The 81st session of the Texas Legislature has begun in the midst of an escalating housing crisis in Texas. This crisis that has condemned tens of thousands of Texans to living under unimaginable circumstances: where foreclosure or eviction looms as a daily threat, and where families must make the choice between food and rent. Substandard, overcrowded and unaffordable housing are a testament to an economic crisis and our state’s weak social commitment to a basic human right: a decent place to live.
States across the country have created local solutions to their housing problems, stimulated their economies, and built opportunities through state-funded housing trust funds. Texas’ housing trust fund on average receives an allocation of only about $2 million a year. Housing advocates have begun to see that an expanded trust fund would make a real difference in the fight against housing poverty.
Housing Texas – a coalition of advocates, consumers, developers and policy makers from across the state – is meeting February 3, 2009 at the Lyons Gardens community center, with the housing trust fund high on the agenda along with consumer protection, segregation, homelessness and other issues we expect to address during the upcoming session of the Texas Legislature.
You can be part of Housing Texas and help plan our grassroots advocacy for lasting solutions to housing poverty. Our dynamic group meets annually to collaborate around solutions to issues such as the deficit of affordable housing resources, subprime lending, racial residential segregation and “not in my backyard” (NIMBY). Housing Texas has also become a clearinghouse for leading research in the field of affordable housing and community development.
On February 3rd, we’ll collaborate around ideas for our housing trust fund campaign and other legislative goals. Please e-mail us at kristin@texashousing.org if you’re interested in attending.
Housing Texas 2009 meeting
Lyons Gardens Senior Housing
Feb. 3, 2009
2720 Lyons Rd, Austin
10:00 am – 1:00 pm (Registration and networking 9:30 – 10:00 am)
Housing Texas is an ad hoc coalition that joins the hands of a diverse group of stakeholders to take on the cause of affordable housing. To learn more, check our website at www.housingtexas.org.
