News Roundup

  • Texas Announces Temporary Campsite and Future ”Mega-Tent” for Austin’s Homeless Community
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    Three days after Texas began forcibly removing homeless people from Austin’s underpasses, Governor Greg Abbott unilaterally designated 5 acres of state-owned land as an authorized encampment, and the Austin Chamber of Commerce announced a fundraising campaign for a 300-bed “mega-tent” shelter. In August, the City of Austin recommended against authorized camping in favor of prioritizing long-term housing through advancements such as the 2018 $250 million affordable housing bond. “We believe that ending homelessness… is about permanent supportive housing,” said Matthew Mollica, director of the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO), Austin’s federally designated lead agency on homelessness.

  • Chicago Public Housing Residents Will Be Banned from Marijuana Use When State Law Changes
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    Recreational marijuana will be legal in Illinois on January 1. However, the Chicago Housing Authority recently told its residents that marijuana is considered illegal by the federal government, so they could be evicted for using it in federally funded housing. The competing state and federal laws creates difficulties for public housing tenants nationwide, including those with medical marijuana cards. “Individuals… in federally funded housing should not fear eviction simply for treating their medical conditions or for seeking a substance legal in their state,” said Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), who introduced legislation that would permit public housing tenants’ marijuana use in states where the substance is legal.

  • Housing Navigator Massachusetts Set to Launch in 2020
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    A new online tool called Housing Navigator Massachusetts, set to launch in 2020, will be a comprehensive, searchable database where users can find information on open waiting lists and listings for affordable rental housing. The only other state with a similar resource is Minnesota. “The idea that thousands of families suffer with unaffordable rents or risk homelessness simply because they can’t access information on where units are available is not acceptable,” said Paul Grogan, CEO of the Boston Foundation.

  • Number of Veterans Experiencing Homelessness in United States Continues to Decline
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    On Tuesday, US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson reported that the number of homeless veterans decreased by 2 percent in the past year. Since 2009, the rate of veteran homelessness has decreased by 50 percent. Carson credits this progress to the 2008 HUD-VA Supportive Housing Program, which provides homeless veterans permanent housing, a case manager, and clinical care services.