Advocates for Montana s most vulnerable residents are pushing back on a budget plan passed by the U.S. House, saying it would have disastrous consequences for people already faced with trying to find affordable housing in the state. Lawmakers in Washington call it the Limit, Save and Grow Act. .
In Ohio s rural counties, a widespread shortage, discrimination and cost all stack up against domestic-violence survivors and their children seeking safe long-term housing. The Ohio Domestic Violence Network has received nearly $2 million in state funding to help people fleeing abuse find apartments, recruit landlords and inspect units to ensure they meet Department of Housing and Urban Development standards. Takara Sanders, program manager of the Rapid Rehousing program with the Ohio Domestic Violence Network said the Rapid ReHousing grant also provides at least 6 months of rental assistance for about 200 survivors and their children in its first year. .
By Shane Burley for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for North Carolina News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public News Service Collaboration When Sarah Norris joined a “community art build,” a protest that invited community members to work on art projects in a public park in December 2021, she had no idea she would soon face felony charges stemming from her action. Norris was part of a mutual aid group called the Asheville Survival Program, which supported a houseless community that regularly converged in Aston Park, a centerpiece of downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Like many American cities, Asheville faces skyrocketing housing costs, which is why local activists began supporting the encampments of those pushed out of indoor housing by rising rents. .
In Parkersburg, West Virginia local government officials have an innovative plan to address the region s housing crisis - getting 50 families into better housing within 50 weeks. Aging communities in rural areas are losing younger residents, and older residents tend to own their homes - around 70% in Wood County. That s left a gap in available quality rental housing, said Parkersburg City Council Member Wendy Tuck - which shrinks access to subsidized housing units and pushes more families into homelessness. .