Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force – SRRT/ALA
Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association
“New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York Public Library (NYPL) officials are making good on their promise to add affordable housing atop public libraries sited on city-owned land.”
Cost of building affordable single-family homes would be subsidized, deadline to apply is Sept. 30.
“While many homeless library patrons seek assistance, Montano said, others like 76-year-old Elizabeth Fresquez see the library as their last hope to keep their housing and find other services.”
“At some point in the school year, roughly 1.4 million students are homeless. Federal law provides extra help to make sure they get an education. That law is overseen by the U.S. Education Department, which the Trump administration wants to close.”
The Community Planning and Development office at HUD disburses more than $3.6 billion in federal funding for rental assistance, mental health and substance use treatment, and outreach to try and get those living outside into shelter or housing.
“It is not the homeless person that needs to be humanized,” Lommasson said. “It is us. One thing I’ve learned from this project is that any of us, if one or two circumstances changed in our lives, we could be unhoused. There’s a whole list of factors why people are homeless.”
For the first time in decades, every municipality in New Jersey now has a specific housing obligation. The last housing obligations set by the state, done by what was the Council on Affordable Housing at the time, ended in 1999.
Everyone is talking about the need for affordable housing.
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Grants Pass v. Johnson, which makes it easier for communities nationwide to fine, ticket or arrest people living unsheltered, even when there is no adequate shelter available.
According to data from LAHSA’s annual homeless count, Latinos experienced an over 70% increase in homelessness between 2018 and 2023. The 26% increase from 2020 to 2022 was especially notable, given the significant decreases among other demographics during the same time period.
