Short Takes

Hiding Lead Paint is Costly

Across wide differences in theology, most religious leaders can agree upon a few basic values. Affordable housing now ranks on that list. On September 9, 1999, over 300 religious leaders, including several Catholic bishops, leaders of Jewish organizations, Protestant church officials, and prominent Buddhists, Muslims, and Unitarian-Universalists sent a letter to President Clinton not only declaring that housing is a "sacred right" but also calling on the government to fund 200,000 more vouchers for the year 2000 and spend $100 million to "preserve the country's existing affordable housing supply." Two San Francisco-based organizations, Housing America and Religious Witness with Homeless People, circulated the letter. Episcopal Archdeacon Michael Kendall explained his diocese's support to The New York Times (9/10/99) by saying, "Housing is not a privilege to be earned – we're talking about having people have the essentials of life."

Seattle Told Not to Hide Poor from WTO

Six Seattle homeless-rights groups have sent an open letter to the police chief, mayor, and city council, as well as President Clinton, urging them not to "sweep" the homeless out of sight when the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference begins Nov. 29, 1999, reported the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (9/13/99). The letter has prompted at least one city councilmember to send a note to the Seattle Police Department expressing concern. Though the department denies conducting such sweeps, Chris Flanagan, head of Seattle Food Not Bombs (FNB), one of the groups leading the letter campaign, contends the city arrested scores of homeless people and moved others from public places during 1993's Asian Pacific Economic Conference and 1990's Goodwill Games. Homeless advocates plan to set up a tent city as one of many expected protests during the WTO conference. Information: Seattle FNB, P.O. Box 45523, Seattle, WA 98145; fnb@scn.org.

Poor Families Losing Ground

Citing sharp reductions in government cash and food assistance, a recent Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) study found that the average incomes of the poorest fifth of single-mother families fell from 1995 to 1997, despite continued national economic growth. For the poorest 10 percent, the study found incomes fell an average of $810 in that period. Even with certain assistance benefits included, these families have incomes below three-quarters of the poverty line. Information: Michelle Bazie or Toni Kayatin, CBPP, 202-408-1080; www.cbpp.org/8-22-99wel.htm.

Ohio Food Requests Increase

The number of people served through the charitable feeding programs supplied by the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks increased 20 percent in 1998 from the previous year. A study by the organization found that 2 million adults and 1.5 million children received food from the food pantries and soup kitchens throughout the state last year. The study also showed that 49.1 percent of able-bodied adults – those not retired or disabled – seeking emergency-food assistance were working. Information: Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks, 614-278-1087.

Winter Looms for Massachusetts Homeless

Massachusetts advocates for the homeless, caught off guard by a 5 percent increase in the number of people seeking emergency shelter this past summer, fear the state's homeless face the worst winter yet. The Boston Globe (9/30/99) reported that advocates have requested 700 additional beds from the state's Department of Health and Human Services. Homelessness in Boston alone, where seven people living on the street died from the cold last winter, increased by 5 percent from 1997 to 1999. In 1998, the federal government slashed funding for the homeless in Massachusetts by 40 percent.

Déjà Vu All Over Again

A new report by the Urban Institute for HUD has some familiar sounding news: mortgage lending institutions continue to discriminate against racial minorities. Using the "paired tester" strategy, in which one white and one or more minorities gave lenders identical information about themselves, the researchers found that discrimination began in the pre-application stage with less information and time given and higher interest rates quoted. The study also found that racial disparities in loan denial rates cannot be explained away by differences in creditworthiness or technical factors. A report released at the same time by Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) says racial disparities in mortgage denial rates have been increasing since 1995. Information: Urban Institute, 202-833-7200; www.urban.org or ACORN, 202-547-2500; www.acorn.org.

Color of Bank's Workforce Counts

Racial composition of mortgage lending workforces is statistically associated with approval rates for minority loan applicants, according to a report summarized in the Fannie Mae Foundation newsletter Housing Facts & Findings (Summer 1999). The relationship is strongest with black administrative and professional employees; each 1 percent increase in such employees was associated with an almost 1 percent increase in approval rates for black applicants. A full report on the research is also available in the foundation's Journal of Housing Research (vol. 9 no. 2). Information: www.fanniemaefoundation.org; housingfacts@fanniemaefoundation.org

Copyright 1999

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