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Libby Solomon is a writer and editor for GGWash. She was previously a reporter for the Baltimore Sun covering the Baltimore suburbs and a writer for Johns Hopkins University’s Centers for Civic Impact. A Baltimore resident, Libby enjoys running and painting in her spare time. Share
Best of 2020: How wealthy towns keep people with housing vouchers out
the
originally published on January 9, 2020.
Hartford On a sweltering Saturday afternoon last June, Crystal Carter took a deep breath as she walked toward the red “for rent” sign.
Separated by Design
Shaded by tall oak trees, the three-story duplex looked cozy. The first floor siding was painted yellow, with white railings leading to the front door. The windows appeared new, the lawn freshly cut.
Although the property was in Barry Square, on the edge of a struggling area in southern Hartford, the family outside buoyed Carter’s spirits. Four children giggled in a recliner in the front yard, singing along to the radio while their father packed a moving truck. Across the street were Trinity College’s dignified brick pillars, the entry to the elite school’s 100-acre campus.
To Wilma Moore, the Highland neighborhood is the best place in the world to be.
That s why Spartanburg City Council s unanimous vote to approve the Highland Transformation Plan in late November meant so much to her.
She s lived in Highland since she was 11 and has worked at the United Way of the Piedmont for years advocating for her neighborhood. The transformation plan serves as a beacon of hope for the revitalization of Highland, which she s seen through all its ups and downs.
Finally, Moore s neighborhood is getting the attention and investment she thinks it deserves. I want everyone to know that Highland is the best place in the world to be. We have people that have lived there all their lives. Everybody cares about everyone else, Moore said.
The future site of Espero at Rutland, which will be home to 171 units of permanent supportive housing (photo by John Anderson)
City Council has approved a combination of state housing tax credits, funding from the 2018 housing bond, and operational funding through a new
Local Housing Voucher program to bring 171 units of
permanent supportive housing to a site in North Austin at 1934 Rutland Drive.
Known as
Caritas of Austin, which provides supportive services to people experiencing homelessness in Austin; the
Vecino Group, a national affordable housing developer that has built similar supportive housing projects in other areas; and the
Austin Housing Finance Corporation. AHFC will own the land and lease it to Caritas and Vecino Group; Vecino will manage development of the property, while Caritas will provide supportive services to residents living at the site.