Episode 31: Housing Segregation, George Floyd, and Honoring True Housers – For our latest episode of A Little Louder, John and Christina experiment with a unique format. They discuss what they’re reading, lift up the work of some great Housers, calling out stuff that “ain’t right,” and providing brief history lessons in the housing world. We also give a preview of the 2020 Houser Awards on Nov. 10.
Episode 32: Searching For A Landlord To Take My Voucher – John and Christina speak with a voucher holder from Dallas to learn about her journey facing source of income discrimination while searching for affordable housing. We also hear from Demetria McCain from Inclusive Communities Project to talk about her organization’s latest report on landlords and their refusal to accept vouchers.
Episode 33: Relief for renters during a pandemic – John and Christina bring in Texas Housers policy analyst Eli Barrish to talk about what the federal rental relief stimulus package that provides $25 billion in rental assistance and extends the CDC ban on evictions through Jan. 31 will mean for Texans. They also touch on the state of eviction protections and rental relief, and how Texas Housers is working to keep Texans safe and housed.
Episode 34: President Biden’s Executive Orders On Housing – A new year and a new President in the White House brings new possibilities for affordable and fair housing. On this episode, John and Christina discuss the executive orders that the Biden Administration issued on their first day, what impacts they will have, and what needs to happen going forward. They also put this move toward housing justice in historical context with the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Episode 35: Eviction Courtwatch During COVID-19 – The CDC moratorium should protect many individuals who appear before a Justice of the Peace due to non-payment of rent. However, far too many defendants and even some judges are not aware of the extent of these protections. Ally and Julia tell A Little Louder about what they have observed, the Houston Eviction Solidarity Network and other volunteer programs like it that are court watching, and what needs to change.
Episode 36: Who Can Afford The Rent In Texas? – The National Low Income Housing Coalition has released its Out of Reach report for 2021 and John and Christina are back in studio to discuss how Texas fits into the analysis. Turns out, low-wage workers have a hard time finding affordable housing in Texas, with very little help from state government. The A Little Louder hosts are joined by Texas Housers Senior Research Analyst Ben Martin who helps dissect Out of Reach ’21 and what can be done to fix this critical issue for far too many Texans.
Episode 37: ERA and the Eviction Crisis in Texas –
John is back in the studio and he is joined by several Housers to talk about rent relief and evictions in Texas. With the CDC moratorium on evictions ending in late August, courtesy of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, many tenants are in danger of becoming unhoused or doubling up with family or friends, further endangering their safety as well as that of others. The sole measure that can protect renters now is the prompt delivery of rent assistance, so they may pay their back rent.
Texas Housers has been tracking how quickly and equitably this rent relief has been reaching tenants, in particular low-income households and households of color, and we have released our most recent findings in the report “Evaluating the Effectiveness of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program in Texas Vol.2”. Senior researcher Ben Martin, research analyst and report author Erin Hahn, Southeast Texas regional director Julia Orduña, and community navigator Ally Harris all join John on the podcast to talk about how rent relief and other eviction diversion tactics are playing out in local government and in households across the state
Episode 38: The American Rescue Plan Act and Tenants’ Rights – On this episode, John is joined by Texas Housers Advocacy Director David Wheaton to give us an update on Texas allocating zero dollars for housing in its American Rescue Plan Act funds and how a coalition of housing organizations are choosing to act now. Texas Housers’ Southeast Texas Co-Director Julia Orduña also joins the show to talk about updates with the Texas Rent Relief and Emergency Rental Assistance programs respectively and the urgency to prioritize low-income renters in certain cities and counties.
Episode 39: Five things that need fixing in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program – On this episode of A Little Louder, John sits down with Texas Housers staff attorney Elizabeth Roehm to discuss updates to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program in our state. While some things remain the same with the Texas Department of Housing & Community Affairs, 2022 is shaping up to be a time we can effect real change.
Episode 40: Demolition Deluge in San Antonio – On this episode of A Little Louder, John is joined by Heather Way, co-director of the Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, to talk about the report “Ousted: The City of San Antonio’s Displacement of Residents through Code Enforcement Actions.” This new report from Way and the ECDC details the outsized demolitions happening in San Antonio – specifically located in Black and Latino neighborhoods of the city. There have been hundreds of “orders to vacate” and “orders to demolish” that the City of San Antonio has issued between 2015 – 2020; these numbers far higher than other metropolitan areas in the state like Houston, Austin, and Dallas combined.