October is Housing America Month
Jeshua Lauka
Attorney & Partner @ David, Wierenga & Lauka P.C. Legal advisor to purpose-driven companies, Board Member, & Corporate Secretary
October is Housing America Month, timely for Grand Rapids, given the Grand Rapids Housing Summit held last Friday, October 21.
Housing America Month was created "to raise awareness of the need for, and the importance of, safe, decent and affordable housing in quality communities."
You can check out some of the alarming statistics nationwide on the lack of affordable housing.
One statistic leaps out to me:
"20.6 million households now pay more than half of their income for housing, including seven out of ten households with annual incomes of less than $15,000 (State of the Nation’s Housing)."
This statistic is consistent with the local statistics in Grand Rapids, provided by Gustavo Rotondaro of Metrica. Thank you, Gustavo for all of your hard work!
You can also check out the information released as part of the Grand Rapids Neighborhood Summit
Last week's Summit brought speakers representing many community stakeholders, including representatives from 616 Development, Grand Rapids Urban League, Rockford Construction, ICCF, MSHDA, and many local non-profits, including Mel Trotter Ministries, HQ, Heartside Ministries, on this lack of affordable housing, what is as Mayor Bliss emphasized, admittedly, "a complex issue".
I have previously offered my own perspective, both as a lawyer representing real estate developers/investors, and as Board Chairman at Mel Trotter Ministries.
One point that Dennis Van Kampen, CEO of Mel Trotter Ministries, mentioned at the summit, was the fact that there are voiceless people not present at the summit.
My take away on the affordable housing crisis - this issue requires advocacy. I appreciate all of the community stakeholders who were present at the Housing Summit last week, demonstrating their committed to being part of the solution.
I would encourage you to visit the Housing America Campaign website. Raise a voice for the vulnerable.
“We cannot do everything, but we can all do something.”
-Dillon Burroughs
Questions? Comments?
e-mail: Jeshua@dwlawpc.com
Twitter: @JeshuaTLauka