Making Housing Happen: Faith-based Affordable Housing Models - Jill Suzanne Shook Editor

A while back I had the opportunity to hear Jill Shook speak about affordable housing. I was intrigued to learn more. While I am not entirely sure whether I agree with some of the methods or even areas of focus, I greatly appreciate the work that has been done in these areas and am challenged to learn what my involvement in affordable housing could look like.

Mixed Income

Integrating affordable housing into middle-class neighborhoods seems to be an effective way of alleviating poverty. This is called mixed income housing. In chapter one Terry Carter and Jill Shook bring up a case where over 25,000 poor people were given Section 8 vouchers which are the standard housing assistance method used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This meant that they were able to move into areas where no more than 30 percent of the residents were black. The results were quite amazing. According to Terry Carter and Jill Shook "Poor, single-parent black families, when living in the midst of a middle-class neighborhood, were more likely to be employed. In addition, their children were four times less likely to drop out of school and more than twice as likely to attend college.... [Additionally,] in only one out of thirty-one studies was there a confirmed negative impact on home values."

Government Funding/Political Emphasis

One area of concern I had with this book is the level of reliance on the Government that most of these affordable housing models have. With a few exceptions, most of the housing projects included were primarily subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In addition, there is a large amount of dependency on the Government for these projects to work effectively. I am neither saying that this is good or bad. I do not have the answers. I do however think that this is an area that should not be overlooked.

"Sweat Equity"

A model that I particularly liked was in chapter three: Habitat for Humanity and Peachtree Presbyterian Church. Here is how it works. Habitat for Humanity will provide an interest free loan and the future homeowners paired with volunteers will provide the labor or "sweat equity". A homeowner putting work into his home adds an extra sense of ownership.

Conclusion

One of the most beneficial aspects of this book is the challenge to rethink the way we look at housing. Maybe our idea of one isolated unit on a lot should not be the norm. Maybe we should pursue relatively new ideas like housing cooperatives or co-housing. Maybe we should look at mixed income neighborhoods in the new light of the lives that are being changed. It is at least worth a try.