Concrete Community Benefits are Now Included in Tax-Funded Downtown Project

Thanks to the intervention of COPS/Metro, concrete community benefits are now part of a partially tax-funded Downtown Missions Stadium project, thus creating a fairer deal for San Antonio residents, including those who will be relocated in advance of construction.

“When we look at this experience, we are keenly aware that doors were opened, conference rooms were made available and seats were placed at the table for billionaires, millionaires and developers,” said [COPS/Metro] leader Father Jimmy Drennan, referring to Missions investors, such as Weston Urban co-founder Graham Weston, a one-time billionaire."

COPS/Metro had been in negotiations with elected officials, city council members, city staff, Weston Urban, SAISD officials, institutional leaders, community leaders, and local residents.  COPS/Metro's complete statement and press can be read below:

[Excerpt]

...faith leaders and lawmakers from both sides... support two bills. The first: HB 2815, known as “Yes in Gods Back Yard”.

About HB2815, Rev. Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan, Minister at Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation said, “Many of our congregations are sitting on unused land that they're eager to convert into affordable housing. This bill would adjust zoning to make it easier to do so. With restrictions on density to ensure projects fit with neighborhoods and requirements that the units be affordable to low- and middle-income people."

Then there’s HB2576. This would renew the state's low-income tax credit.  Both bills work to address a long-term affordable housing solution while leveraging private equity.

Religious Leaders Calling on State Lawmakers to Address Housing Crisis, ABC 15 [pdf]

Religious Institutions Want AZ Law to Allow Low-Income Housing on Their Property, KJZZ [pdf]

[Excerpt]

What we kept hearing was housing, affordable housing in particular, and rental housing,"

said Barb Quijada of the Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Chandler.

....VIP had been hosting open house meetings for about two years, where representatives ask people about the real-life problems they are confronting.

Interfaith Group Maps Campaign for Dominion, Arizonan SanTan Sun

[Excerpt]

“Despite our differences in theology, we have so many things in common across the different denominations,” said Quijada, who is a member of Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation.

One of those things in common is affordable housing in the Valley. These congregations, which include Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians and even Muslims, are all coming together through VIP to fight for issues they believe are worth fighting for.

Interfaith Effort Fighting for Affordable Housing in Chandler, ABC 15 [pdf]

[Excerpts]

"I think as a community, as a church, most of us are looking out for each other. It's important we stay together as a congregation and the people we know and love aren't forced to move away," Davis says.

....VIP is assembling Chandler residents, like retiree Susan Davis, to share their personal experiences of housing insecurity with elected officials in hopes of garnering support for the project.

• Davis, who is a member of Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church, moved to Chandler in 2019 to be closer to the church. At the time, her rent was $1,100. It's now $1,900, plus fees.
• "I'm struggling now to survive month to month. I'm just making it by the skin of my teeth," she tells Axios Phoenix.

How Metro Phoenix Churchgoers Are Fighting Against NIMBYs, Axios Phoenix [pdf]

On Tuesday, Coloradans for the Common Good (CCG) leaders gathered with allies from the Denver Metro Tenants Union and the Community Economic Defense Project, in addition to the Denver Mayor and 8 members of Denver City Council, to celebrate the city's historic investment of $29.1 Million in emergency rental assistance.

This investment is expected to keep 6,000 families housed who would otherwise face eviction and comes after months of CCG organizing, including a mayoral forum in May with 350 attendees, a press conference on the issue, and countless phone calls, emails, and meetings with elected officials.

[Excerpt]

In a 4-3 vote Nov. 6, Mesa City Council approved a controversial plan to buy the Grand Hotel near Main Street and Power Road for emergency transitional housing for vulnerable populations....

A large contingent of people from the Valley Interfaith Project showed support by rising and standing in silence as a leader, Bethany Lambrecht, spoke in favor of the purchase....

[Excerpt]

“What I would say to those in Together West Michigan: If your hope was to ensure that homeownership was a priority and focus, you have succeeded.”

Commissioner Stephen Wooden’s comment was one of many acknowledgements Together West Michigan (TWM) won on August 10 from Kent County commissioners as they voted on the rules for the county’s new Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund.  Because of TWM’s months of work, the fund includes a goal that 10% of the affordable units be owned by families, rather than rented.

10% Ownership Goal Included In County’s Affordable Housing Fund, Together West Michigan

Kent County Launching $58M Affordable Housing Loan Program, MLive [pdf]

Kent County to Launch Affordable Housing Revolving Loan Fund with Initial $58M, Crain's Grand Rapids Business [pdf]

TWM Leader Testimony, Kent County Commissioners Court [video from 02:30]

More TWM Testimony, Kent County Commissioners Court [video from 18:00]

Leaking faucets, holes in the floor, and rats running across children's feet at night.  An apartment manager refusing to start repairs without proof of US citizenship.  These are just some of the conditions that leaders of Bachman Lake apartments, like Iris Romo and Ericka Ventura, unearthed in a neighborhood conversation campaign.

When tenant leaders at Lumin Bachman Lake Community School began to share these stories, the city didn't take them seriously.  However, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) leaders knew that this was unacceptable.  After all, they had been instrumental in the development of housing standards that were now being violated. In 2016, DAI had compelled the City of Dallas to impose these standards, and the tenant leaders had been a key part of that effort.

DAI tenant advocacy for improved conditions in low-income Bachman Lake apartment complexes continues to pay off, partly due to increased collaboration with bilingual housing code inspectors. Spanish speaking Dallas Area Interfaith leaders have been at the forefront of action, including meetings with City officials and educational meetings with residents.