply housing research to better meet the needs of the lowest-income renters. As an NLIHC intern, she will assist with various research projects, including updating the local rental assistance database and assisting with research reports.
NLIHC Welcomes Yingxue Snow Guo as Communications Intern
NLIHC welcomes Yingxue Snow Guo as a summer communications intern. Yingxue is a graduate student in landscape architecture and user experience design and research at the University of Michigan. With five years of graphic design experience and nearly two years of user-centered design experience, she is well-equipped to explore the connections between humans and their environments. As an NLIHC intern, she will help the organization create visualizations of effective housing policies and funding initiatives, with a specific focus on addressing the comprehensive housing needs of marginalized groups with low incomes.
Where to Find Us – May 30
- Maryland Emergency Management Association 2023 Symposium – Ocean City, MD, June 1 (Noah Patton)
- National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Conference – Washington, D.C., June 1 (Brooke Schipporeit)
- Tenants & Neighbors Annual Meeting – Virtual, June 3 (Lindsay Duvall)
- Sinergia NY Housing Advocacy Program - Virtual, June 7 (Lindsay Duvall)
- South Dakota Housing for the Homeless Consortium, Annual Homeless Summit – Pierre, SD, June 13-14 (Diane Yentel and Courtney Cooperman)
- Housing & Community Development Network of New Jersey Legislative Day – Trenton, NJ, June 15 (Lindsay Duvall)
- Supportive Housing Network of New York Conference – New York, NY, June 29 (Diane Yentel)
- 17th Annual KATZ Lecture, Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging – Virtual, July 13 (Diane Yentel)
- A Home for Everyone – Oshkosh, WI, July 19-20 (Courtney Cooperman)
- Virginia Housing Alliance, Annual Awards Lunch – Richmond, VA, July 21 (Diane Yentel)
- Ability Housing, Inc. Annual Summit – Kissimmee, FL, September 12-13 (Diane Yentel)
- Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of New York Annual Conference – Saratoga Springs, NY, September 19 (Lindsay Duvall)
Meredith Abel, Research Intern
Andrew Aurand, Senior Vice President for Research, x245
Sidney Betancourt, Housing Advocacy Organizer, x200
Victoria Bourret, ERASE Senior Project Coordinator x244
Jen Butler, Vice President of Media Relations and Communications, x239
Alayna Calabro, Senior Policy Analyst, x252
Matthew Clarke, Writer/Editor, x207
Courtney Cooperman, Housing Advocacy Organizer, x263
Lindsay Duvall, Senior Organizer for Housing Advocacy, x206
Dan Emmanuel, Senior Research Analyst, x316
Ed Gramlich, Senior Advisor, x314
Sarah Gallagher, Senior Director, ERASE Project, x220
Jordan Goldstein, Communications/Graphic Design Intern
Danita Humphries, Senior Executive Assistant, x226
Nada Hussein, ERASE Project Coordinator, x264
Kim Johnson, Public Policy Manager, x243
Mike Koprowski, OSAH Campaign Director, x317
Kayla Laywell, Housing Policy Analyst, x231
Mayerline Louis-Juste, Senior Communications Specialist, x201
Steve Moore Sanchez, Development Coordinator, x209
Khara Norris, Senior Director of Administration, x242
Noah Patton, Senior Housing Policy Analyst, x227
Mackenzie Pish, Research Analyst
Ikra Rafi, Creative Services Manager, x246
Benja Reilly, Development Specialist, x234
Gabrielle Ross, Housing Advocacy Organizer, x208
Sarah Saadian, Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Field Organizing, x228
Brooke Schipporeit, Manager of Field Organizing x233
Sophie Siebach-Glover, Research Analyst, x205
Lauren Steimle, Web/Graphic Design Specialist, x246
Chantelle Wilkinson, OSAH Campaign Manager, x230
Renee Willis, Senior Vice President for Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, x247
Diane Yentel, President and CEO, x225=
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