The Advocates
The Advocates: To Move Forward, We Must Look Back
| Access to housing that is within people’s budget and in an area they prefer to live is driving our region’s housing crisis. Housing attainability has been a top priority of the Chamber’s as members continually share their concerns and inability to recruit and retain quality talent. Many people in our community share these concerns as the ability to live a quality life in the Charleston Metro Area diminishes as home and rental prices drive people further away from their place of employment. What can be done? How can we together as a region move beyond research, roundtables and community listening sessions to move into a place of action? To move forward, we must look back. Last month, the Regional Housing Coalition convened the region around Attainable Housing Week and National Fair Housing Month. 2023 commemorates the 55-year anniversary of the signing of the Fair Housing Act, which aimed to address the issues of racial discrimination in the renting and purchasing of housing. History shows inequality in housing advancement reaches back to World War II, when the G.I. Bill excluded 1.2 million African American soldiers from home ownership and education access simply because of the color of their skin. This history of discrimination stacked on top of redlining and unjust housing practices led to the need for these issues to be corrected. Even today, we are still digging ourselves out of policies that intended for the “American Dream” to not be accessible to all. Housing attainability is not solely based upon race, however people of color are far more likely to face difficulty when pursuing attainable housing in their budget and located in an area they prefer to live. Housing is a human right and a right that everyone should be afforded without having to question which bill they can be late on each month. Attainable Housing Week 2023 April 24 – 28 was proclaimed as Attainable Housing Week throughout our region. The Regional Housing Coalition, formed out of an idea from local leaders and through a gift from Truist, created a week of educational opportunities for the region. The goal of the week was to raise awareness about the need for more attainable housing and why this is an issue everyone should care about. The week kicked off with local mayors and Representative Marvin Pendarvis sharing their thoughts and strategies for advancing attainable housing in the region for all people. We partnered with South Carolina Association for Community Economic Development (S.C.A.C.E.D.) to present Attainable Housing 101: Financing. This event focused on the many facets of funding needed to build attainable housing and ways to permanently keep units affordable. The resource fair and happy hour at Firefly Distillery was a huge success and brought together lending partners, non-profits and service providers to flood guests with resources related to housing. To close out the week, we traveled to West Ashley and the site for Bermuda Point, a workforce housing development that will create housing opportunities for many in the area. Will Jenkins with Carolina One Realty shared the vision for this project and the many subsidies that help to make this project affordable. This is what the mission of the coalition is about. It is about creating awareness and opportunities for all people. This week could not have been successful without the hard work and dedication of the volunteer leaders in the coalition. Thank you to our Attainable Housing Week sponsors – Presenting Sponsor, Truist and Housing Champion Sponsors, HLA, Inc., J.H.W. Enterprises Property Management, Inc. and LS3P Associates LTD. If this type of grassroots initiative excites you, please consider joining the Regional Housing Coalition. We are just beginning but our vision is simple and shapes the foundation for the opportunities we seek to provide, “do what is right, not what is easy”. For more information about the Regional Housing Coalition email me at clogan@charlestonchamber.org. |
Posted on
May 5th 2023
Written by
Justin Allen
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