Click
here for links to websites for additional
information and programs available.
Legislative Alert: We
had 6,889 people throughout the state become homeless last year, many of them
due to evictions as they were unable to pay their escalating rental costs.
Preventing eviction through landlord/tenant mediation or rental
assistance programs would be a far better strategy to address problems rather
than this harsh package of bills that will jeopardize the lives of Rhode
Islands’ low and moderate income workforce and families. To view the
Coalition's position on these and other bills;
Recent
events have led the coalition to rally folks at the State House in opposition to
proposed cuts in affordable housing programs. The Neighborhood Opportunities,
RoadHome, and First Steps are among the programs that could potentially be
affected. Here are some of the photos taken at that rally.
THE
RI HOUSING RESOURCES COMMISSION (HRC)
The
Commission's purpose is to ensure that all Rhode Islanders have access to safe
and affordable housing. They are a 27 member Commission, representing a wide
range of constituents, from government to providers to advocates.
The Neighborhood Opportunities Program
The Neighborhood Opportunities Program
will expire this year. A ten million dollar investment in housing will leverage
another 70 million dollars that will be put into the RI economy.
This funding provided grants to local
communities for renovation, homeownership opportunities and has stimulated
cities and towns to develop neighborhood revitalization along with jobs for
those working in the construction field. It has also increase low interest
capital for rehabilitation and new construction.
It is imperative that we increase the
number of affordable housing units for working individuals and families at or
near minimum wage, so we must call on state legislators to include this program
in the state's annual budget.
US Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors released
a report examining the status of hunger and homelessness in 27 U.S. cities. Of
the 27 cities responding, 19 reported an increase in shelter requests over the
past year. Other key findings included:
 |
13%
average increase in requests for emergency shelter; 22% increase in requests
for shelter by homeless families alone. |
|
An average
of 37% of requests for emergency shelter by homeless people overall have
gone unmet over the past year; 52% of requests have gone unmet for homeless
families alone. |
|
People
remain homeless an average of 6 months in the survey cited. 54% of the
cities reported an increase in the length of time people are homeless. |
|
According
to city estimates, 40% of the homeless population are single men; 40% are
families with children; 14% are single women and 4% are unaccompanied
minors. |
|
An average
of 22% of homeless people in the cities are considered mentally ill; 34% are
substance abusers; 20% are employed; and 19% are veterans. |
|
86 percent
of the cities reported increases in requests for assisted housing by
low-income families and individuals during the last year. |
|
Applicants
must wait an average of 16 month for public housing in the survey cities. |
| 38% of
eligible low-income households are currently served by assisted housing
programs. |
| Mayors'
25-City Survey Finds High Housing Costs, Weak Economy, Increase Need.
The survey finds that 48
percent of those requesting emergency food assistance were members of
families with children and that 38 percent of adults requesting such
assistance were employed. |
U.S. Conference of
Mayor's
A
NEW HOUSING POLICY FOR THE NATION
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, the U.S.
Conference of Mayors calls for a comprehensive national housing policy that
addresses the variety of housing challenges in our urban communities,
including homeownership, rental housing, public housing, special needs housing
and homelessness issues. To view the full 2005 Hunger and Homelessness Survey
report click HERE
National Low-Income
Housing Coalition
NLIHC educates, organizes and
advocates to ensure decent, affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods
for everyone. NLIHC provides up-to-date information, formulates policy, and
educates the public on housing needs and the strategies for solutions.
Spending
Reconciliation Bill Passes the House, cutting almost $50 Billion from
Mandatory Programs
With more than 3,200 endorsements,
we're well on our way to our goal of 4,000 endorsements by the end of the
year, and your help can put us over the top.
National Alliance to
End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End
Homelessness is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize the
nonprofit, public and private sectors of society in an alliance to end
homelessness.
TEN
YEAR PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS
Twenty years ago there was not
wide-spread homelessness in America. Tonight nearly a million people will be
homeless, despite a two billion dollar a year infrastructure designed to deal
with the problem.
National Coalition for
the Homeless
Our mission is to end
homelessness. We focus our
work in the following 4 areas: housing
justice, economic
justice, health
care justice, and civil
rights. For nationwide resources, nationalhomeless.org
