Affordable Housing Conference Inspires Nationwide Changes, Goals

ANY American family might one day need affordable emergency housing.

This fact was demonstrated last year after Hurricane Katrina. As a result, the Campaign for Affordable Housing, a national nonprofit, chose to hold its national conference in Houston, a city and county which epitomized social generosity when it opened its arms to Katrina evacuees last year.

Houston Mayor Bill White - a democrat - and Harris County presiding officer of County Commissioners Judge Robert Eckels - a republican - told the conference how they put aside political differences to help families from other states in need of affordable housing, those who were left homeless by a natural disaster.

“Houstonians opened their arms to fellow Americans in need; and we tried to treat them with compassion and competence, just the way we’d want to be treated if the tables were turned, as they easily could have been,” said White. “Our goal remains to help people get in a position to make decisions for themselves about their housing and rebuilding their futures.”

The city and county housing authorities – as well as representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Houston Apartment Association – shared lessons learned during and after the Katrina disaster as well.

“Mayor White, Judge Eckels, and the coalition in Houston inspired us all,” said Julie Bornstein, president and CEO of the Campaign for Affordable Housing. “Housing problems come in all shapes and sizes, some acute such as emergencies and some chronic. Despite the slowing housing market, homes are still out of reach for too many Americans.”

More than a dozen industry leaders and advocates led educational sessions about how to dispel myths about affordable housing, establishing coalitions, latest public opinion research, and other topics.

Speakers included representatives from the Sierra Club, Fannie Mae Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, Whirlpool Corporation, Interfaith Disaster Preparedness, and Bank of America as well as housing advocates from several state agencies around the country.

“When people are living paycheck to paycheck and something unforeseen happens, they often can’t afford to pay rent for a month or two,” said Chip Halbach, chairman of the Campaign for Affordable Housing’s board of directors and executive director of Minnesota Housing Partnership. “They get evicted. They have to search for a new apartment. And their children suffer the consequences.”

Halbach points out that the reason for the affordability crisis is that wages have not kept up with rising home prices in most parts of the country.

“For instance, in [the Minneapolis housing market], a family has to earn about $57,000 a year to be able to afford the average priced home – $235,000. A police officer, who makes on average of $53,000, doesn’t earn enough to buy a home. Nor does an elementary school teacher or a Licensed Practical Nurse in Minneapolis.”

Bornstein adds that the disparity is even worse in Los Angeles, where the campaign’s headquarters are located.

There, the median priced home is nearly $500,000; a family must make $157,000 to even consider a mortgage loan and afford to buy.

“Sadly, despite the fact that more and more middle-income families are impacted by the disparity between home prices and incomes, many communities still fear affordable housing,” said Bornstein. “Usually, that is because some folks believe untrue stereotypes. We’re an organization created by housing leaders to combat those stereotypes and help other organizations do so, too.”