Nobody Asked Me…

Or the whole damn camel???

Remember back in 2008 when Memphis used Section 8 vouchers to ‘move’ people out of the projects? Remember what happened to the crime rates/locations/statistics???

Article on the report HERE.

Guess what…

HHS is trying to take this national… Proposed ruling is HERE.

The section that got my attention (and a few others that emailed it to me) is this:

Summary of the Major Provisions of the Rule

The proposed rule—in concert with other HUD policies—is structured to provide direction, guidance, and procedures for program participants to promote fair housing choice. The rule promotes these objectives and responds to the GAO’s observations by:

a. Refining the current requirement that program participants complete an Analysis of Impediments (AI) with a more effective and standardized Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH), through which program participants would evaluate fair housing challenges and goals using regional and national benchmarks and data tools to facilitate the measurements of trends and changes over time;

b. Improving fair housing assessment, planning, and decision-making by providing data that program participants must consider in their AFHs, thereby aiding program participants establish fair housing goals to address these issues and concerns;

c. Incorporating, explicitly, fair housing planning into existing planning processes, the consolidated plan and PHA Annual Plan, which in turn incorporates fair housing priorities and concerns more effectively into housing, community development, land-use, and other decision-making that influences how communities and regions grow and develop;

d. Encouraging and facilitating regional approaches to addressing fair housing issues, including effective incentives for collaboration across jurisdictions and PHAs, and incorporation of fair housing planning into regionally significant undertakings, such as major public infrastructure investments;

e. Bringing people historically excluded because of characteristics protected by the Fair Housing Act into full and fair participation in decisions about the appropriate uses of HUD funds and other investments, through a requirement to conduct community participation as an integral part of program participants’ AFHs; and

f. Establishing an approach to affirmatively further fair housing that calls for coordinated efforts to combat illegal housing discrimination, so that individuals and families can make decisions about where to live, free from discrimination, with necessary information regarding housing options, and with adequate support to make their choices viable.

Through these improvements, the rule seeks to make program participants more empowered to foster the diversity and strength of communities and regions by improving integrated living patterns and overcoming historic patterns of segregation, reducing racial and ethnic concentrations of poverty, and responding to identified disproportionate housing needs of persons protected by the Fair Housing Act. The rule also seeks to assist program participants in reducing disparities in access to key community assets based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability, thereby improving economic competitiveness and quality of life.

And if that isn’t enough to get your attention, there is THIS speech given by Secretary Shaun Donovan Before the NAACP’s 104th Annual Convention last week…

And this is the takeaway quote- (Bold and underline are mine)

Specifically, this new rule will:

• provide a clear definition of what it means to affirmatively further fair housing;

• outline a standard framework with well-defined parameters; and

• offer targeted guidance and assistance to help grantees complete this assessment.

Perhaps most important—for the first time ever—HUD is providing data for every neighborhood in the nation, detailing what access African American families, and other members of protected classes, have to the community assets I talked about earlier –  including jobs, schools and transit.

With this data and the improved AFFH process, we can expand access to high opportunity neighborhoods and draw attention to investment possibilities in underserved communities.

Make no mistake: this is a big deal.  With the HUD budget alone, we are talking about billions of dollars.  And as you know, decades ago, these funds were used to support discrimination. Now, they will be used to expand opportunity and bring communities closer to the American Dream.

This rule change is something the NAACP has long called for.  And when you’ve spoken, we’ve listened.  We have been proud to work with stakeholders like you every step of the way.  And we will continue to in order to strengthen this work in the months and years ahead to bring Fair Housing into the 21st century. 

Note that Donovan ONLY calls out African-Americans, I can’t help but wonder if this is a slip of the tongue or on purpose. I guess Hispanics, asians, and low income whites won’t qualify…

Remember how we were talking about if they couldn’t legislate it, this administration would regulate it???  Well, here’s another ‘regulation’ that is going to get crammed down our throats…

What’s next???

Sequestration- It’s ONLY for the military…