Housing, Homelessness, Gentrification

Siobhanna McEwen | Equity & Advocacy Director, Council for the Homeless
Victor Caesar | Development Director, Vancouver Housing Authority

"Housing, Homelessness, Gentrification"

"Vivienda, falta de vivienda, gentrificación"​

• "Housing Homelessness, Gentrification"

  Explore the intersection of systemic racism, housing discrimination, and poverty. Attendees will learn about the historical contributing factors to homelessness for communities of color, such as the war on drugs, mass incarceration, the GI Bill, redlining, and more.

• Call To Action

  • Federal: Contact Senate offices to support the Build Back Better Bill.

  • Federal: Support federal-level protections for at-risk communities in order to increase equitable implementation.

  • State: Contact state elected officials to repeal the ban on rent control policies.

  • State: Support Lead Legislative Agenda in WA state to be released soon by the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance: www.wliha.org

  • City and County: Encourage local governments to meaningfully engage impacted communities and prioritize their needs.

  • City and County: Support caps on annual rent increases.

• Follow Up Materials

  • Movie

  – East Lake Meadows: The story of an Atlanta public housing community raises critical questions about race and poverty.

  • Research

  – Roots of Structural Racism from the Institute of Othering and Belonging. Includes an interactive mapping tool that illustrates the level of segregation in every city, region and neighborhood in the country, among many other tools
  – Black Homeownership in the US: A look at homeownership rates and the racial homeownership gap by state and metro area.
  – Racism in Housing Appraisal: Black homeowners routinely experience lower appraisal values than white homeowners.
  – Reside Vancouver: Anti-Displacement Plan – recommendations for how the City can help to stabilize vulnerable communities—such as renters, people with lower incomes, and people of color—and support them as they move towards financial self-sufficiency over time.

  • Other Resources:

  – Tenants Union of Washington State
  – Mutual Aid Groups

  • Additional Legislation to follow and support:

  – H. R. 5905 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to extend to Black veterans of World War II, and surviving spouses and certain direct descendants of such veterans, eligibility for certain housing loans and educational assistance administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.