Committee moves first pieces of emergency housing initiative forward

A new program aimed at providing emergency housing for families going through crises took a key step forward today when the Zoning, Neighborhoods, and Development Committee recommended selling two city-owned homes to be used by the program. The committee recommended for approval Council file #200600, a resolution approving the sale of two city-owned homes to Community Advocates, Inc. and a city expenditure of $17,724 (in the form of forgivable loans) to be used toward rehab costs so that the homes may be used as emergency housing in the 2nd and 9th Aldermanic Districts (there are other homes that are expected to be sold as part of this project in the coming months). The file is sponsored by Alderwoman Chantia Lewis, and co-sponsored by Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs, Alderman Russell W. Stamper, II and Alderman Cavalier Johnson. Alderwoman Lewis, the author of the legislation, said the homes would be a part of an emergency housing program that was created by a 2020 city budget amendment last November. Alderwoman Lewis was the primary sponsor of the budget amendment, which was co-sponsored by Alderman Stamper and Alderwoman Coggs. “Providing our families with basic needs such as housing should always be a top priority, and that’s especially true when families are facing homelessness because of lead hazards, domestic violence, and other tragic circumstances and crises,” Alderwoman Lewis said. “With winter approaching and in the midst of a pandemic, our housing shortage crisis is serious, and there’s a vast need for more housing support. This first piece is a start, to help give families the dignity they deserve, and I want to thank my colleagues for their support,” she said. File #200600 is expected to go before the full Common Council during its virtual meeting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 22.