Press Room

A new project aimed at helping the homeless has some Esplanade Ridge residents up in arms, but UNITY, the collaborative building it, insists it will be an apartment complex aimed at filling a big need for permanent supportive housing in New Orleans.

A 'deprivation index' is a list of items or activities considered necessary to have an adequate standard of living, but those who are poor are unlikely to be able to afford. The items in a deprivation index are not a comprehensive list of basic needs since in a wealthy society such as Ontario most households, even the poor, are likely to have most of the basic necessities. The items in the index are intended to distinguish the poor from the non-poor. According to research, the items in Ontario's index are all widely seen by Ontarians as being necessary for a household to have a standard of living above the poverty level.

A state effort to preserve affordable-housing rental properties received a boost yesterday as Governor Deval Patrick unveiled a $150 million loan fund aimed at helping organizations and individuals buy such developments and keep rents below market prices.

The shortage of housing that is affordable for the lowest income families grew significantly between 2007 and 2008, according to an analysis of 2008 American Community Survey data done by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). In 2007, the shortage of homes affordable for extremely low income renter households (those earning 30% or less of their area median income) was 2.7 million. The shortage grew to 3.1 million homes in 2008.

On this day after over-stuffed Thanksgiving dinners when recession-minded consumers began their annual pre-Christmas holiday shopping sprees, the homeless have no choice but trying to survive without the resources that many enjoy.

On Valentine's Day, Joshua Colon was kicked out of the crowded Humboldt Park apartment he shared with seven siblings and a parent. He cycled through friends' homes before finally moving into a housing program run by La Casa Norte, a Humboldt Park organization that helps homeless youth and at-risk families. Today, the 17-year-old lives in what is comparable to a dorm room. But it's all his own.

The Jericho Project broke ground on supportive housing for homeless and low-income vets in Kingsbridge Heights Nov. 10, just in time for Veteran’s Day. The 76-unit, six-story facility at 2701 Kingsbridge Terrace — cattycornered with the Veteran’s Affairs hospital — is projected to open in early 2011 at a cost of $20.6 million.

A new study reinforces the concept that providing supportive housing to homeless people with disabilities is less costly and better for the individual than providing no assistance.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced $3.7 million in federal funding to expand its Reclaiming Futures initiative, which was launched in 2002 to help young people break the cycle of drugs, alcohol, and crime.

Under rules adopted by Philadelphia’s primary civil court, no owner-occupied house may be foreclosed on and sold by the sheriff’s office before a “conciliation conference,” a face-to-face meeting between the homeowner and the lender aimed at striking a workable compromise. Every homeowner facing a default filing is furnished with counseling, and sometimes legal representation.