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Shannon, How do we go about migrating the Homelessness membership over to the Affordable Housing membership. Dual membership doesn't take away from the Homeless. It works to provide that specific item named in the description,the answer . Do I change my name to Affordable ? I'm not easy ,but I am affordable? The solution to the problem will house people in a respectful way. The Problem may move us to action ,but is it the action that will lead to the needed attitude change that makes this solution possible? A lively discussion about human rights is needed ,just as a look within ourselve's is needed to confront the subtle blind spots we protect in our denial. Starting at Change dot org can only be a start, a consolidation of efforts. Local Social media websites that can be a place for the grass roots to take hold locally can be satellites acting with primary information sources. The ability to create original content is essential at the local level.
Change .org can assist as among other items, a news aggregator. Affordable housing is not nor ever will be a singular topic. Poverty, Social Entreprenuership, Human Rights, Tax Reform, Health policy are all wrapped tightly together in a Gordian Knot like nexus. The effort expended in reducing the mid term harm with temporary solutions only seems to delay the creation of Housing Firsts and SRO's .
Having pursued the truth going on 1.5 yrs. I can only imagine the effort needed to grasp the enormity of this undertaking. It is time for change. 60 yrs. is about right, so somewhere in the Next 10 to 20 yrs.
Population growth, ageing, increase in disabled numbers as the population numbers increase. The senior housing needs can convert to disabled . Just getting the needed parts onto the table to then fit them together. A 2050 planning process is the only way I see the puzzle coming together. The Baby Boomers children and grandchildren are the ones hammering the framework and putting up the Green drywall with low carbon footprint.
The composition of the very fabric of our economy must change. The base assumptions need to be stretched and interwoven into. War and capitol fraud must be less tolerated else while we will be putting a price on the air we breath.
Suggested by Keith Bender on 10/12/2009 @ 11:55PM PT
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Please check out my idea to save the Planet & its Economy! No one will want for anything they need to survive or thrive! Please help me be the change! I will give away free green homes and green jobs that pay a true living wage!
Be Helpful, Not Hurtful!
http://behelpfulnothurtful.blogspot.com/
Suggested by Charles Hancock on 10/09/2009 @ 03:57PM PT
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Thomas Jefferson wanted everyone to own their own place so that they could be self supporting and avoid a problem the ones in power feared which was bands of homeless people travelling the roads. Our persuit of happiness includes what is called the american dream......Home Ownership. Discussing our core values examines the attitude we have towards others. Ownership is subsidized and rentals are penalized. The value of property is in part determined by what zoning regulations allow it to be used for. The entire approach to what Affordable Housing is needs to be looked at. The subsidy approach to individual tenants could probably be incorporated into our tax system. HomeOwners rights needs to make room for shelter and tenancy rights. A major overhaul of our Housing attitude will not happen overnite or easily. Altruism needs to replace bailouts. Making decisions based on arguments about what we will lose must be replaced by knowledge that doing the right thing is actually far less expensive . Affordable for all should mean that.
Suggested by Keith Bender on 09/27/2009 @ 01:06AM PT
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I THINK HOUSING SHOULD BE BASED ON 30% OF YOUR INCOME IF YOU MAKE, EARN OR RECEIVE LESS THAN $35,000.00. FROM 35,000.01 TO 50,000.00 IT SHOULD BE 40%. AND OVER $90,000.00 IT SHOULD BE 60%. AT THAT POINT MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY BY HAVING THAT 70% TO INVEST BACK INTO THE COUNTRY SUPPORTING WORKERS OF OTHER SUBJECTS IE. AUTO AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION INDUSTRY, MEDICAL, FOOD, CHILDCARE, ADULT CARE, AND EDUCATION. AND PERHAPS THEY WOULD BE MORE ABLE TO DONATE THEIR EXCESS.
Suggested by Ruth Ricks on 06/25/2009 @ 01:03PM PT
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I think that we shouldn't wait for the government to solve our problems but create our own solutions ie. build our own affordable housing through collective co-operative efforts. For example, our organization is trying to raise funds for affordable housing through our "People In Need" (PIN) project which features a wonderful song called "People In Need", recorded by 5-time Gospel Grammy winner, Edwin Hawkins, that people download in exchange for a donation of $9.99 ~ it's a great song and could raise a great deal of funds once it gets into the mainstream.
For more info. please go to:
http://www.change.org/benefitnetwork/projects
Suggested by The Benefit Network on 06/17/2009 @ 05:43PM PT
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Combine the solution with the defined problem. In order to
END HOMELESSNESS we will require AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR ALL.
Remind politicians of the decisions we have already made. Surrendering to those decisions over and over again is what we generally call commitment. 50% of homelessness would
solved if Housing mandates after World War 2 were honored.
Chasing the American Dream of home ownership misdirected our attention . The lack of AFFORDABLE HOUSING is a man-madeproblem of our design. Spending time,attention and funds on our desires when our needs have not been met is at the heart of this dilemma.
Our greed covers our fear of lack. What am I not going to get if they get that? Let me get mine and you can have the leftovers. I don't want my kids going to school with the likes of that!! Subtle and Sarcastic, the ways we separate from each other. Looking for community or building community?
The only thing we lack is the Political Will Power to get
the job started and carried forth to completion. We are close, but thinking that it will get done without vigilance on the part of the public is immature hopefulness. A strong Spin off of Elemental ingredients here into a Creative Community Hub that contains a stronger Monetization component can morph into WEB 3.0 as we as yet dont know.
