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| Short Takes
Shelter Demand Increases Sharply
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Despite a still-growing economy and low unemployment, the average demand for emergency shelter increased by 15 percent from November 1999 to October 2000 – the highest one-year increase of the decade, according to the 16th annual Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities, from the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Seventy-six percent of the 25 cities surveyed reported that demand had increased. Requests for shelter by homeless families increased by 17 percent, with 72 percent of the cities reporting an increase. On average, in the cities surveyed, people remained homeless for five months. |
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| Fleet Bank Makes CRA Agreement – Finally | After a long period of negotiations, Fleet National Bank has signed a four-year, $1.2 billion pledge to invest in affordable housing, small business and low- and moderate-income communities in New Jersey. The comprehensive agreement, made with New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) and the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey (HCDNNJ), also pledges to offer more lower-priced checking accounts than it now offers in New Jersey, refrain from predatory lending and keep branches open in inner cities. “NJCA and HCDNNJ have negotiated CRA agreements with most of the largest and some of the smallest banks in New Jersey,” said Pat Morrissy chair of NJCA’s Housing and Banking Committee and executive director of HANDS, Inc., “making sure to hold banks accountable to their commitments.” (Bergen Record, 12/14/00) |
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| Social Investment Fuels Prosperity | States investing in human needs, such as education and health care, are faring the best economically, according to a report released by the Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED). The organization’s 2000 Development Report Card for the States points out that states enjoy higher-quality jobs and more competitive businesses when they invest in their children’s health and education. Among the top states are Massachusetts, New Jersey, Minnesota, and Connecticut. The report provides a broad-based rating of all 50 states’ economies. CFED, 202-408-9788; www.cfed.org. |
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| Imbalance Limits New Jersey Housing Options | Only a third of all New Jersey households are families with children under 18 (per 1990 census data), making only one in three households a primary market for new single-family homes, according to NJFuture Facts and Current Issues (11/27/00). Nonetheless, 83 percent of all building permits issued in New Jersey during the last decade were for single-family homes, limiting the housing options of all other segments of the population. More than half of the 558 municipalities that issued building permits in the 1990s did not issue a single permit for multifamily housing – the condominiums and apartments generally preferred by households without young children. New Jersey Future, 609-393-0008; www.njfuture.org. |
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| Cards Stacked Against Workers | A report released by Human Rights Watch claims that workers’ rights are routinely violated in the United States because U.S. labor law is feebly enforced and filled with loopholes. The report, Unfair Advantage: Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States Under International Human Rights Standards says that workers attempting to form unions frequently face systematic violations by employers and long delays in obtaining legal redress. “The cards are stacked against workers in the United States,” says Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “The U.S. government cannot effectively press another country to improve labor standards while violating them itself. It should lead by example.” Human Rights Watch, 212-290-4700; www.hrw.org/reports/2000/uslabor/. |
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| Wages Don't Cover Bills | More than one million North Carolina households don’t make enough money to pay their essential bills each month, according to Working Hard is Not Enough, a report released by the NC Justice & Community Development Center and NC Equity. That figure, representing more than a third of households filing tax returns, is much higher than the estimated 13 percent of North Carolinians who fell below federal poverty levels in 1999. The study says that urban families would need nearly $34,000 a year to pay those bills, while rural families would require $30,000. The report’s suggestions include raising the minimum wage, encouraging governments to pay a living wage, and making child care subsidies more available. (Charlotte Observer, 1/9/01) |
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| Stealth Attack on Tenant Protections | Although New York renters fought back attempts to repeal rent control in 1997, they’ve been blindsided by some quiet but serious “revisions” to the state’s rent stabilization code, says the Metropolitan Council on Housing. The changes, made by the NY State Division of Housing and Community Renewal, include provisions that expand the grounds for evictions, make it easier for landlords to get major capital improvement rent increases, impose a four-year statute of limitations on fair market rent appeals and allow decontrol when the legal rent that could be collected is above $2000, even when the actual rent is lower. Met Council, 212-693-0553 x6. |
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| Housing: The Best Medicine | A report by the Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) reveals that vulnerable populations significantly decreased their use of the highest cost health care services after finding stable housing. Interim results of Supportive Housing and Its Impact on the Public Health Crisis of Homelessness, showed a 57 percent decrease in inpatient days after one year of supportive living and a 58 percent decrease in the use of emergency room services. The study examined more than 200 tenants’ use of emergency room and inpatient services one year prior to move in and one year after. CSH, www.csh.org/pubs.html. |
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Copyright 2001 Back to January/February 2001 index.
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