Housing Advocacy

Here’s How HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program Could Be Better

We know that where families live can seriously effect their quality of life. Many predictors of health, education, and financial success start with place. It's one thing to see these […]

We know that where families live can seriously effect their quality of life. Many predictors of health, education, and financial success start with place.

It's one thing to see these truths in charts, but The Century Foundation's interactive piece called “Finding Home: Voices of the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program“ is a transformative adventure you take with families who have benefitted from the change in place, and perspective.

In this TCF Original multimedia piece, Stefanie DeLuca's extensive research on housing opportunity and concentrated poverty is shown through the eyes of former residents of Baltimore's poorest neighborhoods: Kimberly and Tasha. These women struggled to provide a better future for their children than they had for themselves. Through Baltimore's Housing Mobility Program, Kimberly and Tasha, and Kimberly's daughter Crystal, were able to escape concentrated poverty and a discover what life is like with access to safe neighborhoods, better schools and improved peace of mind.

With these women's stories, you hear (not just see data on) about the obstacles to opportunity and the significant shift in mindset that happens through housing mobility.

Baltimore's program goes above and beyond what HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program offers. At the conclusion Stefanie DeLuca points out three key aspects of the program that have made it so successful:


  • Counseling

  • Housing options in neighborhoods with great schools

  • Education for landlords on the benefits of the program

We know you have thoughts on improvements for Section 8 too, so tell us in the comments!

 

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