Finding the common ground amongst the many efforts already in action can orchestrate the Focus which truly
is AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR ALL.
Suggested by Keith Bender on 05/14/2009 @ 04:14PM PT
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Take this idea by the military a few steps further.
VA Housing Program Offers Vets HopeApril 13, 2009Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Keith Church left the Navy in 1974 after a two-year stint, worked for years as a maintenance mechanic and never considered asking for veterans benefits.
But in December, Church, 54, was jobless, coping with health problems and on the brink of homelessness -- "couch surfing" with friends, he says -- when he turned to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for help. Within a few months, he moved into an apartment, thanks to a VA program that started in Maryland this year to help homeless veterans.
"I don't know how I would make it without the VA," he said. "I was at the bottom, health-wise and mentally. They are my only source now for everything. Slowly but surely, I am getting back on my feet." He is working with a VA case manager and is volunteering most weekdays at the VA hospital in Baltimore.
The Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program uses vouchers to help homeless veterans move into rental units.
"The whole idea is to take these veterans from poverty and homelessness and give them the health and support they need," said Patricia Lane, the VA's coordinator for health care for homeless veterans in Maryland. "These housing vouchers are the blessing at the end of a long-walked road for these vets."
The VA hospitals in Baltimore and at Perry Point in Cecil County serve as the gateway to the assistance program and screen veterans to determine their eligibility. "This program is so well-received that landlords are actually calling and asking me for VASH folks," said David Mahaney, director of housing and community development for Cecil County.
Baltimore County is overseeing 105 vouchers worth about $750,000 annually, and Cecil County has 70 vouchers worth about $470,000, officials said.
Lois Cramer, administrator at Baltimore County's housing office, said she has assigned more than 80 vouchers and expects to use all 105 by summer's end. Cecil has issued more than 50, Mahaney said.
"Often, these men and women are just out of sync and need the stability of home and ongoing case management," Cramer said.
Typically, the veteran pays 30 percent of their income for rent, with the voucher picking up the remainder. The program has helped a 31-year-old single mother with a $7-an-hour job and $117 in monthly veterans benefits who has just leased an apartment, and a 25-year-old married father of two coping with a disability. He moved his family into a Sparrows Point home within 60 days of applying for a voucher. He pays $318 of the $1,048 monthly rent, with the voucher picking up the difference.
"The tenants usually choose a location close to employment, transportation and health care," Cramer said.
Census data shows that 71,627 veterans live in Baltimore County, with about 3.6 percent of them living below the poverty line. Nationwide, veterans make up a third of the homeless population, according to the VA.
"These vets don't want a handout, but they need help," Cramer said.
The need will continue, particularly as veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan, officials said.
"The things we saw overseas come back and bother us later in life, especially the Vietnam vets," said Church, the Navy veteran. "When they start coming back from this war, look out."
The voucher program streamlines what can be a complicated housing process, said Meg Ferguson, who coordinates veterans affairs in Baltimore County. "Veterans are proud, and it's difficult getting them to accept help," she said. "The good news is that a lot will work their way out of a crisis, turn in the voucher and transition into another program. Then the voucher can go to another in crisis."
© Copyright 2009 Baltimore Sun. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Suggested by bob silvey on 04/16/2009 @ 06:41PM PT
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increase the section 8 voucher program the wait list is very long.
there are towns cities and communites who don't allow the poor and the homelsss to have section 8 vouchers.
The mast majority of people who are homeless are people with disabilites.
our health care system is very lacking in mental health.
I have a extremely handicapped child in our home we are forced to keep our income low so he can continue to get his health coverage.
2/3 of our income goes to rent.
I want a home to own I need a home that has handicapped accessability.
It is easy to judge when one has never had to struggle just keep a roof over your head.
Being forced to choose between food and rent and utilites.
not every one has a IQ of 120 the rest of us have a lower IQ and are forced to do hard labor the rest of our lives with NO benefits.
Right to work states do not have to provide any beneifits they find ways to get around it.
They can cut your pay check by 1 hour and you do not work full time.
when they do find some coverage the deductable is so high one can't afford to get sick. OR you can't afford to have anything with held from your check.
It is very hard work working in a right to work state.
employers find ways to take advantage of the labor force and abuse them when a state is a right to work state.
You can't posssibly save any money when your whole pay check is used to keep the food on the table and a roof over your head.
ONE can't afford a decent car and there is NO public transportation.
When one lives in a rural state there is NO help from any Gov program.
Suggested by Robin Feusner on 04/14/2009 @ 09:35PM PT
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Our group, Niche Housing, is creating a cohousing community for low-to-moderate income families, seniors and those with disabilities. These homes will be owned, not rented. Those who need assistance for disabilities may hire/fire their own staff as needed. No homeowner in the neighborhood will be responsible for the care of another beyond a neighborly interest. Our goal is to stop the segregation of people by age, income and ability.
Suggested by Mary Jane Sufficool on 03/17/2009 @ 01:46PM PT
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A group of us volunteers in central Michigan (lower peninsula) are working to set up an affordable and sustainable housing cooperative. It will also have a business incubator on site. The two components will work together and magnify each other's benefits. It will be earth sheltered to minimize energy usage and will use composting toilets to minimize water usage. Shops, hobby rooms, restaurant and library will all be within walking distance. Our group is ready to put a shovel in the ground -- as soon as we raise the money.
Suggested by Joel Welty on 03/17/2009 @ 12:27PM PT
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