TxLIHIS is ringing in the New Year with a long list of resolutions – from ensuring that low-income hurricane survivors have a shot at sustainable housing recovery, to protecting the homes of lower income families from foreclosure.
Chief among our resolutions is finally securing a dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund- Texas’ only source of state affordable housing funds that is currently sorely under-funded at a time of severe housing crisis.
Former TxLIHIS policy director and Housing Texas coordinator Kristin Carlisle is returning this legislative session to work full-time on building up the Housing Texas coalition and garnering grassroots support for an expanded Housing Trust Fund. Kristin worked for TxLIHIS during the last legislative session to help win a one-time $5 million boost to the Trust Fund. This session, TxLIHIS has a bolder goal: a $40 million dedicated revenue source for the Housing Trust Fund, so that future funding can serve as a secure foundation to effective housing programs and will be significant enough to transform impoverished communities across the state. The Texas Housing Trust Fund drastically trails most other states’ trust funds – a trend that is all the more disturbing when one considers that our state is among the leaders in home foreclosures and the number of people living in poverty.
TxLIHIS, Housing Texas and Texas Habitat for Humanity will be working tirelessly on this issue in the months to come. Kristin is currently organizing a meeting of Housing Texas stakeholders, tentatively scheduled for late January. At this meeting, people from all walks of life who care about safe, decent, affordable housing will be able to voice their opinions and work with others on ideas for building a strong and lasting Texas Housing Trust Fund.
Call Kristin at 512-477-8910 for more info.
