WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING www.wraphome.org
Member Organizations Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency St. Mary’s Center Berkeley, CA Oakland, CA www.self-sufficiency.org www.stmaryscenter.org Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco, CA www.cohsf.org/en/ Sisters Of The Road Portland, OR Los Angeles Community Action www.sistersoftheroad.org Network Los Angeles, CA www.cangress.org Street Roots Portland, OR Right 2 Survive PDX www.streetroots.org Portland, OR www.right2survive.wordpress.com Street Spirit Sacramento Homeless Organizing San Francisco, CA Committee www.thestreetspirit.org Sacramento, CA www.sacshoc.org WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Overview 1. Historical Context 2. Political & Economic Factors 3. Cuts to Low-Income Housing Programs 4. Homelessness in the U.S. 5. Band-Aid Solutions 6. Federal Funding Priorities 7. What must be done! WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Historical Context WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
A Tale of Two Acts There have been two episodes of mass homelessness in the United States. Legislation from each era tells the story… WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Act I • The Housing Act of 1937 committed: “to remedy the unsafe & unsanitary housing conditions & the acute shortage of decent, safe, & sanitary dwellings for families of lower income…” WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Act II • The Quality Housing & Work Responsibility Act of 1998 declared: “the Federal Government cannot through its direct action alone provide housing of every American, or even the majority of its citizens.” WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Political & Economic Factors WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
War on the Poor • Trickle-down economics • Welfare reform • Mass imprisonment • Punitive immigration policies • Attacks on unions • Income inequality, job insecurity, & debt • Privatization of public services WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Housing As Commodity • Feds turn housing over to private market in the 1970s. • 360,000 project-based Section 8 units lost through conversion to market rate since 1995. • Over 3 million foreclosures since 2008. • 15 million vacant housing units in 2010. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Cutbacks in Low-Income Housing Programs WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Cause and Effect HUD’s budget authority was cut by 77% from 1978 to 1983. As a result emergency shelters opened nationwide. HUD Low/Moderate-Income Housing Assistance $100,000 2004 Constant Millions of $80,000 $60,000 dollars $40,000 $20,000 $0 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Rural Housing Cuts USDA built 38,650 affordable housing units in 1979 & only 763 in 2011 — a 98% cut. Rural Affordable Housing Units Created by Section 515 (USDA) 45 Numbers of New Unites by Thousands 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Starving Public Housing • Over 210,000 units lost through sales, demolition, & HOPE VI program. • $26 billion in repairs needed due to ongoing capital fund cuts. • HUD now says only private investment can save public housing. • New demonstration allows 60,000 units to be mortgaged off. • Nation’s most permanent form of low - income housing is being lost. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Homelessness in U.S. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Race & Homelessness Race/Ethnicity Estimated % of nation’s Estimated % of nation’s total population (from US homeless population Census Data, 1990,2000 (homeless counts/surveys and 2009 estimates) between 1991 and 2009) African-American 12-12.3% 40-56% Asian/Pacific Islander 3.9-4.4% 1-3% Hispanic/Latino 9-15% 12-15% Native American 0.8-1.2% 3-4% White 59-71% 32-39% WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Impacts on Communities • Families with children are fastest growing group of homeless people. • Seniors and people with disabilities can be found in shelters and under bridges in many communities. • Lack of legal status, rights, & public benefits fuels homelessness amongst undocumented immigrants. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Band-Aid Solutions WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
The Vicious Cycle of Homeless Policy Increased homelessness. Temporary responses Stereotypes of to homelessness that fail to address the homeless people as systemic causes of degenerate. homelessness. Periodic calls for Premise that local homeless homelessness is caused plans based on the by the deficiencies of Ever-changing policies homeless people. newest policy. geared toward fixing different sub- populations of homeless people. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Criminalization of Homelessness • Sleeping outside, sitting or lying on the sidewalk, hanging out, & panhandling are now criminal acts. • Business Improvement Districts use private security to remove homeless people from public space. • Revives aspects of Jim Crow, Ugly Laws, Anti-Okie Laws, & Operation Wetback. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Federal Funding Priorities WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Lethal Tradeoffs Funding War vs Public Housing Cumulative Budget Outlays FY01-11 Current Dollars in Billions $1,500 $1,000 $1.2 TRILLION $500 $0 WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Mortgage Interest Deductions Federal Tax Expenditures on Home Ownership $140,000 2004 Constant Dollars in Millions $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $- * Includes stimulus funding under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act . WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
What Must Be Done WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Making Housing A Human Right • Restore federal housing funding. • Turn vacant buildings into housing. • Repeal immigration status as screening criteria for housing assistance. • End demolitions without replacement and right of return. • Stop the criminalization of poor people. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Organize Around People • Build alliances across race, nationality, class, gender, & religion. • Connect organizing for housing to education, health care, dignified work, immigrant rights, Native People’s sovereignty, & economic security. • Value mutual humanity. WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Take Action Now • Connect local organizing with efforts to build a broader social justice movement. • Speak out for housing as a human right! • Educate your community! • Join WRAP! WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
Download Without Housing www.wraphome.org WESTERN REGIONAL ADVOCACY PROJECT: WITHOUT HOUSING
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