A couple of weeks ago the City of Boston had a round table conversation with the press to let us all know that due to their efforts chronic homelessness in the city has been reduced by 20 percent since 2016. If yours truly had been present at this conversation, those government employees would have gotten…
Boston receives federal grant to help homeless youth
Mayor Walsh poses with members of the Bridge Over Troubled Waters community. Photo by author. On Tuesday, July 17, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Boston will be one of 11 communities to receive a part of a $43 million dollar grant to help end youth homelessness. The announcement was made…
Forum evaluates state of affordable housing in Massachusetts
Congresswoman Katherine Clark speaks a the housing forum on May 1. Photo: Boston Metro Housing/Bethany Versoy/V2Visuals Associates. On May 1, housing advocates and city and state officials gathered together for a forum about the condition of state and federal affordable housing programs, and what it means for housing throughout the Commonwealth. The event was hosted…
HUD Delays Obama-era Policy on Fair Housing
Fair Housing Act (FHA) requirements for funding have now been put on hold by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) until 2020, leaving housing advocates across the country worried about unaddressed inequities. Under President Barack Obama HUD began requiring communities to provide data on how they address segregation issues and other concerns under…
HUD 101: Housing Advocates Brace For Changes Under Trump Administration
On Feb. 7, 2017, a small group came together at the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain to learn about the change in administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Hosted by City Mission, the panel included speakers the Rev. June Cooper, Eric Shupin, Lynda Watson, Michael Kane and Mehreen Butt.…
10.5 million households face limited access to adequate food HUD survey finds
The number of occupied households facing limited access to adequate food reached 10.5 million in the past month, roughy 8.9 percent nationwide, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) said in a press release. According to HUD’s 2015 American Housing Survey, released on December 18, the households with financial limitations were those with…
National Coalition for the Homeless criticizes HUD homelessness count
The National Coalition for the Homeless is contesting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest count of the country’s homeless population. The 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress, released in November, found that 549,928 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2016, a 3 percent decline from 2015. But…
Roxbury’s Whittier Street Apartments Receives Major Funding from HUD Grant
Roxbury was one of five communities this month to receive a major grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD Deputy Secretary Nani Coloretti appeared at the Whittier Street Apartments with U.S. Congressman Michael Capuano and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh to announce the $30 million Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant on behalf of…
HUD Announces New Smoke-Free Policy
On Nov. 30, 2016, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Julian Castro, announced in Roslindale, Massachusetts, that smoking will be prohibited in public housing buildings nationwide. Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh joined Castro for this major policy announcement. According to a HUD press release, public housing agencies have up to 18 months from the…
Some advocates see holes in HUD data, argue that homelessness may not be on the decline
The narrative that homelessness is on the decline nationally and in Massachusetts is something that local homeless advocates find hard to believe. Recently released reports from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) say that there are less homeless families, veterans and disabled persons on the street this year than in previous years, yet…