A colleague just pointed out an interesting new website designed to refer people needing help in a range of areas, including housing to agencies and services. The Austin American-Statesman wrote a backgrounder on the site and the people behind it. It looks pretty cool. So far, Aunt Bertha serves Central Texas, but is rapidly expanding […]
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Tag Archives: Housing resources
Great new research tool: ESRI’s Community Analyst mapping site
July 4, 2011 
2 Comments
I’m not given to promoting commercial products on this blog, but I’m going to make an exception for the new on-line mapping tool by Esri called Community Analyst. I am excited about this planning and policy tool. If you want to see what it can do, watch this video. Here is how Esri describes their […]
Read more NLIHC: Out of Reach 2011 report updated
June 14, 2011 Comments Off
NLIHC’s annual report, Out of Reach 2011, a side-by-side comparison of wages and rents in every county, metropolitan area, combined non-metropolitan area and state in the United States, is now updated to reflect FY11 Income Limits recently released by HUD. The new income limits are used to set income eligibility requirements for assisted housing. The […]
Read more Low-income Americans will need to work into their eighties
June 11, 2011 1 Comment
Only by retiring at 75 years old would a majority of Americans in the lowest income quartile — defined as earning below $11,700 annually – have half a chance of not running out of money during retirement, a study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute finds.
Read moreGovernment housing programs can and do help the poorest families in Texas
July 20, 2009 6 Comments
I blogged last week about the need for housing programs to recognize the housing needs of families well below 30 percent of the area median income and suggested a new category of housing need called “below poverty income.” In response I received a question this morning that I thought deserved to be answered here. The […]
Read moreThe case for a new category of housing need — below poverty income
July 15, 2009 3 Comments
I have made myself an annoyance to many in the for-profit housing development industry by my constant insistence that housing funded with public resources be created that is affordable to families with incomes at 30% of the area median family income. Recently, I attended a meeting on the uses of the Texas Housing Trust Fund […]
Read moreLet’s resolve to win a serious housing trust fund for Texas
January 5, 2009 Comments Off
TxLIHIS is ringing in the New Year with a long list of resolutions – from ensuring that low-income hurricane survivors have a shot at sustainable housing recovery, to protecting the homes of lower income families from foreclosure. Chief among our resolutions is finally securing a dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund- Texas’ only […]
Read morePlease read this woman’s story and tell me how to address her housing problem
October 10, 2008 Comments Off
One of the things that frustrates me the most is that I get a dozen or so emails each week from folks desperately looking for housing. Since I work on housing policy and programs and do not provide direct assistance there is little that I can can do to help other than refer them to […]
Read moreFocusing on the big picture of housing assistance
August 4, 2008 2 Comments
Let’s take a step back and focus on the big picture of housing assistance using this chart I have prepared based on data in a recent HUD research report. Since it is 107 degrees outside today I decided to stay in and read the latest HUD report and chart some of the data to get […]
Read moreLt. Governor Dewhurst pledges to “double or triple” Texas Housing Trust Fund
July 29, 2008 1 Comment
Speaking before the annual Texas Housing Conference Monday, Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst pledged that the Texas Legislature would double or triple the Texas Housing Trust Fund. Last session the Lt. Governor, at the urging of Senator Eddie Lucio and members of Housing Texas, led the successful effort to secure an added $5.8 million per […]
Read moreQuestions, answers, concerns about the new $4 billion foreclosed homes program in Texas
July 28, 2008 2 Comments
One of the subprograms of greatest controversy within the major housing legislation passed by Congress on Saturday (HR 3221) is Section 2301, Emergency Assistance For The Redevelopment of Abandoned and Foreclosed Homes. Initially, Present Bush threatened to veto the housing bill over this section. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said, “The Senate bill would provide […]
Read moreAustin housers win funding victory
July 26, 2008 1 Comment
Austin housers won a major victory Thursday when the Austin City Council reversed city staff recommendations and rejected deep cuts in the city’s commitment to affordable housing. We began sounding the alarm about the staff proposed funding cuts on June 19 and reported on meetings between housers and top city staff on July 8. Thursday […]
Read moreUnderstanding public attitudes toward public housing
July 25, 2008 Comments Off
Amidst a lot of anger and outrage directed at a proposed development in Northeast Austin proposing to provide transitional housing for the homeless there have been the usual comments about the development being like “public housing” and then a recounting of the “failures of public housing”. For example consider this entry on the Austin-American Statesman’s […]
Read moreJust how crazy can the WSJ editorial page be? Check out the attack on the housing trust fund.
July 15, 2008 Comments Off
On July 8 the Wall Street Journal editorial page let loose on the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund in an editorial that raises the bar for disingenuous rants. The editorial blasted the trust fund claiming, “while it sounds innocuous, in practice it amounts to a new tax to create a permanent subsidy for state governments […]
Read moreAustin housers voice concerns over proposed city housing cuts
July 8, 2008 2 Comments
Leaders in Austin’s affordable housing community met July 1 the City of Austin’s new Chief of Staff, Anthony Snipes to voice objections to housing budget cuts we reported on earlier that have been proposed by the City’s Neighborhood Housing Department. Frank Fernandez (CPH); Cathy Echols (Livable City); Ruby Roa (CDC); Algie Williams (CDC); Michael Willard […]
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